Please confirm my really bad problem?

[jasonmg]

Help please,
I assume the pics below are pics of Aiptasia and Majanos which are starting to grow everywhere? I have read about these and the various types of execution methods. My tank is only 4 weeks old since the rocks went in, but they were already cured in another tank. I have not seen any evidence of the tank starting its cycle yet. NH4 (0) NO3 (0) NO2 (0) pH (8.4) I have put a hermit crab and a few snails in to help keep the algae under control and so far the are doing a good job. Is is possible that the live rock introduced enough bacteria that the cycling is or has happened but I didn't get any readings (tested all 4 every day for 4 weeks) If so would it be safe to introduce a copperband butterfly to feed on the little nasties that need to be removed? Or the fact that I still have zero Nitrates means that the cycle has not even started and when it does, the fish will die?

 

[jim.l]

CBB are not very robust, and a 4 week old tank really isn't ready for them even if the cycle finished. If you used cured live rock and live sand, it's possible to start up without a cycle. If not I would recheck your test results with someone else. FWIW, thats valonia (bubble algae) growing on your rock. It can be just as big a problem as aiptasia. Try some emerald crabs and don't feed them. They will eat it if they're hungry.

 

[cdbias2]

Between the mojanoes, aptasia and bubble algae - I'd start over while you still can.
Cure that rock in the dark for about 3 months.

 

[Whys]

It is not uncommon to NOT have a cycle when using cured liverock. That's the benefit to good liverock.

It's really not necessary to "start over". That's a fairly over the top statement IMO. Aiptasia and bubble algae can all be dealt with, but the earlier you start dealing with it the better.

Kill the aptasia with boiling hot water from a syringe, or you can use a product like Aiptasia-X. Some hobbyists like to keep Peppermint shrimp to eat it. If you like peppermint shrimp, that's probably the single most effective method of eradication.

For the bubble algae, I recommend an emerald crab. Not all emerald crabs will eat bubble algae, but a lot of them do, and when they do, they're voracious.

All of these things are pretty normal and a lot of us "weed" them out of our displays from time to time. It can be helpful if you can QT things first and keep these things from ever getting into the tank in the first place, but like I said, it a lot like weeding a garden.

 

[cdbias2]

IMO we deal with these pest because we cant start over and rid our tank of them. The "deal with" is a problem that doesn't go away and is constant.
I also dont like letting my pest control what livestock I buy from the beginning.
I'd use bleach and start with base rock before I'd start a tank with an outbreak of these.
This is only my 2 cents.

 

[NyReefNoob]

agreed, since it's a new tank it will be alot easier to pull rock and cook it now then worry if you got it all down the road and have stocked a tank and have a break out again

 

[Whys]

That just strikes me as extreme advice for a newbie. Aiptasia can absolutely be dealt with in a permanent manner. It only comes back if you keep reintroducing it. I think you have a stronger point regarding the bubble algae, but many have successfully dealt with that as well.

Sterile reefs are for hobbyists with a little more experience, IMO. Besides, learning how to deal with these things is great reef-keeping experience in of itself.

JM.02

 

[mitziem]

I'm a newbie to SW tank also. Honestly I had a big problem with the aiptasia and i used the aiptasia X and it worked great...you just have to inject them every few days until they are gone...really not a big deal and trust me much easier then tearing down your tank IMO. The other stuff..(thank God) I havent had to deal with yet and hopefully never do. Patience is needed but you will get it taken care off. Good Luck.

 

[mitziem]

PS I also added 4 peppermint shrimp and a Red legged (Hairy) crab to my tank. Not sure P. shrimp did anything and the crab didnt really go after them until i put the medicine on them and then she ate up. Thought i might have a dead crab the next day but she still there and seems to love them once the aiptasia x on one them... Hmmmmmm alittle sauce with your aiptasia...lol

 

[MrsHaggis]

If it was my tank then I would cook the rock and start over!
If might seem extreme but the learning curve for this hobby is big enough without starting with so many issues - aiptasia can easily be dealt with using lemon juice (my preferred method) and so can the manjanos....the bubble algae is more problematic.

Since you have no livestock other than crabs and snails consider cooking your rock and starting over with a really clean tank - you can learn about all these nasties after you have accidently introduced them again

 

[Tylt33]

Those look like majanos to me... boiling water + syringe = hours of fun.

 

[Whys]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14855526#post14855526 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MrsHaggis
...you can learn about all these nasties after you have accidently introduced them again

That's kind of my point tho. You can't just cook the rock and call it good. Keeping these things out of the display in the first place requires the same kind of continued vigilance as weeding them out.

I agree with what someone said about the learning curve in this hobby, but I interpret it the opposite way. You can't hope to keep these things at bay without using a QT and knowing some things about the QT process. I think it's asking too much of a newbie to expect them to start this hobby from a QT. Thus IMO, it is better to start out learning the weeding process, then move up to a sterile system later on once they have a bit more experience.

JM.02

 

[rkelman]

I would just eradicate the anemone's using one of the above methods and manually siphon out the bubble algae. If you keep a healthy tank the bubble algae won't be a problem. I have the odd bubble in my tank and always have. I don't have any bad anemone's now but they are not that hard to control.

 

[jbird69]

the first pic is definitly majano. Not sure on the second one, most likely a neusence nem tho. Copperband is not a good idea. They are a gamble for even the most experienced reefers with mature tanks.
I am leaning toward the advise to start over since you are so early in your investment. The problem is, if you aquired LR that has these pests, there are definitly more that you cant see, and your battle will continue and may never end.

 

[jasonmg]

Thanks all for your comments. Due to the fact that I have just spent over AUD$600 on live rock I am not really that keen on starting again and boiling the rock. I am a patient person and have no problems with spending hours (or days) slowing killing these off. Is boiling water enough? I've read about sodium hydroxide solution aswell? Any comments? Not much else to kill off at the moment so the NAOH shouldn't really be a problem. As these little nasties start to die, should I expect to see ammonia spikes and hence a kick start to the nitrogen cycle?

 

[cdbias2]

The only boiling water that anyone talked about was in a syringe to shoot the pest with.
To "cook" the rock means to cure it in the dark, just as I advised. It in no way kills the rock, nor does it make it sterile.
Unless there are 100's of aptasia/Mojanoes - Bubble algae is your biggest problem.
Some say that some emerald crabs eat some of it.

 

[rkelman]

Bubble algae isn't any more of a problem than any other algae if you keep up your water changes and control nutrients. The horrible bubble algae stories I've read have been in neglected tanks.

 

[jasonmg]

Ok, so I injected the aiptasia & majanoes tonight with 10:1 mix of boiling water & white wine vinegar. Needless to say that they now look absolutely shrivelled and dead. Hopefully they still look like that tomorrow. Do you need to remove them once they are dead or just leave them to breakdown in the tank? Can they still multiply once they are dead and you try to remove them??? Probably sounds like a silly question, but better to ask than not. MY hermit crab (not sure what type he is - red with hairy legs) is actually feeding on the bubble algae. I will start to suck some of it up tomorrow. Tested everything tonight Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, Phosphates = zero. Calcium @ 420ppm, KH @ 6 (a bit low-will fix tomorrow), pH @ 8.4 - all sound ok? 1 x Blue chromis seems to be happy in the tank (bought last week as a trial fish to check tank conditions) Hes eaten all the copepods that were in the tank. There was 100's, but they seem to be all gone now. Not sure of where to go from here. Leave it and wait for results from my asasination mission tonight I guess...

 

[rkelman]

"bought last week as a trial fish to check tank conditions"

A word to the wise.. Don't mention "trial fish".. People get pretty uptight about it. Its not good practice to subject a fish to poor tank conditions as a test or to cycle a tank. Its long been a practice in this hobby that is now frowned upon. It sounds like your tank is fine but just a fyi

 

[jasonmg]

rkelman,
Sorry, wasn't a trial as my post probably reads. I have been carefully checking water conditions every day for 4 weeks and it all looks good. I meant 1 as a trial as opposite to more than one just in case I had missed something. I have had freshwater tanks for over 10 years and really hate to see fish die. I do everything I can to try and avoid it. Thanks for the response, I will be more careful on how I word things in future. Certainly don't want to subject fish to a horrible death either...