A big spot on my puffer (and it's not a spotted puffer!)

[jassz]

Hi,
I came home today to find this white spot on Olivander's nose (he's my Valentini puffer). It doesn't look like ick. It is a little bit raised right in the center. I wonder if he injured it, or maybe got poked by the lion fish? Or the anemone? He seems fine, not overly scared (of the lion fish or anything else and he has an appetite.

I have a 135g SW tank with a 40 gallon sump, protein skimmer etc. It is a FOWLR tank with a lion fish, a wolf eel, a picasso trigger and little Olivander. The pH is 8.2, SG 1.023, temp 82.2 and neg for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

[blueyota]

Hey there this is just my opinion but it looks like an anemone sting to me ..my red lip blennie used to get stung all the time till i moved the anemone to another tank .. I think my blennie did it for fun as he would hang out just out of reach of the anemone

[jassz]

Thanks for the opinion. How long did it take for the spot to heal?

I'm feeling kind of bad now, because I have this type of anemone that I guess it like a weed, but I kind of liked it (hey dandelions are pretty too when they're not on your lawn ) so I left them be. Some of them have gotten quite huge.

Which leads me to another question... I'm still not clear on 'what' type of growth is considered good and what isnt. You see the red growth on the gravel in the picture? Is that considered 'live' now? Is it the type of growth you want? Again, I think it's rather pretty, but then I read about 'the terrible red algae' and I wonder if that's what I've got. Same with the algae.... I have all this long algae growing on the back wall, kind of like the coat on a golden retriever (or maybe not golden) and it sways so gracefully in the current. But is it a bad thing???

Sorry if these are stupid questions!

[hillegom]

As far as the algae on the back wall goes, I would try to suck it up when you do water changes. That algae is taking out nitrates and phosphates from the water when it grows, so when you get rid of it, its nutrient export. A good thing. You are lucky that it does not grow on the LR.

[blueyota]

the sting would take 2-3 days to heal up

[jassz]

I don't get it... if the algae takes nitrate and phosphate out of the water, shouldn't I leave it? That's a good thing, isn't it?

Just this week I have started to see a bit on the rocks too. I've had some issues with 'bald rocks' on one side of the tank, so I thought it might be a good thing, but I don't actually like the look of it there. And it's spreading so fast. I had some trouble with ick some time back (and no luck quarantining) so I treated the whole tank. I was told nothing would grow again, but it's not entirely true. I do get growth on one side of the tank, like the red stuff you can see in the first picture as well as some green. It seems to grow and die a lot, but there's always some there. But the other side of the tank... not so much. Do you think it would help to change the rocks?

What about the anemone? It's not that clear, but here is a picture of one of hte big ones. Is it a bad thing?? For the fish I mean?

[hillegom]

Originally Posted by jassz

I don't get it... if the algae takes nitrate and phosphate out of the water, shouldn't I leave it? That's a good thing, isn't it?

Yes it is a good thing. But if the algae dies, it will just release all the nutrients it absorbed . Best to take it out and let new algae grow.
A lot of people put chaeto in their sump, and harvest that, for the same reason.

The anemone looks suspiciously like a majano pest anemone. But not 100% sure

[jassz]

So why is it a concern that this type of algae die and release PO4 and Nitrate, but not other types of algae? What makes some good to have and not others? And why would I have to put chaeto in the sump? Why couldn't it go in the tank (I don't have a light in my sump, and hte skimmer and sump take up 2 sections and the third is where the water drains back down so it's like constantly running water).

Thanks for all this information, BTW. I really want to understand what I'm doing.

[hillegom]

Anything that dies in you tank will release potassium and nitrate and other chemicals as well, ammonia only being one. When you add food, your fish digest it and release wastes.
Ever wonder why your grass gets greener after your neighbours dog, uses your lawn as toilet?
In your aquarium, you want to get rid of these wastes. Water changes help. As well, nutrient export helps a lot too. One way is to put a light above your sump and grow cheato. Put the light on a reverse cycle of your display tank and that will also help stop fluctuating PH Between night and day.
You can put the cheato in the DT as well, but to me that is unsightly, so it goes into the sump.
Seeing as you have algae on your back wall, it is a simple thing, when you do water changes, to syphon the algea off the back wall. It will grow back, but you will be doing an export of nutrients.
JMO

[jassz]

Originally Posted by hillegom

The anemone looks suspiciously like a majano pest anemone. But not 100% sure

Besides being a pest, is this anemone harmful? I am getting quite a 'crop' of this stuff growing. Some are kind of pretty (pinks, white and a few slightly blue), but after Olivander got stung I worry about it bothering the fish. The eel rubs right against them without any problems, but I'm not sure about the others. I don't want my trigger fish to have no where to park himself at night (not sure if the anemone bother him, but he seems to take more care in tucking in for beddy bye when I turn the light out).

BTW, the spot disappeared off the puffer in a few days.