There are a number of strains commonly used in aquaculture, Nanno is one, so is Isochrysis galbana (T. iso/C. iso), Chaetoceros spp., Monochrysis lutherii (pavlova), Thalassiosira fluvialis (diatom) amongst others. Nanno is common for several reasons 1) it is relatively easy to grow and, 2) it has a lot of a fatty acid called
EPA..great stuff plus a number of other pigments and proteins. Nanno is commonly used for rotifer culture and in green water larval production.
T.iso and C. iso have another fatty acid (as well as accessory pigments, carotenoids, etc.) called
DHA which is critical for larval development of a number of different species. T. iso is typically used to raise invertebrates such as clams, oysters. Many fish breeders use this algae to feed to rotifers and artemia as an enrichment. Isochrysis is great food for copepods. People raising other inverts use pavlova and T. iso to feed their rotifers and claim they get better egg production. Isochrysis can be a little bit trickier to grow for some people but I think it is worth it in terms of nutritional content. One advantage is that it handles warm temps fairly well. Consider this…the strain was isolated in or near Vanuatu (or so I was told).
If I were to grow one microalgae it would be the T. iso strain. However, both the T.iso and nanno would be a great combination to have because many organisms need both fatty acids
DHA and
EPA for healthy growth.
Frank Hoff’s book (Plankton Culture Manual) goes into this. CSIRO has a great culture collection. They have many spp available and probably some very knowledgeable people to talk with.
good luck..
