Mermaid's Fan question - cloudy tank

[cinnamongirl]

I just got a Mermaid's Fan two days ago from Live Aquaria and stuck it in the sand in my 46g seahorse tank. Yesterday morning when I woke, my tank was cloudy, and it's still cloudy today. Seahorses and other inhabitants don't seem affected. Leathers are even in full polyp.

I also got a goby/shrimp pair, and I thought maybe in the process of digging their burrow, they caused a cloud storm, although it didnt really look like I remember that being.

Could this Mermaid Fan have caused something negative? I can pull it out and put it downstairs in my planted tank, but I'd like to keep it in wth my horses, if it's not hurting anythnig.

Ammonia, Nitrite = 0
Nitrate=5
PH=7.8
Alk=8.4
Sal=1.024

The same day, I also added a tiny shrimp/goby pair and a few turbo snails to take care of the hair algae. I'm sure this accounts for the increased Nitrate today, which is usually 0.

PH is kind of low for me, I usually keep it at 8.2, but I always test it in the evening. I'm not usually home during the mid morning, which is when these tests were run today. I have a bag of phosban in the overflow, and carbon in the cansiter.

Any suggestions? I have a 20% gal water change planned for today, but wanted to hear some feedback first.

 

[cinnamongirl]

^

 

[Samala]

I would vote for the shrimp/goby pair being more the problem than a single Udotea. Does it still look nice and green and is it still hard and calcerous in the water? If its pale to white, or mushy, then pull it. If not, I would leave it honestly. Without losing color its hard to peg it on the alga.

That being said, keep on the skimmer, do the water change as planned, and keep in the carbon for a few days to see if that helps. But really, I would blame the digging crew first. My jawfish does a nice job of clouding up the water when he decides to refurbish his abode.

>Sarah

 

[cinnamongirl]

Thanks, Sarah, but I think you are right. It wasn't the shrimp/goby pair, but it was a fish!

I purchased a second jawfish about 3 weeks ago that arrived just about dead. He sat on the bottom of the tank with his head down the whole first night, then was gone in the morning.

Yesterday, I saw his head poking out from under a rock. Apparently he's been hiding since day 1, for three weeks! Now he has a huge burrow dug in the back of the tank. I'm sure that's what was making the coudy tank!

And Yes, the Fan looks green and is standing up tall. I don't know if its hard or not, but it looks healthy. I hope it makes it!