victoly Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Anyone else have this kind of algae? It has gotten noticeable worse on my zoa frag, but it is contained to the plug. I'm assuming the panacea is to reduce nutrients and photoperiods? Any other silver bullets? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 It looks like cyno to me. Does it wipe off easily? Have you tried dipping it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 I'm assuming it's not cyano? Does it come off easily if you brush against it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 It looks like cyno to me. Does it wipe off easily? Have you tried dipping it? jinx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 Haven't tried wiping yet. I'll do that tonight. What kind of dips are recommended ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 It looks like cyno to me. Does it wipe off easily? Have you tried dipping it? jinx I said it first, I got the time stamp to prove it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Haven't tried wiping yet. I'll do that tonight. What kind of dips are recommended ? If it wipes off easily it's probably cyno. I don't usually worry about it and just syphon it off when I do water changes. If you want to dip it use what ever you use for your other corals. I've never bothered trying this as a dip but you might check online about using Boyd's chemiclean as a dip for cyno instead of treating the whole tank with it, just an idea not sure how effective it might be but Chemiclean targets cyno. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerrickH Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 It looks like cyno to me. Does it wipe off easily? Have you tried dipping it? jinx I said it first, I got the time stamp to prove it! Are you sure its not cyano? There thirds a charm! LOL!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 Is cyano typically fuzzy? I've always thought of it more as a slime than a fuzz. I'll report back tonight on its wipe-off-ability Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Cyno often looks like a slimy coating but my first thought seeing that picture was cynobacteria and if it wipes off that pretty much confirms it but there are some true algaes it could be also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaarrrggg Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 That looks more like a fuzzy red algae to me. I had something similar looking on the end of a cocoa worm I bought from Fishy Business. I didn't notice my stuff spreading and then the worm died (unrelated) so I just took the whole thing out before the algae had the potential to cause a problem. If it doesn't wipe off like cyano you could try adding something that might enjoy eating algae, like an emerald crab? Or frag the zoas and chuck the plug & algae away? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 It looks pretty and red to me. I like it more than the zoas, but that is just me, Red Ogo Man. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 If you are just dipping zoas you can use a water/peroxide mix, I would think that will kill it. You can put the frag in a cup of tank water just covering the frag by 1/2" or so. Add regular peroxide one cap full at a time until the zoas just start to bubble/fizz. Leave them in there for 10 minutes or so then rinse under tap water for a few seconds. Sounds rough but I have done this many many times to get rid of brown slime on zoas. If you brush it off it might just spread to somewhere else in the tank, I would take it out and dip it. Red algae isn't that bad but cyano sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 If it wipes off easily it's probably cyno. I don't usually worry about it and just syphon it off when I do water changes. If you want to dip it use what ever you use for your other corals. I've never bothered trying this as a dip but you might check online about using Boyd's chemiclean as a dip for cyno instead of treating the whole tank with it, just an idea not sure how effective it might be but Chemiclean targets cyno. Would you trust chemiclean in a reef tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 Ok so i did some rubbing, its definitely not slime/cyano. It's fuzzy and resists a good brush with a finger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 http://www.reefcleaners.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=54&Itemid=81 This link at reefcleaners has a lot of micro algae. See what you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+o0zarkawater Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Looks similar to maybe cotton candy algae, but darker red rather than pink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Looks similar to maybe cotton candy algae, but darker red rather than pink. That is what I thought also. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 If it wipes off easily it's probably cyno . . . but Chemiclean targets cyno. Would you trust chemiclean in a reef tank? Yes but with strong qualifications. First I would do a large water change before using it and remove as much cyna as possible. The day after using it I would again do a large water change then run carbon. I would not use it again for a long, long time. About 5 years ago I had a system with 'shrooms and zoas and a couple of leathers that had been running for 14 years that developed a repeat cyno issue, I would do something and it would stop or receed then start going again. I used chemiclean 3 times over a 7 - 8 month period, third time it didn't even phase the cyno so I appeared to have developed a resistant strain. At that point I nuked the tank out of fear it might get passed on. I kept the fish but gave them a freshwater bath before moving them to a quarintine tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Ok so i did some rubbing, its definitely not slime/cyano. It's fuzzy and resists a good brush with a finger. Don't bother with the chemiclean then, try the hyrogen peroxide dip Hydro reccommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Who said that pretty red thing was bad and had to be gotton rid off. It looks like red cotton candy to me. I like it. Patrick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinB Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I think I have that same exact stuff in my tank in a few places. A while back it was all over a very large rock. I put a turbo snail on it and he spent three days munching on it. He cleared the rock of it, and a month later it kind of coming back a little Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoly Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 Diagnosis confirmed, it's cotton candy algae. I think I'm just going to refrag my zoas, and bleach dip the other small corner of rock that currently has it. The affected areas are, in my opinion, too small to be readily cleaned up. I think I'm just gonna have to do it the old fashioned way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 For the rock maybe you can clip off that part with a pair of coral cutters, if you have some. It makes me cringe thinking of using bleach on anything I'm putting back in my tank. I would use peroxide or freshwater on the rock instead of bleach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I stumbled across this a few years ago and it works really well and does not leave anything behind that can be potentially dangerous like the bromides bleach produces. At beauty supply stores you can get 12% hydrogen peroxide sold as Clairoxide 40. You definitely need to wear gloves as it is strong enough to burn skin but it will kill anything organic on rock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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