Goniopora With Hair Algae/Bryopsis

[adoptaspork]

I currently have three separate goniopora in the tank, two neon red (look hot pink) and one lilac.

One of my goni frags had some algae on it which started to grow onto the sides of the coral itself. I do not have a hair algae problem in the tank; it came on the plug. I took tweezers to pull the hairs out, dipped the coral, and let it be thinking that since I don't have algae elsewhere, it would disappear. Months later, it has not. I am uncertain if it is green hair algae or bryopsis. When the algae did not recede, I dipped it again in coral rx. Still no apparent algae recession and it seems to now be making the goni itself less happy. I've read about h2o2 dips but don't know if that would harm my goniopora. Does anyone have a suggestion concerning what to do? The algae free corals are happy.

 

[adoptaspork]

nobody? :/ bumpppp.

 

[adoptaspork]

Bump?

 

[organism]

Algae feeds off of nutrients in your tank, it's not going to recede until you figure out why it's growing such as overfeeding, light cycle, spectrum, water changes, etc... Also it's a good idea to know what coral dips do before using them. coralrx does nothing for algae so it's not going to work as a treatment, and even though peroxide kills visible algae it'll come right back again until its food source is gone.

 

[Reef Frog]

First, determine the species of algae quickly & take action. Green hair algae is a light cold; bryopsis can be pneumonia. A high res close up pic will help. Or google pics and the difference should be easily apparent. If it turns out to be bryopsis, I'd get it out of the tank ASAP as its a fast spreader & hard to eradicate once established. You don't want this, trust me.

CoralRx or other commercial dips do nothing on pest algae- they only expel small animals, pests & harmless hitchhikers alike.

Hydrogen peroxide treatment in a quarantine tank and a generous observation period is how I would handle the infected goni frag. Good luck.

 

[jbvdhp]

I've had very very very good luck using Kent Tech M to get rid of bryopsis. But you need to ID it. Shouldn't be difficult to ID things nowadays.

 

[adoptaspork]

From the CoralRx label...
Also aids in the treatment of:
- Filamentous Hair Algae
- Rapid Tissue Necrosis (RTN)
- Slow Tissue Necrosis (STN)
- Bacterial Infections & More
If CoralRx does nothing for algae, then why is it on the label?
I had it around because I dip everything before it goes into the tank, so that is why I had used it.

The algae looks like...hair algae, I've always thought. I really struggle even looking at photo IDs though.
I've always considered it to be Green Hair Algae but have always had some sort of bad paranoia that maybe it's bryopsis since a lot of people say it gets "misdiagnosed" as just GHA.
Here is a link to a photo: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2AQHU3NiDrzWWVVQWxQZ0VmMTg/view?usp=sharing


Tank is a 40g that has a ReefOctopus skimmer on it and only a skunk cleaner shrimp and single longnose hawkfish living in it, as well as a small CUC (nassarius, astrea, nerite, one turbo). Feeding is fairly light, every couple of days usually. I do run carbon also in the form of ChemiPure Elite. Lights are Kessil a360 and are on 9a-6p (including ramp up and down time). 10% water change weekly to bi-weekly with RO/DI topoff daily.
Do you have any more suggestions for in-tank?
I will probably end up pulling it out and trying the peroxide...should I make sure that it doesn't touch the coral itself? Or can it, briefly?

 

[adoptaspork]

Here is a picture, in case that google drive link does not work.

 

[plantastic]

Get a clear specimen cup, drill some holes on each side to allow water to pass through, and hang it on the rim of your aquarium. Be careful where you hang it, cause it will either be under no light, or real close to the light. Put the coral in, and one small emerald crab. It will eat the algae.

 

[adoptaspork]

Thank you. Is the emerald crab safe to toss in the tank with a cleaner shrimp and hermits in it after he's done his job? ? Or will it kill them?

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

IME:

H2O2 will not kill bryopsis. Low nutrient levels will not control it either. Emeralds wont eat it. Lettuce nudis and sea hares might eat it, but wont control it. Tech M is the only chance.

I would not risk a bryopsis outbreak, it a can be a nightmare. I would remove the goni from its plug then put it into a QT. Then get the algae positively ID'd. If it is Bryopsis, or if you think it could be, then treat In QT with tecM.

Keep a close eye on that DT and treat with techM immediately if you see big B in there.

if you cant get it off that piece for 100% certainty, I would sacrifice the coral.

I hate Bryopsis.

 

[adoptaspork]

I posted a picture of the algae a couple of posts up. Could you please confirm that this is only GHA? Not Bryopsis??

 

[plantastic]

The emerald crab will be safe to throw in your display after his "job" is done. He will eat the algae...

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

I cant tell for sure from the picture. There are a lot of good diagnostic photos and tips if you google it.

Don't ignore it if it looks like bryopsis. It is a difficult pest.

 

[Reef Frog]

From the CoralRx label...
Also aids in the treatment of:
- Filamentous Hair Algae
- Rapid Tissue Necrosis (RTN)
- Slow Tissue Necrosis (STN)
- Bacterial Infections & More
If CoralRx does nothing for algae, then why is it on the label?
I had it around because I dip everything before it goes into the tank, so that is why I had used it.

I'm not sure why it's on their label, but it doesn't work on algae. It's not an algacide. If it was it would have a Federal Gov't certificate for that purpose. The word "aid" is rather vague in this context, no?. Interestingly enough, their product safety/information sheet states "does not harm aquatic life." It also does not list any active ingredients by name.

Since the causes of STN/RTN are not really understood, I'm not sure they've stumbled onto something promising here either. If they had, I imagine the stick-heads would have discovered it and would be rejoicing in the streets. But I haven't seen that. But it might be possible. I've seen conjecture that STN/RTN is actually bacterial in nature and that antibiotics in QT may be useful in halting the malady. But again, no mention of antibiotics on the data sheet. But it's a good product and will certainly make all kinds of little critters abandon a coral frag, both good & bad.

 

[Reef Frog]

H2O2 will not kill bryopsis. Low nutrient levels will not control it either.

This is not correct. An individual attempt may have been unsuccessful for a number of reasons, but H2O2 melts it away quickly with spot treatments, right in front of your eyes if done correctly. And spot treatment has virtually no bad after-effects especially if you don't keep exposure time short and keep full strength (3%) liquid off the polyps. Tech-M treatment has many stories of failure and bad side effects. But it's unknown mystery ingredient does seem to work for many...

H2O2 works - I've seen it work 100% twice. Once on my reef tank and with an employee's tank. But it's a temporary fix unless you keep nutrients EXTREMELY LOW for an extended period. And you must employ a few other tactics simultaneously. The most important is phosphate control. That usually means GFO but lanthium chloride might work well too but has some potential dangers to fish. Keep PO4 down completely for an extended period. Slack off on GFO changes and it might come back.

As this poster suggested, I would get that frag out of the tank yesterday and into QT. Then full tank treatment becomes an option too, but is a little trickier to get right.

 

[GoldeneyeRet]

Well I am glad H2O2 worked for you, and others. It did not work for me. Even on a removed piece of rock dipped at 100 percent for 5 min. Tech M worked for me, but not for others. My comment was not meant to debate what does or doesn't work.

My point is that I would get it out ASAP before it roots out and starts spreading. Try any of the treatments mentioned in a separate tank and hope to heck it isn't in your DT.

I think anyone who has had it would agree with that.

Best of luck to anyone battling this.

 

[Dan_P]

H2O2 works - I've seen it work 100% twice. Once on my reef tank and with an employee's tank. But it's a temporary fix unless you keep nutrients EXTREMELY LOW for an extended period.

There seems to be a contradiction here. If H2O2 works, that is, it kills the algae, why is it necessary to keep nutrients extremely low? This seems to imply that the treatment only kills the visible thalli, not the spores or rhizoids and hence, H2O2 is a temporary fix.

 

[Reef Frog]

It works on bryopsis by oxidation - it breaks the cellular wall. I've seen it under a microscope. When I say "works"'I mean spot treatment and/or enough in tank treatment will give you a clean fresh start. But of course a fragment will survive somewhere or can come in on a new frag (this just happened to me).

Rocks full of decaying organic matter and water with high(ish) PO4 (and nitrates to a smaller degree) will provide the right environment for a reoccurrence of bryopsis. That's why a comprehensive plan must be worked to beat it and the peroxide is just one part. The peroxide is just one part of the plan. On it own, it's not enough. Peroxide is a tool, not a cure in and of itself when a tank is over run.

An analogy is a heart attack patient in the ER. They will always give you a blood thinner which may buy some time, like peroxide in a fish tank. But the real cure might be a stent or bypass surgery. But those benefits need the support of changes in diet, exercise & perhaps stopping smoking and the patient will probably need medication to control BP, bad cholesterol & other things if you don't want to have a second event.

Even after peroxide treatment & low nutrient program, a sprig here or there will sometimes return. Like your do with weeds in the landscape, pull them when you see them before they seed. You may want to keep doing therapeutic peroxide dosing for quite some time alongside nutrient control. Eventually it burns itself out. If you can't keep on top of it, unfortunately you may find yourself with another bout to contend with.

But when you spot just a little bit on one frag & you get it out for treatment quickly, it's often very easy to remove it for good without it spearing to the rest of the aquarium.

I understand some folks want an easy miracle cure. Unfortunately I don't think one exists. It takes work to eliminate.

 

[Dan_P]

It works on bryopsis by oxidation

Thanks for the detailed explanation.