Not Enough Algae?

[pfritzbelly]

I bought an established 40-gallon tank and equipment from from a co-worker. With a new kid and a move looming on the horizon, he had not been as diligent about maintenance as the tank required and a nice growth of hair algae had formed. The two astrea snails were unable to keep up, nor was the blue-legged hermit. I bought about a dozen nerites to help the cleanup and started the process of removing the source nutrients. A good siphoning or two, a rock rearrangement, some current changes and the replacement of the filter media in a canister he was using for additional circulation later and the algae seems to be curtailed. I also modified the lighting schedules with several timers. Very little film even forms on the glass these days.

The nerites started to die off. They were fairly new to the tank, and the other denizens, including the zoos, mushroom anemones, BTA, percula clowns, blenny, brittle stars and star polyps are all flourishing. The water chemistry has been checked at least weekly and alk, pH, Ca, NOs, NHs, PO4 and salinity appear to be within safe tolerances. Now the astreas are going belly up. The hermit isn't looking so lively anymore, either. Could they be starving? Could the nerites have introduced something sinister?

 

[FutureInterest]

It sounds like they're simply just starving to death. You can wrap some nori around a rock with a rubberband and place that on your rocks or against the glass to feed the poor lil algae eaters. I sometimes spot feed my hermits and emeralds tiny pieces of nori and about once every week or so drop in a nori wrapped rock. I typically throw the rock in at night while my herbivore fishies are all asleep. If there's anything left in the morning they clean house.

 

[kappaknight]

Do you have any fish in the tank? The circle of life isn't complete w/o some fish waste.

 

[pfritzbelly]

There are two clowns, each about 3", and a scooter blenny that is about 2.5".

I'll try throwing in some nori and see if it helps while there are still a few snails left. It is sad, because the rest of the tank is thriving.

 

[cameron]

The guy before me threw in a dozen turbos to deal with a bad red hair algae growth. They mowed it down and started to die off. Not a big deal but they can spike ammonia if too many go to quickly. You can always throw a little seaweed attached to a rock occasionally to keep them going if you like.

 

[pfritzbelly]

I have been trying to stay on top of the decedents and keep them pulled from the tank as I find them. Hopefully that will alleviate most of that potential problem. Obviously if one falls through the rocks somewhere, it will be much more difficult to find.....

On the topic of red algaes, though.... there does appear to be a rather slow- growing, red algae on a couple of the rocks. It has never gotten hairy, and slowly forms thin, translucent sheets. Is this also an algae or could it be something else? I usually break it up and slurp it away when I siphon or do water changes. Just curious.

I can post a picture of the stuff (trying to overtake a gorgeous yellow sponge) if my description is lacking.

 

[FutureInterest]

It sounds like cyanobacteria. That's something we all battle to some degree. Manual extraction and the usual phosphate reduction techniques will help.

 

[glxtrix]

couple days of no lights always take care of cyano. But if you manually take it out, make sure you syphon it out right befor your lights go out, this is when that algea is at its peak time of being out and healthy.

 

[pfritzbelly]

I once had an outbreak of cyanobacteria in a 75-gallon planted tank. Most of the fish survived it, but the stuff spread and coated the plants at such an incredible rate that they never had a chance. The cyano finally gave out on its own after exhausting itself (and me). I am not sure what trace elements it ran out of, but it finally turned brown and died. It is incredibly adapted to survival.