Hairy Cyano like algae toxic?
 

So I'm doing maintenance. I hsve what my research says is a type of Cyano. Thought it was hair algae, but it's bubbly and removes easily from the rocks.

Five minutes after cleaning most out, my tang starts going white and my orange back wrasse keels over. Moved her to a QT but she died. :(

Not having good luck.

So is this shït toxic? How the **** do I remove it? Will red slime remover work on all cyanos?

I did a 15g water change and all in the tank looks fine today. But the Cyano.

Help!

Found this on RC

Could you post a pic? What color is it? Cyano are toxic, so are dinoflagellates.

It's dark greeny-brown. Looks like hair algae with bubbles in it. Easily removed by rubbing with a brush. Almost peels off.

I'll post a pic when I get a chance.

And it smells bad.

You should always syphon cyano out, not blow it everywhere in the aquarium. It's a perfect timing to do this while doing a water change.

That is sounding a lot like dinoflagellates. That would not be fun.

Here is a good article: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/blog...sons-i-learned

And a couple pics of dinos:
http://www.livingreefs.com/attachmen...6-10212852.jpg

http://www.rimlessreef.com/uploads/1...682/972289.jpg

Best pic I can get with my phone.

http://i653.photobucket.com/albums/u...687B5D24AA.jpg

Bummer. Yes those are dinoflagellates, and a bad case too. You will need to be diligent to get rid of them. Follow the advice of the above link I gave you. That's the best method I know. Transfer all your snails, conchs, and other gastropods to another tank. The dinos will kill them and add more fuel to the fire.

So then did aggressively scrubbing them last night release toxin and kill my wrasse? It happened within minutes of scrubbing.

That's unusual, but not impossible. There seems to be different species of dinos that vary in toxicity, although I'm not sure if there actually is. Some people complain about extreme toxicity (like you're experiencing) while others have very mild toxicity. Maybe it is from inaccurate ID...who knows?

Anyway, that article I linked you to has a good step by step procedure for you although I think it doesn't put enough stress on the elevated pH. Elevating the pH has a significant effect, and is not to be overlooked. Kalkwasser is the easiest way to do this because it provides a steadier elevated pH than other methods. You will need to replace most or all of your calcium and alkalinity dosing with kalkwasser to achieve this. Make sure you have a calibrated digital pH meter to check pH rather than a drop test kit which is not accurate enough. Check pH in the morning just before lights on and in the evening just before lights out. Once you have achieved a steady elevated pH then move onto the next steps of siphoning, waterchanges, carbon, black out, more waterchanges. Keep the pH elevated for at least a week after.

Here is an article by Randy Holmes-Farley that is outdated, and I think not as good as the first article I linked. However, it does give good advice for using kalkwasser to raise pH as well as calculations for you to do so at the end of the article, so check that out too. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-11/rhf/index.php

Good luck! This "algae" is no fun...

FML.

From crash to burn.

At least I only have two corals.... a sinularia and rbta,

If I had corals the game would be that much tougher.

Oh that will make your life much easier. Do you have a QT you can move the RBTA and the one coral to? You don't want to move them into another system as they may transfer the dinos. If you can move them all out you can leave the lights off on the tank for 2 weeks for the entire treatment. Make sure you cover the tank with a blanket or something so that it is PITCH BLACK in there. Could you also move the fish? If you move the fish then you don't have to worry about spiking pH by accident or low oxygen levels.

Moving the fish would be tough.

The only tanks I have running are my breeder tanks. Might not be good move.

Aeration I think can be accomPlished maybe by fuge light? Skimmer? Power heads?

When you're trying to keep the pH unusually high you will lower it by aerating too much - just the opposite of how you can raise pH by aerating saltwater with low pH. :p Messing with pH sucks, and this is one of the few times I suggest a person does mess with it. Having the fish out of the tank just means less risk to them, but don't for any reason ever move outside fish into your broodstock systems. This treatment can be done with the fish in the tank, just be diligent with your pH testing and watch the fish for signs of oxygen deprivation - especially during the black out period.

Here is a question....

What if I slowly clean a couple rocks OUTSIDE the tank first. Say 2-3 pieces a day. Scrub clean in salt water bucket. Or fresh? Then replace. Maybe to reduce the dinos?


Would that be safe or would the toxins still somehow release in the tank when placed back?

Just exploring some options while I get prepared. Might set up a quick tank I have empty. 38g. Use some water from my clow tanks and top up with new salt mix. Transfer fish (if possible) over. I have lots of rocks. Would be difficult at the least to get the fish without removal. Which could pose a new issue on top of the Dino's.

Input please. :)

How quickly is it growing back? It might grow back too quickly, but you could try.

Using a siphon to suck it out should work pretty well. If you use a small diameter hose (like airline or a sniff bigger) you will get out more of the dinos and less of the water so you should be able to suck it all out in one go. Turn all the pumps off while you're siphoning so you get minimal dinos into the water column.

If you could catch the fish you could put them in a Rubbermaid with airstone, heater, and some hiding places while you do the cleaning then run HEAVY carbon for a few hours, then put the fish back and do the black out.

I had Dino's for over a year and tried elevated ph and manual siphoning. The only thing that worked was removing the sand and removing each rock and scrubbing it in the sink.

Btw - my Dino's looked just like yours

The rocks are still cleanish where I cleaned on Friday.

Black out period makes a big dent, but also use with Fauna Marin Algae X and your problems should be gone, worked excellent for me.

Good lead. I did some reading on this. People seem very VERY happy with this product and Dino's.

I'm going to try this before playing the Ph game.

Canada Corals (one of the Canreef sponsors) carries it if you decide to buy it...I could not find it locally.

done.

Good luck! I hope it works without the elevated pH. That would be a nice option.

Very good reviews on RC.

If it fails. Then go the Ph route. I hate ph. Have never touched it before.

I'll update this thread as I use it. Many said great results from first dose.

Algae x is here. Will post pics as it goes.

Good luck! I really hope it works! If so, I will have to get a bottle to add to my fishy medicine cabinet!

It never came. Something else did. Geez.

Emailed Canada corals. They were out of town. Ships tomorrow. :cry:

Wish I knew that Sunday. I needed it last week!!

Sigh. Better work. Treatment not starting til Monday or Tuesday. No time for the water changes required.

I have started a new thread... I'll continue this there cause the title now reflects dinoflagellate.


http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/sho...664#post829664




Hope it works.