Kent Marine MicroVert Bottle 16 Fluid Ounces

Great product and great service

Allow me to begin with a disclosure. Your humble reviewer is using this product off-label. Please don't panic. I am not topping off my vanilla ice cream with this stuff. By off-label use, I meant that I use it to feed my freshwater clams. The Kent Marine Microvert is a liquid food for marine invertebrates. However, I have learned that this product will work for freshwater clams and mussels. I started keeping freshwater clams in 2015. I have lost many clams over the years. Which is a kind way of saying "unintentionally killed due to ignorance." Not much is known about keeping freshwater clams in an aquarium environment. I have had to learn my lessons through heartaches and sorrow. I know they're just clams but a person can get attached to these little invertebrates. I just hope all those dearly departed clams are enjoying after lives in clam heaven. So, anyway, the Kent Marine Microvert will work. But my first choice for freshwater clams would be Seachem Phytoplankton. Phytoplankton is a micro algae. The preferred cuisine of freshwater mussels and clams. The Kent product has more ingredients and provides more protein. I would use the Microvert as a supplement. Feed three to four times per week. The Seachem should be used every day. Mind you, this is for freshwater clams. The recommended feeding schedule and dosage were calculated for the feeding of saltwater corals and clams. Marine corals and clams get most of their nutrition from photosynthesis. They can survive without supplemental feeding. The freshwater clams and mussels are different. The freshwater invertebrates do not get their energy from photosynthesis. They must eat by filtering algae and microorganisms from the water. The feeding schedule for marine clams will not work for freshwater. You will need to increase the dosage and feed more often. But wait, there is more to do to make sure your clams are getting enough food. The clams will start feeding shortly after the lights in the tank comes on. Wait until the clams have started filtering. You will see their siphon tubes sticking out of the sand. Turn your filter down to its lowest setting or turn it off completely. The clams cannot compete with the filter for food. You do not want your filter to remove the food from the water before the clams have had their chance to eat. And they eat slow. Do not dose the food to the clam directly. Pour the liquid food on top of the water and let it settle down to the clams. The things we do to a normal planted aquarium may not work for freshwater clams. Remember, they eat floating algae. They are also very sensitive to copper. Even a small amount of copper can kill them. Guess what? Most plant fertilizers and fish foods contain traces of copper. Clams are more sensitive to copper than the neocaridina shrimps. The only plant fertilizer that I use is a product called "Easy Green" from Aquarium Co-Op. It has been tested safe for shrimps. Dose at half the recommended amount. Another thing you should not do is to use liquid carbon, such as Seachem Fluorish Excel or API C02 boost. These products kill floating algae. Which is why a lot of people who love planted tanks use them. But you should see the problem. The last thing you want in a clam aquarium is to kill the floating algae. Algae is their food. The chemicals will also hurt the clams. Here is what I do. I wait until the clams have started filtering. Then, I reduce the flow from the Seachem Tidal 35 filter down to a trickle. Sometimes, I turn off the filter completely. I take a capful of Kent Marine Microvert and drop it on the water surface. The product will disperse slowly. Wait two hours and check if they are still feeding. If so, drop another capful. Let them feed for at least two more hours before turning the filter back on. My tank is a 20 gallon long. I have six clams in this tank. You have to feed heavily or else the clams will die. There is not enough floating green algae in a normal fish tank. The filtration system removes most of it. That means the clams are dependent on you to feed them. Do not worry about fouling the water. That will not happen in a well-established tank. Obviously, wait until your tank is mature before adding something as sensitive as a clam. My tank is moderately planted. I have never gotten an ammonia spike. I have a Seachem Ammonia Alert in this tank. I removed the sponge insert from the Seachem Tidal 35 power filter. I am only using the Matrix biomedia. The Matrix is inside the filter bag that it came in. I rinse it out during every water change. This allows most of the algae to pass through the filter. The filter is mainly for water circulation. In conclusion, this product will work for freshwater applications. The Seachem Phyoplankton should be the staple diet for clams. This product, the Kent Marine Microvert, can be a supplemental food. In my experience, they are the easiest foods for freshwater inverts. Stay away from live foods. Many coral foods are bottled live. Meaning, the organisms are still alive in the bottle. and are suspended in salt water That will not work in freshwater. Those tiny organisms will die as soon as they hit freshwater. Keeping clams alive can be a challenge. Do your research. Avoid adding fish medications to the tank. Most will kill the clams. Stay away from plant fertilizers that contain copper. Feed with a liquid invertebrate food every day. Some hobbyists have had good luck keeping clams alive in large plastic tubs outdoors. The sun light promotes the growth of green algae, which the clams love. You can try this approach but be sure to use a light-colored tub to keep the water from getting hot. Clams need a lot of oxygen and warm water holds less of the stuff. Keep the water cool. Do not use those black plastic tubs. They absorb too much heat.

Been using this for years, good product.

Sponges and other filter feeders are healthy after 8 weeks of use. Explosive growth of copepod population. Macros perked up almost instantly. More convenient than fresh phyto and a better value as it doesn't spoil as fast. I dose a drop per 5g daily. Anecdotal at best but everything just seems a bit happier. I hesitate to reach for bottle products but I'm back to purchase a 2nd bottle for a tank in another room.

Hard to say if this thing is doing any good, but my Corals sure are growing, so will stick with it. Update - Have had to cut back on the dosage, now 13 drops a week instead of every three days. It's either this or the Seachem Reef Plus or a combination of both that's putting too much nutrients in the water resulting in red slime algae. It's not a lot, but enough to bug me. I use natural sea water, 50% water change every week, so it's just a matter of driving down to the beach. After a month, the algae has almost disappeared, just for one small piece of JF Witchhunter Montipora that can't seem to shake it. You have to look really hard to see it, but it's there. I give it a scrubbing when I do the water change. It will succumb, eventually :-)

My corals love this phyto - as soon as i add it, they dance and swell up to take it in. No doubt I have it on subscribe and save!!

We are ALWAYS using this chemical - works GREAT !

Great product.