Fenbendazole on live plants

[Dracoo9]

So I got some live plants to put in my future dwarf seahorse tank. I also purchased some Fenbendazole from seahorse source to treat the plants of any hydroids that may be hiding on them. I'm not sure if I dose the recomended dosage on the site/what after effects there may be with the plants after I put them into my tank (lingering medication, ect)? Also I'm a little confused of all the possible ways hydroids can be introduced to a tank so any info on that would also be appreciated.

Thanks in advance! ;D

 

[altolamprologus]

Hydroids can get in the tank on anything. Rocks, sand, even equipment that has been used in other tanks. You must use dry rock, dry sand, and new equipment (or at least equipment that has been thoroughly washed in bleach or vinegar). I have used fenbendadole on several species of macro algae and none have suffered any ill-effects except blue ochtodes (which probably died from low temps if anything). I used the recommended dose in a separate container, changing out the water every day. I would not use it to treat the whole tank until hydroids get in because it leaches into everything it touches and kills inverts. Make sure you give the macros a thorough rinsing before adding them to the tank to avoid and contamination of the tank. A word of caution though, some sources say fen kills aiptasia. In my experience it does not. One aiptasia survived the 3 day fen bath and has since begun wreaking havoc on my dwarf seahorse tank. I would even quarantine all macro algae if you can.

 

[Dracoo9]

Okay, thank you. And a random side question- about what percentage of the aquarium should be open vs hitching posts?

 

[altolamprologus]

Okay, thank you. And a random side question- about what percentage of the aquarium should be open vs hitching posts?

I don't know about an exact percentage, but you do need to make sure every seahorse can hitch with room between them so they aren't crammed together. My tank is about half open space, half hitching posts. One thing I really like as a hitching post is dead gorgonian skeletons because they have so many places to hitch onto.

 

[DanU]

When looking for H. zosterae in the wild, I typically find the highest densities of them where ever the macro algae is in the highest densities. They bury themselves in it for protection against predation and it is also where their foods are highest in numbers.

Dan

 

[Dracoo9]

I actually already grabbed some dead gorgs for hitching posts as well. What are your thoughts on how to cultivate good bacteria in a seahorse tank? I obviously cant use live sand or live rock (though I am thinking of grabbing some rubble from work and boilding it to kill any hydroids).

 

[altolamprologus]

Bagged "live" sand is ok to use, though I'm not sure how effective it is. I used dr. tim's one and only and ammonium chloride. It cycled a tank started completely dry several times in a few weeks (I brought ammonia up to 2ppm and repeated every time ammonia came down to zero)

 

[rayjay]

Just add a source of ammonia to the tank and it naturally develops the bacteria that will be your biological filter.
The more ammonia, the longer the cycle time, but the more you can stock the tank at completion without an overload problem.
I use ammonium chloride powder and add enough to bring the ammonia to at least 4ppm.
When the cycle appears complete, I add further to bring the ammonia to 1ppm and see if it clears in 24 hrs. If it does, the cycle is complete.
If I want to start a heavy tank loading right off, I start the ammonia cycle with 6 to 8ppm ammonia.

 

[DanU]

I have never used Dr. Tim's nitrifying bacteria. Based on reputation and reviews, I would expect it to be good. I use the stuff from Fritz Pets. It is the best I have used. I can add bacteria to a new or sterilized setup and add 10 to 15 seahorses. Each day I test and add more. By the end of the week, I have had systems with up to 100 seahorses in it using their product.

I cycle a bit different than what most folks recommend. I add enough ammonia to get a 1 to 2 ppm reading. I wait until the ammonia goes down and the nitrites to come up. Once the nitrites go down, I then re-add the ammonia. Then repeat. This eliminates the stall on the nitrites that so many go through. I can normally have a sterile system cycled in as little as 3 weeks doing this.

If you go based on ammonia alone, you will end up with a huge amount of nitrites. Too high of a level really slows down the growth of the bacteria that converts nitrites. A discussion on another thread in another forum was discussing ammonia to nitrites and one thing many folks don't realize is that 1 ppm of ammonia will end up converting to 2.7 ppm of nitrites. So adding too much ammonia can really bring up the nitrite levels in a hurry.

You can also speed up the process by temporarily heating the tank to 84 to 86 degrees. Once cycled, bring the temperature back down to your target temperature. Also keep tabs on your pH and Alkalinity. Nitrifying bacteria will consume some buffers during there biological processes.

Dan

 

[Dracoo9]

Ok, thanks for the input guys, greatly appreciate it!