320g build/journey/experiment DIY :-)

Greenmaster · #1 06-20-2011, 06:12 AM

Adding to the saga of trials and "FUN"
Well something has happened that I wasn't expecting... I'm having massive Cyano die off and some type of green algae (that I have wanted to grow) has started growing. But today it was huge the amount of Cyano that was lifting off the rocks or just decomposing where it was. There is still lots there but I would say close to 20% is dead or dieing within just a couple days... I was not expecting this and I don't finish work till later tomorrow so I hope that there are no deaths while it goes through this transition. All of the die off of Cyano is creating an ammonia spike and it's at .5, Nitrites are at .3, and nitrates are at almost 0. I was not expecting the die off to happen so quickly so I don't have any bottled bacteria on hand to help to jump start the populations in the tank... I'll keep you updated over the next 2 days (I have Tuesday off so I'll post Tuesday night if not sooner)

Greenmaster · #2 06-26-2011, 07:40 AM

So after 10 days there is no sign of Ich... I believe that a combination of three things saved my fish and put the Ich into remission.

1. Lots of Skunk cleaners... I have six or seven Skunk cleaners in my tank and they service most of my fish well, some of them are very bold, jumping onto a fish in open water and cleaning a fair distance from their post. (I also have two Fire cleaners but they don't like to clean.)
2. I added Brine shrimp cysts to my tank... lots every day, I would say that there wasn't one cubic inch in the tank that didn't have hatched brine shrimp filtering the water. Also I don't have a skimmer, UV, or anything else that can kill/remove stuff from the water, so they stay in the water column. Brine shrimp may or may not filter the Ich out of the water, but I felt it may help so I tried.
3. I fed garlic in my food. Not a huge contributor but I feel like it could have made a difference.

eli@fijireefrock.com · #3 06-26-2011, 07:45 AM

glad to hear your fish are doing well.

plutoniumJoe · #4 06-26-2011, 03:03 PM

I wish you continued good luck with the Ich outbreak. I was wondering what the justification was for the brine shrimp, do you see it as a food source to keep the fish healthy enough to fight of the Ich or does it in some way attract or break the Ich cycle?

Greenmaster · #5 06-27-2011, 01:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plutoniumJoe

I wish you continued good luck with the Ich outbreak. I was wondering what the justification was for the brine shrimp, do you see it as a food source to keep the fish healthy enough to fight of the Ich or does it in some way attract or break the Ich cycle?

I'm not sure if the brine shrimp would eat them or not, but brine shrimp are filter feeders and they filter out usually phytoplankton. Phytoplankton ranges in size from 50µm to several feet in size. Ich in the Theront stage are between 40-69µm. I'm hoping that the brine shrimp will filter out and eat the Theronts thus braking the Ich cycle. If this works or not or even had any effect is unknown... the only way to do it would be to experiment with them and do several studies. But I know that if I ever get Ich again, I will be "saturating" the water with brine shrimp.