Applications · Knowledge hub
Explore the world of microalgae
Practical, honest guides to cultivating microalgae, feeding aquaculture, and understanding the species that power hatcheries and hobby cultures alike.
Aquaculture managers
Optimize live-feed protocols, compare species for your hatchery, and reduce culture crashes with practical, science-grounded guidance.
Hobbyists & home cultivators
Start and scale phytoplankton cultures at home — from copepod feed to planted-tank supplements — without the guesswork.
Researchers & educators
Species profiles, cultivation fundamentals, and honest references — a starting point for teaching and applied algal science.
Bringing it together: the Algaephyte platform
The guides above describe what healthy microalgae need — and how species like Isochrysis, Pavlova and Chaetoceros shift with each hatchery stage. Algaephyte is the cultivation system that puts that into practice: sensors, a physics digital twin, edge-vision contamination detection, and fail-closed dosing. From a bivalve hatchery working stage-specific rations to a hobbyist growing copepod feed, the platform keeps your cultures consistent with less daily guesswork.
Algaephyte began as a Spirulina reactor. The questions it kept asking — how does this culture actually behave, what does the model predict, is it safe to act — turned out to be questions about microalgae and phytoplankton generally. This library collects what we have learned and researched: how microalgae are cultivated, how they feed aquaculture from copepods to fish larvae, what each major species is good at, and where the biotechnology goes.
Everything here is written to be useful before it is promotional. Where parameters vary by species or strain, we say so. Where the evidence is thin, we say that too.
Start here
New to microalgae? These three articles cover the basics of feeding copepods, growing your first culture, and understanding stage-specific rations.
How to Feed Copepods With Phytoplankton
Why cultured microalgae make the best copepod feed, which factors actually matter — cell size, density, nutrition — and why different copepod species respond differently.
How to Grow a Microalgae Culture
Microalgae cultivation explained for beginners: vessels, light, nutrients, temperature, mixing and monitoring — and why parameters vary by species and strain.
Stage-Specific Algae Rations for Bivalve Larvae
Typical published feed rations for oyster, mussel and clam larvae by stage — Isochrysis, Pavlova and Chaetoceros ratios — and where the Algaephyte platform applies.
Aquaculture and live feeds
How microalgae feed copepods, fish larvae, and shellfish — the practical heart of marine hatchery work.
Stage-Specific Algae Rations for Bivalve Larvae
Typical published feed rations for oyster, mussel and clam larvae by stage — Isochrysis, Pavlova and Chaetoceros ratios — and where the Algaephyte platform applies.
How to Feed Copepods With Phytoplankton
Why cultured microalgae make the best copepod feed, which factors actually matter — cell size, density, nutrition — and why different copepod species respond differently.
How Microalgae Are Used to Feed Marine Fish Larvae
The phytoplankton–zooplankton–fish-larva chain: how live feeds transfer microalgal nutrition to marine fish, and why algae remain important even after first feeding.
Best Microalgae for Copepod Culture
Comparing Isochrysis, Pavlova, Nannochloropsis, Tetraselmis and more — cell size, nutrition, ease of culture, and what the comparison actually tells you.
Why Isochrysis Matters in Aquaculture
The role of Isochrysis (and Tisochrysis) as a marine microalgal feed — its lipid and PUFA profile, how it is used, and what the evidence supports.
Pavlova vs Isochrysis for Aquaculture
Similarities and differences in nutritional composition, culture characteristics, and practical applications — without declaring a universal winner.
How Phytoplankton Supports Aquaculture Food Webs
The progression from microalgae through copepods and rotifers to fish or shellfish larvae — and why the base of the chain matters for hatchery outcomes.
Cultivation
Starting, scaling, and protecting microalgae cultures — the skills every cultivator needs.
How to Start a Phytoplankton Culture
From sterile technique to first green water: the general process of starting a phytoplankton culture, without pretending every species has identical requirements.
How to Prevent Contamination in Microalgae Cultures
Contamination sources, clean technique, observation and culture management — practical steps to keep your cultures healthy.
How to Scale a Microalgae Culture
The progression from starter culture to larger volumes — inoculum ratios, timing, and why healthy small cultures matter more than big equipment.
Species guides
Detailed profiles of the microalgae that matter most in aquaculture, research, and biotechnology.
Arthrospira (Spirulina)
The helical cyanobacterium known as Spirulina: appearance, culture traits, nutritional profile and major applications.
Chlorella
The hardy green sphere: appearance, culture traits, nutritional profile, and its role in aquaculture and nutraceuticals.
Pavlova
The golden flagellate of marine hatcheries: appearance, culture traits, DHA-rich lipids and practical applications.
Isochrysis / Tisochrysis
Marine golden-brown flagellates: appearance, culture traits, PUFA profile and aquaculture relevance.
Nannochloropsis
The tiny green workhorse: appearance, EPA-rich lipids, robustness and why both hatcheries and biotech firms value it.
Tetraselmis
The larger motile green flagellate with starch and lipid reserves: appearance, culture traits, aquaculture uses and reported antibacterial activity.
Dunaliella
The hypersaline green flagellate behind natural beta-carotene: appearance, culture traits, osmotic tricks and commercial uses.
Haematococcus
The green alga that turns red: appearance, two-stage culture, astaxanthin accumulation, and its role in aquaculture pigmentation.
Phaeodactylum
The model marine diatom: fusiform shapes, EPA-rich lipids, fucoxanthin, and why researchers and feed rooms both keep it.
Chaetoceros
The chain-forming diatom of bivalve and shrimp hatcheries: appearance, silicate needs, culture traits, and how it fits stage-specific rations.
Biotechnology
The compounds microalgae make and the industries built on them — pigments, lipids, proteins, nutraceuticals.
How Algaephyte supports all of this
Every article above describes what microalgae need — Algaephyte is the platform that delivers it automatically. Here is how the system maps to the cultivation principles in this library.
Sensors & monitoring
Continuous temperature, pH, optical density and dissolved oxygen tracking — the same parameters you monitor manually in How to Grow a Microalgae Culture, captured automatically and logged to the physics twin.
Digital twin prediction
A real-time physics model predicts where the culture is heading — growth trajectory, nutrient depletion, crash risk — so you act before a culture fails, not after.
Contamination vision
Edge-vision cameras flag invaders early — exactly the detection that How to Prevent Contamination describes as the hardest part of manual culture work. Catch it before it spreads.
Fail-closed dosing
Nutrients and pH control gated by deterministic safety rules — no runaway dosing, no open valves on sensor failure. The same safety logic that protects Arthrospira scales to any strain.
If you run a hatchery or culture room and want to talk about a pilot, use the pilot access form. The main page documents the system, and the field notes cover how we actually run cultures day to day.