Dictyota control

drawman

drawman

New member
I have been battling dictyota algae for about 8 months now. It is quite annoying because it readily breaks off and clogs the intakes of my tunzes and power filter. I have not tried biological means of control except for my purple tang that occasionaly picks at it. My tank is too small for a Naso Tang also. I know foxface/rabbitfish have been known to eat it but I am not sure of what specific species would do the job. I have heard of urchins working also but am somewhat wary of them eating my coral. What have you had success with eating this algae and what other means did you use to control it in your reef tank?

Thanks,
Tim
 
I am also suffering from Dictyota. I have put dragons tongue and chaeto in the tanks to help steal nutrients from the Dictyota.

I have heard that a two-barred rabbitfish will eat it.
 
Anyone else have ideas that might help rid us of Dictyota algae?

I have a decent bit of chaeto but I think I might try and gather up some the size of a basketball and stick it in my tank (I have a good spot for it).

I don't know what else to do. My nitrates and nitrites measure zero so I am guessing phosphates are the cause. Will chaeto serve as a good phosphate export?
 
Phosphates probably help fuel it but mine are at 0ppm using the salifert test kit. Ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates are all zero. I just got done taking down and cleaning my refugium. I plan on setting it back up in a week or so and getting some chaeto going. Hopefully this will curb it a little. I talked with Julian Sprung at a speaker event our club had a while ago and he speculated that other things such as bromide (found in calcium supplements) can fuel growth also. It would be hard to speculate on the limiting nutrient but I think predation is key along with a fuge with macroalgae such as chaeto. I just need to find a good grazer! I will look into the two-barred rabbitfish.
 
I have a queen conch and I think it has been making a dent. I've had the conch longer than the algae though and the algae is definitely winning the battle. I don't really want to add more of them at the moment but may need to if nothing else works. I have a 75 gallon too if that helps.
 
Yeah I would be willing to add like 3-4 of them to by 55 gallon then sell them if they get rid of the algae.

My tank does fantastic it is just this algae that I can not shake off.
 
I just got a barred rabbitfish and a naso tang because I have a problem with red dictoyta and they both have been doing a great job with it. My tank is also too small for a naso long term so I got a small one with the intention of selling it after the algae is gone.
 
I was thinking of getting the barred rabbitfish but I would be really ****ed if it started to pick at my LPS. I have a platygyra sinesis and oulophyllia cripsa brain and a catalaphyllia jardinei. I would imagine the elegance would have too rough of a sting for it to attempt to pick at.
 
I have considered getting this fish but I can not find one locally.

Do sea hares or lettuce nudi's eat dictyota?
 
After some research I have found that sea hares will eat dictyota. I am going to pick one up ASAP.

Will six-line wrasses attack these creatures? Mine has been kind to everything in the tank so far....
 
Small update. I got a longspine urchin.

So far it has not moved.

I am hoping that it is chomping through a thick mat of Dictyota. I figured for $8 it was worth a try.

The guy at the LFS I could just bring it back if he does not eat it and maybe he will have a sea hare in by then.

Otherwise this weekend I am going up to Columbus and getting a sea hare from a store there while I am visiting my sister.

I will keep you updated on my results.
 
Awesome, good luck with the urchin! I have heard good things about longspine urchins (forget the genus) but have been hesitant because of the risk it may pose to some of my corals. I am thinking about adding a two-barred rabbitfish but I will wait until I can find a small one. When I get the cojones to add something I will post my results. Keep us updated Logzor!
 
So far the Urchin HAS NOT moved at all.

I assume it is alive. When I bump him with the mag-float his spines move all around.

I assume that he is either very lazy or slow or that he is eating through a thick bed of algae.

I recently read about an outbreak of Dictyota in Florida. The read for the out-break was nutrient run off from either farms or new development run-off.

The excess nutrients killed off the urchin population there, which keeps down the amount of Dictyota. So it seems that urchins can be an answer.

No true results from mine yet.

I have talked to several experienced store owners and their answer is not an urchin, sea hare, or a queen conch but a Sailfin Tang.

Perhaps I will trade in my Tomini for a Sailfin. I will have to get another small tang since my tank is only 55 gallon (long).

I hope this update helps.
 
I don't know about the sailfin but I guess it is worth a try. I have a Purple Tang and he doesn't touch the stuff too much. I have heard that Naso Tangs are really good for it but that doesn't really help you out with a 55 gallon.

I have been considering the two-barred rabbitfish. I have seen two different species with that name, however. They are Siganus virgatus and Siganus doliatus. Anybody know which one works better or if both will do the job? Also, I have a couple of LPS that I am concerned about. Have your two-barred rabbitfish picked on LPS?
 
I dont know much about the rabbitfish but I have heard that they can hurt other fish. I would do a big of digging online about this animal.

Someone has also mentioned turbo snails for Dictyota, have you tried these? They are cheap so I might give 'em a try.

Others have said to let it grow and it will eventually all die off. I am not sure about this but I have to pluck it so it dosent smother my corals.
 
I had a terrible outbreak of dictyota and the ONLY things that have worked are the Naso tang and the barred rabbitfish (Siganus doliatus). I tried an urchin and turbo snails - neither one touched it. I have seen both the Naso and rabbitfish eat it. I bought a small Naso and I plan to sell it as I have only a 54 gal tank. I was desparate to get rid of the dictyota and it's worked. The rabbitfish has been a model citizen - hasn't been aggressive at all. I would highly recommend either of these as I have actually seen them eat the dictyota - of course individuals are different, but it's worth a try.
 
I do not buy in to the "it will eventually die off" theory. It took over my entire tank - covered everything. I replaced all my live rock and even then it started to come back - it is a nasty, nasty algae!
 
Yeah it is terrible. I am going to stick a ton of chaeto in my tank to try and starve it off.

I do not believe in whole dying off theory either, it just keeps growing.

I dont know what else to do, i can not fit a naso tang and those rabbit fish are never around.

The tank quite attractive with it in there but it is just a pain because it can smother corals.
 
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