cyanobacteria growing on my seahorses!

[ctenophors rule]

I was getting a new and already set up tank today, and as such i was going to be consolidating, and reanranging everything in all of my tanks. however before i could address the problem of cyano in my dwarf tank, the cyano has begun to grow on the tails and heads of my seahorses...

how do i remove it!?!?

thanks guys.

p.s. the water quality...phenomenal, nitrates = less than 5. 0 nitrite and 0 ammonia. phosphate 0 calcium 420. the only thing i can think off is the photo period of 17 hours, and the low flow. i will up the flow today though so...

I just need to know how to safely get cyano off of the seahorses without over stressing them...~!

 

[Octoshark]

Just curious but why do you have the lights on for 17 hours?

 

[ctenophors rule]

Just curious but why do you have the lights on for 17 hours?

promotes breeding in dwarf seahorses.

also offers a longer feeding period.

 

[Peka]

the algae won't hurt them, the normally scratch if off themselves. If it is bothering you that much, you can try lightly blowing it off wiht a turkey baster.....

 

[ctenophors rule]

the algae won't hurt them, the normally scratch if off themselves. If it is bothering you that much, you can try lightly blowing it off wiht a turkey baster.....

as long as it wont hurt them it is fine with me!

 

[Greg Hiller]

I used to let my young daughter give my seahorses 'baths' to clean them off. She would wash her hands carefully, then hold them gently in her hands and brush them off with a tiny paint brush. Never hurt them and my daughter sure enjoyed it. Oh, and they were always under water!!

 

[JMcAz7]

Are seahorses just susceptable to cyano, or is it just because they're so slow moving?

 

[namxas]

Are seahorses just susceptable to cyano, or is it just because they're so slow moving?

if your tank is cyano-free, your SH will be too.

cyano on SH is pretty common, mostly due to the "old school" low flow rates (which folks are moving away from), but also because SH are very hard on water quality. zots are even more sedentary than larger species, so if cyano is going to grow, the SH are a good place for it.

 

[ctenophors rule]

if your tank is cyano-free, your SH will be too.

cyano on SH is pretty common, mostly due to the "old school" low flow rates (which folks are moving away from), but also because SH are very hard on water quality. zots are even more sedentary than larger species, so if cyano is going to grow, the SH are a good place for it.

whats wierd is that my tank tests great, im always the unlucky one.

my reef tank tests great too, just had to scrub every rock of algae a few days ago 8(

 

[CCall]

I would also test your water for TDS. Just a little will cause problems.

 

[timinnl]

I have my H. zosterae in a 40liter tank with a flowrate of 160lph. They will swim up to the spraybar & surf in the wake. You can also look into this: http://www.oxydator.de/english/soechting_oxydators.html I have one in all of my tanks. A 12/14 hour photoperiod is more that enough for them.

 

[TamiW]

I have my H. zosterae in a 40liter tank with a flowrate of 160lph. They will swim up to the spraybar & surf in the wake. You can also look into this: http://www.oxydator.de/english/soechting_oxydators.html I have one in all of my tanks. A 12/14 hour photoperiod is more that enough for them.

How do you keep all the food from being filtered out? That's always been my biggest concern with non-air driven filters. I've been toying with using a hang-on-back filter on my dwarves but I keep coming back to that concern.

 

[timinnl]

How do you keep all the food from being filtered out? That's always been my biggest concern with non-air driven filters. I've been toying with using a hang-on-back filter on my dwarves but I keep coming back to that concern.

Greetings from Amsterdam Tami,

Sorry I thought I posted my set-up on here. Me BAD! I have a mini-powerhead hooked up to a spongefilter. For more info on it look here: http://forum.seahorse.org/index.php?showtopic=43014&st=20

On the HOB filters, a lot of people put a sponge on the intake. I try to feed them two - three times a day. The mysis cleans up the leftovers before the next meal. Plus I tend to go way overboard with the other food items.

Tim