Amino acids; a true controversy

[Highland Reefer]

Amino acids; a true controversy Written by Tim Wijgerde

Amino acids; a true controversy

By Tim Wijgerde

 

The use of supplements in the (marine) aquarium has always been controversial, dividing hobbyists into two camps. Aquaria are a reflection of nature, but differ dramatically from the real thing. Nature can be regarded as a closed ecosystem; all its nutrients are recycled in the earth (lithosphere), water bodies (hydrosphere), air (atmosphere) and organisms (biosphere). Aquaria, and marine aquaria as well, are open ecosystems, where nutrients are inserted (feeding) and removed (water changes, protein skimming, phosphate absorbants) manually, by the aquarist him/herself. Aquaria usually contain ample nutrients, caused by fish overstocking and heavy feeding. The question is; do supplements really matter? Do we really need to add more nutrients to improve coral health and growth? This article discusses the facts and figures about amino acids, a very popular additive nowadays.

 

Let's briefly discuss the ways in which corals take up nutrients on the reef. We can distinguish three main ways:

 

1. They receive sugars from their zooxanthellae, by means of photosynthesis. Up to 95% of their daily required energy is drawn from these so-called photosynthates.

 

2. They capture plankton; either phyto , zoo or bacterioplankton. The types of plankton take up depends on the species. Scientists believe that phytoplankton is the main food source for many gorgonians and soft corals (e.g. genus Dendronephthya).

 

3. They take up (in)organic nutrients from the water column. Nitrate, phosphate, ammonia, urea and of course amino acids. Many marine aquarists use amino acid supplements nowadays, and it has become a popular market for manufacturers and aquarium stores.

 

There still is controversy; some people think aquaria don't require commercial supplements such as amino acids, trace elements and vitamins, whilst others don't leave their tank without.

 

The pie chart shows the nitrogen (N) uptake of Stylophora pistillata colonies in their natural environment.

 

Fig.1: Nitrogen budget for Stylophora pistillata colonies in their natural environment. Most of the nitrogen is provided by ammonia and nitrate; this is mainly due to the zooxanthellae (adapted from Renaud Grover et al, Journal of Experimental biology 2008).

 

Note that ammonia and nitrate are the main N-source for this coral, both of which are abundant in marine aquaria. Scientists extracted the zooxanthellae from the colonies, and discovered that they are mostly responsible for this uptake. Amino acids are important as well, accounting for 21% of the nitrogen budget. Scientists also found that corals, and extracted zooxanthellae, are able to take up a lot more amino acids than they normally would in nature. Let's look at the types of amino acids and whether corals are able to extract them from the water. Figure 2 shows that at least 11 types of DFAA's (or dissolved free amino acids) are taken up by this coral.

 

Fig.2: Uptake of 11 types of amino acids by S. pistillata. This species is able to actively take up all of the shown amino acids (adapted from Renaud Grover et al, Journal of Experimental biology 2008).

 

Now the question is; is this uptake passive, by diffusion, or does this species actively transport the DFAA's to its tissue? The answer lies in the next figure:

 

Figure 3: Uptake rate of nitrogen (N, nanomoles of nitrogen/hour/cm2 of tissue) by S. pistillata colonies in relation to amino acid (DFAA in

[treesprite]

Interesting article, thanks.

[DDiver]

interesting read...thanks for sharing..i myself dose AA and have definitely noticed better colors and overall health of the corals..

[zoozilla]

Great article. Very informative read.

[SkiCurtis]

Thanks for sharing. A very good read.Are you a biologist ? The last mouth I have dosed AA because my coloration was degrading and since it has colored back up.

Curtis

[Highland Reefer]

I am an Urban Entomologist with a thirst for knowledge about our hobby.

 

I found this article interesting for hobbyists who do dose amino acids and for those like myself who do not dose amino acids. The bottom line in my opinion, is that if you have a lot of fish in your system and you feed them well, like myself, then perhaps you do not need to dose amino acids, since they would already be abundant in your system. If you have a system, with very little food added for fish, then you may be a good candidate for dosing amino acids. The other problem I see when dosing amino acids, is which amino acids do you choose to dose or does it really make any difference? Little research has been done in this area. Many of the products we have available do not disclose which amino acids are in their formula and at what concentrations. How much is too much for a given system, since testing equipment is impractical for most of us. It may be more economical and practical if one were to go to a health food store and buy known amino acids, with known concentrations.

[mogurnda]

Short summary: overskim to remove DOC, then pay somebody money so you can add DOC back.

[Highland Reefer]

Short summary: overskim to remove DOC, then pay somebody money so you can add DOC back.

 

Even with heavy skimming with the biggest monsters out there, I don't believe it makes a real big impact on the total DOC in a system.

 

Feature Article: Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and the Reef Aquarium: an Initial Survey, Part I: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2008/8/aafeature3

[mogurnda]

Even with heavy skimming with the biggest monsters out there, I don't believe it makes a real big impact on the total DOC in a system.

 

Feature Article: Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and the Reef Aquarium: an Initial Survey, Part I: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2008/8/aafeature3

One can debate the usefulness of what is essentially a single, poorly controlled experiment, but that is not my main point. I was just trying to make a joke out of the fact that some go out of their way to have an "oligotrophic" tank, yet will then pay money dump a source of carbon and nitrogen into their tank in an essentially uncontrolled way. It's all a matter of personal style, I suppose. I don't have the energy.

[Highland Reefer]

I just wanted to emphasize what you had stated. Even if the data is from a debatable source (which I agree).

[ctenophore]

I was just trying to make a joke out of the fact that some go out of their way to have an "oligotrophic" tank, yet will then pay money dump a source of carbon and nitrogen into their tank in an essentially uncontrolled way. It's all a matter of personal style, I suppose. I don't have the energy.

I thought your post was funny, Dave

 

The only thing I can say for sure about AAs, is that the polyp extension was pretty amazing when using the Prodibio stuff. The Brightwell AAs didn't have any noticeable effect on the same tank. I'm out of both; I got free samples at Macna so that ends my AA dosing for now.

[Highland Reefer]

So this is interesting. You are saying that a certain company's unknown amino acids & concentrations are better than another products unknown amino acids and concentrations?

Edited December 15, 2008 by Highland Reefer

[ctenophore]

So this is interesting. You are saying that a certain company's unknown amino acids & concentrations are better than another products unknown amino acids and concentrations?

If "better" is defined as noticeably increased polyp extention vs. normal, then yes, Prodibio's is better. It could be that the corals were reacting negatively to the Prodibio, but typically, increased polyp extension is associated with coral health and capacity to consume more food. Other than that single observation, I found no difference between one bottle of unknown liquid and the other.

[Highland Reefer]

I have a problem with so many aquarium company's products and their active ingedients, that I really do not trust very many of them. I find it difficult to put many of their products in my system.

[ctenophore]

Oh I definitely agree. I got these as samples, and they went into my little 29 gal which is basically a well established coral quarantine tank. I figured it would be fun to see what happened. However I will say that based on a good amount of personal anecdotal evidence, the Prodibio stuff is fairly useful. Whatever is in it, it does clean water, help get rid of cyanobacteria, and cause corals to have good polyp extension.

[CHUBAKAH]

Comparing Brightwells AA to Prodibio is like comparing apples to oranges. They are a completely different animal in that Brightwell breaks down many of the amino's in to several products, and you actually know what is in each one of them.

 

Now your going to say but why have three types of amino's when you can get it in one product? Well not every tank is going to need exactly the same supplement, so why spend money on something you may not need.

 

I am personally having great success with the BW products, while others are with what they are using. I'm just spending a 1/3 the cost.

 

Edited December 16, 2008 by CHUBAKAH

[Highland Reefer]

Not to change the subject, but I got a chuckle last night when my wife finally got home from work. She said, "remember the guy who was snorkeling in his tank. I have no problem picking his house out. There is this blue glow that emanates out from his house which is stronger than all the other X-mas lights on the block."

Edited December 16, 2008 by Highland Reefer

[ctenophore]

Not to change the subject, but I got a chuckle last night when my wife finally got home from work. She said, "remember the guy who was snorkeling in his tank. I have no problem picking his house out. There is this blue glow that emanates out from his house which is stronger than all the other X-mas lights on the block."

LOL Just wait till phase 2 is done!

[zygote2k]

Sounds like many different snake oil producers competing for your hard earned buck. Until actual proofs are established with any of the additives, it's all speculation.

[mogurnda]

Sounds like many different snake oil producers competing for your hard earned buck. Until actual proofs are established with any of the additives, it's all speculation.

I feel sad for the snakes.

[jason the filter freak]

Maybe its not fair because I have exclusively rics and shrooms but I've been using the brightwell amino supplements and have seen NO improvement i'm on 3 weeks of use right now

[ArtC]

'Essential' amino acids are those that an organism needs but cannot produce for itself using other amino acids. Therefore an organism must obtain essential amino acids from its food or environment.

 

Assuming that some amino acids are sometimes a limiting factor in coral growth, that all coral species require the same essential amino acids and that the products actually contain said amino acids...

 

The other unknown is whether the biology of everybody's tanks are sufficiently similar so that they are deficient in the same amino acids.

 

Otherwise it's like discussing whether an anti-fungal medication is 'better' than an anti-bacterial medication.

 

BW Part A will work for Reefer 1 whose tank is deficient in amino acid X and BW Part C will work for Reefer 2 whose tank is deficient in amino acid Y. Prodibio would be the equivalent of a 'broad spectrum' treatment, which still wouldn't work if you didn't have a disease to begin with

[MisterTang]

Short summary: overskim to remove DOC, then pay somebody money so you can add DOC back.

 

 

It's like buying manure to fertilize your garden, as opposed to just taking a dump on it yourself. It's not really the same thing, even if it outwardly appears to be

[CHUBAKAH]

Until actual proofs are established with any of the additives, it's all speculation.

While there may not be a whole lot of "proofs" here on WAMAS, there is plenty of documentation that show that using AA's to make improvements are not speculation. I personally know of at least five people on here alone that are getting major results, as well as several others from much larger message boards. Outside of myself, and DDiver these other people are mostly lurkers, and I would think at some point, each one of them will have a TOTM on Reef Central.

 

In reply to Jasonthefilterfreak:

TBH I haven't seen any changes in my rics and or shrooms either. I really don't see any major differences in the LPS pieces either if you want to get right down to it. The significant changes are to the SPS pieces. Specifically, much fast growth, better coloration, and thicker flesh.

 

I'm curious which one of the BW products are you using?

Are you target feeding it, or just putting it in the water colum?

Do you add any other supplements besides the AA's your currently using?

Do you turn off your lighting when you use this?

Are your pumps turned off when you dose?

Edited December 17, 2008 by CHUBAKAH

[Highland Reefer]

Mark,

It seems you have pretty good success with the Brightwell products. Which Brightwell products do you add to your system and do you add any other non-BW products?