Amino acid supplement discussion

[Moe_K]

Who is supplementing amino acids, and what benefits have you seen?

Feel free to post anectdotes (no scientific proof). If you've conducted a controlled experiment, I definitely want to hear about it.

 

[wrassefan]

I used aminos for awhile Moe....I don't know if it was the cause but it didn't help, I had a cyno outbreak. Still got a little bit but stopped dosing the stuff. Didn't see any benefits but it was only about a month or 2.

 

[Sean Irwin]

Amino acid supplementation very much depends on the reefing methodology adopted. This might be beating a dead horse but animals cannot synthesize all amino acids. Most plants and micro-organisms however can produce the essential amino acids. Quite often, amino acids and vitamins are leached from plant and microbial sources within the aquarium. Therefore the amount of amino acids and vitamins is dependent on the population of plants and microorganisms within the aquarium. Foodstuffs also represent a very large source of amino acids as well. In traditional berlin systems, the lack of feeding (to reduce nitrates), little or no sand, and extreme skimming creates conditions where algal and microorganism growth is very limited. Limited nutrient input also creates conditons whereby any available substrates (amino acids, nitrogen, and phosphorous) for growth are aggressively scavenged by microorganisms. If memory serves, the amino acid supplementation is "surprisingly" popular in Europe where a great many systems are run in the traditional Berlin style.
Amino acid addition can also be used to alter the behavior of coral. The addition of specific amino acids, namely lysine and proline (if memory serves) often induce feeding responses. You could potentially, induce hard to keep creatures' feeding responses, increasing the likelihood that they will accept food provided.
In my opinion, amino acid supplementation is unnecessary if you feed your tank inhabitants, have a reasonable amount of algae, and sufficient surface area to support a decently sized microbial population. Otherwise, the addition of amino acids is just creating a burden on your water quality.

 

[Greg Hiller]

>The addition of specific amino acids, namely lysine and proline (if memory serves) often induce feeding responses. <

Hmmm...didn't know this. Hmmmm....

 

[Sean Irwin]

As it turns out, corals (without zooxanthallae) can make more amino acids than we can- please see the table on the second page. I have a few issues with their experimental design but it makes a strong srgument against needing to supplement amino acids: www.biochemj.org/bj/322/bj3220213.htm.

 

[dz6t]

I saw no benefit so I stop dosing.

 

[scavdog]

Many Europeans, Italians (papone method) & Germans especially (zeovit method) , supplement with aminos. I'm not sure about the Germans, but the Italians dose aminos an hour or two prior to feeding the corals. The documented results are pretty amazing.

 

[S Hunter]

I use aminos... only been a few weeks now, nothing as of yet to report...

 

[maurod]

This pappone method? (This Italian wants to know!)
http://www.reefchat.org/tabid/95/ctl/ArticleView/mid/479/articleId/27/The-Pappone-Method.aspx

 

[jacqur]

I used to dose Salifert AA for about a year. Stopped about 6 months ago. Have not noticed any significant differences due to this alone.

I also use basically a Pappone method feeding regiment. Have been for about 6 months. I either feed PE mysis or the DIY Pappone blend, usually alternating day by day. I blend all the mollusks, shrimp, and seaweed and a few tsbp sugar, I also add a few tbsp SELCON and about 5% cyclopeeze to the mix.

One interesting thing to note - When I travel, I have someone feed my tank. As is usually the case they significantly over feed, regardless of my careful guidance. The reason sited is always - "The fish looked hungry". That aside, when I return, I have increased skimmate in my bucket but also noticeably increased coral coloration. This is not an optical illusion as I have noticed this on several occasions as I travel fairly regularly.

As a result I have slightly increased my feeding amount of Pappone but am concerned about water quality, specifically over long term use. I also run a bit of Rowaphos to combat the increased phos introduction.

Sorry to side track the thread, but those are my observations.

 

[scollier]

Have you ever had low PH from dosing Amino Acids? I started using it for 2 weeks and noticed a low PH and some cyno forming. I have since stopped and things are back to normal.

 

[besl]

My current tank (now running for 2.5 years) was not showing very good polyp extension or coloration at the 1.5 year mark. I read the BRS TOTM for Becs tank (a definite benchmark tank at the time) and saw she was dosing AA and Lugols, neither of which I was previously using. I saw no appreciable difference for around 6 months and then I observed polyp extension and better coloration. Somewhere along the way I also switched from IO salt to RC. The question remains on the PE and coloration - was it the AA and/or Lugols (and which)?... was it RC salt? ... was it maturation of the tank water params? was it better stabilization of Mg/Alk/Ca? Unfortunately, I cannot definitively say what contributing factor this has on polyp extension and coloration, but having observed improvement in both areas and I fear stopping these may regress improvements realized thus far. Based on reading that AA helps build up stronger and healthier skeleton structure, I continue to dose Salifert AA and Lugols.