Treeman
New member
Here is that link.
http://www.saltcorner.com/sections/guest/algaepage/algaepage.htm
http://www.saltcorner.com/sections/guest/algaepage/algaepage.htm
Dictyota and Emerald Crabs?
- Thread starter TA
- Start date
mike89t
Premium Member
I'm currently battling the same stuff.
Here is the thread I put together on it:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=803711
currently I've added a rabbit fish to combat this pest algae. I have seen him take bites of it and it appears that the giant clump of dictyota is getting smaller.
Here is the thread I put together on it:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=803711
currently I've added a rabbit fish to combat this pest algae. I have seen him take bites of it and it appears that the giant clump of dictyota is getting smaller.
InvertLover
New member
Update! It's starting to go away! why? I'm not sure, but it might have something to do with the cheato I allowed to take over 1/3 of the top of the main tank, right under the MH. 
I also got a Sally Lightfoot crab, which may be picking at the small sprouts of this. The rock that had the worst problem is completly clear of it now! ( also the same rock the sally has claimed as home) The other patches of it in the tank are shrinking or showing no growth as well! I think I may set up a new "display refugium" and take most of the cheato out. Maybe they both need a particuler trace element to grow. I know cheato requires small amounts of iron, but anyone know of others? Or possibly something else that is in "clean" saltwater, that we don't test for?
note:
I have always had a small refuigum that I grow cheato in, just not the huge amount that is in the main tank now.
Also, out of curiosity, I have not been doing water changes for these past two weeks, just to see what happened. I will be resuming weekly 10-20% water changes this weekend.
I'll keep updating, perhaps I could pull the cheato out before I set up the new refugium, and see what happens. Feel free to bug me with questions!
edit:
Realised I mentioned the iron or trace minerals already, please forgive my tendency to repeat myself over and over again, and be redundent. :lol:
I also got a Sally Lightfoot crab, which may be picking at the small sprouts of this. The rock that had the worst problem is completly clear of it now! ( also the same rock the sally has claimed as home) The other patches of it in the tank are shrinking or showing no growth as well! I think I may set up a new "display refugium" and take most of the cheato out. Maybe they both need a particuler trace element to grow. I know cheato requires small amounts of iron, but anyone know of others? Or possibly something else that is in "clean" saltwater, that we don't test for? note:
I have always had a small refuigum that I grow cheato in, just not the huge amount that is in the main tank now.
Also, out of curiosity, I have not been doing water changes for these past two weeks, just to see what happened. I will be resuming weekly 10-20% water changes this weekend.
I'll keep updating, perhaps I could pull the cheato out before I set up the new refugium, and see what happens. Feel free to bug me with questions!
edit:
Realised I mentioned the iron or trace minerals already, please forgive my tendency to repeat myself over and over again, and be redundent. :lol:
InvertLover
New member
New update: I have seen the crab eating the algea! he climbed all the way up the glass, to get at some of it that was growing on the powerhead intake screen. After a quick google search, I found there are a few crabs called "Sally Lightfoot", one of which looks like something I would never put in my tank. Another name is the nimble spray crab, percnon gibbesi or percnon planissimum, which also looks right. I'll have to take a closer look, but I'm in a wedding this weekend and may not be able to for a few days.
Didn't have Dictyota then....hmmmmmm. She picked at the rock non-stop, 24/7 (at least she appeared to!).
Hello,
For all you people trying to scrub Dictyota off your rocks........it will not work!!! This algae has two forms, one made up of fine filaments that invade the small holes and crevices and the leaf-like vegetative form. The leaf-like form's function is to accumulate nutrient and produce very small reproductive cells that fragment and develop into new colonies. Picking it off the rocks speeds up the colonization of new rocks.
There is a way (other than clorax or cooking) to permently remove it from your rock, but you have to be at the desperate stage in your algae fight. I was there and them some, it is now gone from 50% to 60% of my rocks, dying on the other rocks, and the reef did not recycle.
Honeybee
For all you people trying to scrub Dictyota off your rocks........it will not work!!! This algae has two forms, one made up of fine filaments that invade the small holes and crevices and the leaf-like vegetative form. The leaf-like form's function is to accumulate nutrient and produce very small reproductive cells that fragment and develop into new colonies. Picking it off the rocks speeds up the colonization of new rocks.
There is a way (other than clorax or cooking) to permently remove it from your rock, but you have to be at the desperate stage in your algae fight. I was there and them some, it is now gone from 50% to 60% of my rocks, dying on the other rocks, and the reef did not recycle.
Honeybee
Hello TA,
How to really remove Dictyota from your rocks:
The problem is that scrubbing it off with a brush only removes it from the upper surface. You need to scour the entire surface down into every crack and crevice. This is going to take off everything but the coralline algae, including the nutrient leaden detritus. The next problem is to prevent the algae from again colonizing the rock. Since the procedure requires removing the rock from the reef (this in itself is going to fragment the algae) I used a Magnum 350 canister with a water polishing filter to vacuum the entire bottom.
This algae need lots of light. I have 10 watts / gallon of VHO on12 hours. I reduced it to 4 hours, the corals are out and the algae is not growing. The algae appears to be degrading and fragmenting so as a preventative I use a tooth brush and the Magnum canister every few days to vacuum the bottom and rock that I did not scour.
The procedure requires that you remove up to 60% of your surface rock that has active growing Dictyota (more might cause your reef to recycle). Your are going to use a 1600 to1800 psi power washer with a needle jet to quickly scour the entire surface of each rock and then place it in a bucket of salt water with the same parameters as your reef. It would be best if you have a chlorine free water source. Have a friend using large tongs cover any valuable critters with a plastic cup as the high pressure water will remove or kill most reef organisms. No fingers on the rock, a high pressure washer can take skin off the bones. 120 psi air jet can remove most of the vegetative form of the algae near soft corals, SPC or zoanthids without killing them. Do not use air near LPC.
During my morning vacuum I found something disturbing, while the vegetative form is degrading the filaments on rock not power washed are very healthy and difficult to remove. Question is, is the algae really dying or is this a reproductive strategy for stressful environmental conditions. Since this Dictyota is believed to do well in actinic light I am going to change bulbs and remove 50% of the actinic.
Honeybee
How to really remove Dictyota from your rocks:
The problem is that scrubbing it off with a brush only removes it from the upper surface. You need to scour the entire surface down into every crack and crevice. This is going to take off everything but the coralline algae, including the nutrient leaden detritus. The next problem is to prevent the algae from again colonizing the rock. Since the procedure requires removing the rock from the reef (this in itself is going to fragment the algae) I used a Magnum 350 canister with a water polishing filter to vacuum the entire bottom.
This algae need lots of light. I have 10 watts / gallon of VHO on12 hours. I reduced it to 4 hours, the corals are out and the algae is not growing. The algae appears to be degrading and fragmenting so as a preventative I use a tooth brush and the Magnum canister every few days to vacuum the bottom and rock that I did not scour.
The procedure requires that you remove up to 60% of your surface rock that has active growing Dictyota (more might cause your reef to recycle). Your are going to use a 1600 to1800 psi power washer with a needle jet to quickly scour the entire surface of each rock and then place it in a bucket of salt water with the same parameters as your reef. It would be best if you have a chlorine free water source. Have a friend using large tongs cover any valuable critters with a plastic cup as the high pressure water will remove or kill most reef organisms. No fingers on the rock, a high pressure washer can take skin off the bones. 120 psi air jet can remove most of the vegetative form of the algae near soft corals, SPC or zoanthids without killing them. Do not use air near LPC.
During my morning vacuum I found something disturbing, while the vegetative form is degrading the filaments on rock not power washed are very healthy and difficult to remove. Question is, is the algae really dying or is this a reproductive strategy for stressful environmental conditions. Since this Dictyota is believed to do well in actinic light I am going to change bulbs and remove 50% of the actinic.
Honeybee
mntl
New member
Throwing some ideas out for you.
Of all of the algeas I have introduced into my sps tank, this one has been the slowest to die. If nutrients are low enough it will not grow, but if you keep anything other than sps, forthe most part, being in this condition things will starve. So if you keep a more "mixed" reef, starving it out is not much of an option because you will need to out starve most of your corals in the process.
One easy, sure-fire thing I have used in the past on rocks that I cannot cook (cure in the dark for extended periods) usually because there is an acro attached, is I boil some ro-water, take the rock out of the tank and with a turkey baister I baist only the algea with the boiling water. This takes minutes, will not kill the whole rock (only what you blast with the turkey baster) and when it is done just put the rock back in the tank and let the animals eat the dead algea. If it clears and later a small amount starts coming back, one more treatment will usually do it. Just make sure you dont let the steam from the water hit any corals and they will be fine.
P.S. Emerals work, but without a near sterile condition (which is not good for 99% of your inhabitants) all you are doing is halping it spread.
Hope that helps a bit, and good-luck.
-John-
Of all of the algeas I have introduced into my sps tank, this one has been the slowest to die. If nutrients are low enough it will not grow, but if you keep anything other than sps, forthe most part, being in this condition things will starve. So if you keep a more "mixed" reef, starving it out is not much of an option because you will need to out starve most of your corals in the process.
One easy, sure-fire thing I have used in the past on rocks that I cannot cook (cure in the dark for extended periods) usually because there is an acro attached, is I boil some ro-water, take the rock out of the tank and with a turkey baister I baist only the algea with the boiling water. This takes minutes, will not kill the whole rock (only what you blast with the turkey baster) and when it is done just put the rock back in the tank and let the animals eat the dead algea. If it clears and later a small amount starts coming back, one more treatment will usually do it. Just make sure you dont let the steam from the water hit any corals and they will be fine.
P.S. Emerals work, but without a near sterile condition (which is not good for 99% of your inhabitants) all you are doing is halping it spread.
Hope that helps a bit, and good-luck.
-John-
Thanks mntl,
I think I will stick with power washing. I have found that coralline and calcareous tube worms survive the power wash, however I do not think they would like boiling water. Nutrients are not the way for me to go. Since I have had trouble growing Dictyota in my power compact reef, playing with the light mix might work.
Honeybee
I think I will stick with power washing. I have found that coralline and calcareous tube worms survive the power wash, however I do not think they would like boiling water. Nutrients are not the way for me to go. Since I have had trouble growing Dictyota in my power compact reef, playing with the light mix might work.
Honeybee
BlueStag, "Too bad a Naso Tang is not an option for you. My Naso has done a great job at cleaning up any clumps of this type of algae. Highly recomend a Naso for any tank large enough to house it."
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So a Naso will eat Dictyota and keep it under control? Does it make a difference if it is a Naso or a Blonde Naso - are they both effective at this? I was looking to get a Blonde (aren't we all - lol), however, if only the regular Naso's are effective at geting rid of Dictyota, then I will switch strategies and not get the Blonde. Please comment back on this - thanks!
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So a Naso will eat Dictyota and keep it under control? Does it make a difference if it is a Naso or a Blonde Naso - are they both effective at this? I was looking to get a Blonde (aren't we all - lol), however, if only the regular Naso's are effective at geting rid of Dictyota, then I will switch strategies and not get the Blonde. Please comment back on this - thanks!
