SPIRULINA - A VALUABLE FOOD ADDITIVE (not only for fish), by Rudolf Sieber Reprinted from Diskus Brief, June 1991, Volume 6; Reprinted September 1991 "Out Discus" N.A.D.S. publication. Unlike its free living fellow species, the aquarium fish cannot defend itself against bad and a one-sided food. We aquarists, although giving some hard thought to our fish's feeding, neglect the whole range of available nourishment supplied by nature and we concentrate single-mindedly on a desired effect. For example, huge amounts of spinach are fed on account of its allegedly high content of iron in order to support the fish' red pigment. Along with it, alas, we also administer large quantities of heavy metals. We ought to look for better possibilities.
"Tecuitlat!" was the name given by the Aztecs to a blue-green cake which they believed had a mysterious and fortifying effect. With the obliteration of the Aztec empire, this peculiar cake faded from memory, a cake which had served the Aztecs for long periods as a source of sustenance without them showing signs of deficiency. The cake was made from the Spirulina microalgae. In 1964, the Belgian botanist Jean Leonard reported on just these green-blue cakes which he discovered at the native's market in Chad. They were made from the same microalgae as the Aztecs' cake. These Spirulina microalgae thrive in Mexico as they also do in East African lakes and in the subtropical regions of Asia in extremely salty water. Nowadays Spirulina for human nourishment is obtained by special cultivation and is spray-dried after harvesting. Some ten years ago I came across these microalgae for the first time in the course of my profession (unrelated to my aquarium hobby). I had at my disposal Spirulina specimens in both tablet and powder form. As any other "normal" person would do, I did the obvious and tossed a Spirulina tablet into the aquarium. The discus fish ignored this unusual food additive. Only a Panaque nigrolineatus positioned itself over the tablet and appeared to nibble at it. After a while, it stopped and did not make any further attempts. I also tried out the powder. Initially I put little drops of a watery solution onto the food tablets until they swelled up full of the green liquid. After drying them, I administered the tablets. Neither the colour nor the taste caused the fish irritation. On the contrary, I think I observed that young fish which had received these Spirulina tablets, simultaneously with the first Artemia-Nauplia, were growing better and more regularly (however, comparable research is missing). Spurned on by these observations, I mixed the Spirulina into beef-heart food. I measured about a heaped dessert-spoon of Spirulina to 1500g of beef-heart mixture. The fish enjoyed this food, possibly on account of the prominent algae taste.
Little by little, I occupied myself more intensely with Spirulina and found out that in Japan for some time already, a granulated food for aquarium carps had been enriched with these microalgae. It is not surprising that for the precious Koi carps it was exactly Spirulina that was found for food enrichment, being, as it is, Nature's own concentrate of proteins, vitamins and minerals, is much superior to artificially made-up compositions. Of late, a Japanese producer has been offering the German market his granulated food enriched with Spirulina. On the other hand, pure Spirulina has been available in Germany since 1980.
With all its merits Spirulina is ideally suitable as a food additive (not only for fish)
* Spirulina has a higher protein concentration than any other plants and contains all 8 essential amino acids.
* the vitamin content is substantially higher than that of fruit or vegetable.
* Spirulina contains so much iron that acute iron deficiency in humans can be countered by it.
* The beta-carotin content is up to 15 times higher than in carrots.
* Minerals and trace elements are bound organically and are more easily taken up by the organism and better exploited than mineral preparations.
Despite all these individual merits we should always view Spirulina in its entirety as a comprehensive food additive, even if the high beta-carotin content may induce one to deliberate colour-feeding (at present there is a high demand for red fish). Excessive carotin administration will not make the red of the fish any redder. The non-coloured areas around the throat may turn pale pink. The unbecoming salmon trout effect occurs. Comprehensively well-fed fish in the best of health present themselves in the most brilliant of colours. If the fish is red in its natural state, it will show this red. The Spirulina additive can help us in achieving comprehensive (in the broadest sense) nourishment for our fish. However, in this case we should take care to provide bulkage or roughage especially if beef-heart mixture is used as the carrier substance. Artemia, Cyclops, water fleas and krill have therefore to remain a part of the discus fish's diet. Finally, it should be mentioned that Spirulina has nothing to do with the spiral-shaped, coiled smear algae occurring in sea-water aquariums and which was described in another German aquarist publication often wrongly as Spirulina. Unlike the "disturbing" smear algae occurring in salt-water aquariums, Spirulina does not settle. Spirulina is a plankton algae, i.e. it floats freely and does not form a bond with stones or other substrata. Spirulina does not occur in ocean waters and only thrives in sodium lakes or in comparable growth media.
Composition of Spirulina microalgae:
* Protein - 60 to 70% (with all 8 essential amino acids and 10 others)
* Carbohydrates - 17%
* Fats - 7% with non-saturated fatty acids (necessary for the assimilation of vitamins)
