Possible dinoflagellate eater---- black mollies??!

[redfishsc]

I have a 20-long frag tank I set up last week using cured live rock, and so far the only algae bloom I've had is a small-medium sized dinoflagellate outbreak. Meaning, no large masses, only small strands here and there an a few bubbles produced in the couple of places they have "gelatinized".


In the tank I have a single black molly, one of the hybrid/inbred sailfin types. I keep one basically "in memory" of my dad since he and I raised them when I was a kid... and they also make neat hair algae cleanup.

I've been watching him, and he grazes the light-diffuser rack pretty much continuously-- despite the near total void of other forms of algae.

Today I came home from work expecting the dino population to be bigger than yesterday, and actually it's receding a good bit.

Given that I'm reading 5-10 ppm nitrates and .125ppm phosphate, I'm pretty sure they aren't receding for any obvious reason.


Do you think black mollies might actually be a good way to reduce dino populations?

I'll watch him more closely and note here anything I see....

 

[TheORKINMan]

Would be interested in this as well, had a dino outbreak after my silver molly died. Wonder if there's a correlation

 

[redfishsc]

Well, if the molly rotted any, then there would certainly be a correlation, lol.

I see you live in Fla. Any chance that was a wild caught sailfin? I used to keep native sailfins I caught down in Charleston. The F1's were pretty fragile, but the F2's were tough and fantastic reef fish.

 

[TheORKINMan]

It wasnt a sailfin at all, def just a regular silver molly. It was a rescue that someone dropped off at the LFS because his clownfish was attacking it constantly, so I'm not certain of its origins.

 

[redfishsc]

Lol, go muck around in a canal somewhere--- you might find some nice dinoflagellate munchers

 

[CoRPS]

Not that I have anything to say about the mollies. But when I had a huge dino outbreak I started skimming real wet and siphoned out as much as I could during water changes. But the thing that helped the most? I flipped the rocks around and rearranged everything. Haven't seen a single snotty strand of that stuff since.

 

[redfishsc]

Hmm. I wonder what it was about that big rearranging that did it. Thanks for sharing that. In the past, it was a 3-day blackout that nuked the ones I had, but I had already gotten the nutrients under control.

I know skimming wet would help pull out nutrients (if I had a skimmer, lol).

 

[CoRPS]

There are some cheap DIY skimmers you could look into making. When I say cheap I mean < $2 assuming you have an airpump. People have had decent results from these cheap skimmers in small sized tanks like yours. PM me if you want a link (RC doesn't allow links to the site I'm referencing)

 

[redfishsc]

Well, part of the reason I don't use a skimmer at the moment is space. There just isn't room unless it's a HOB style.

Several years ago I made a venturi skimmer using a big Hagen powerhead and some 4" PVC pipe for my 55g native fish/invert tank. The sump was a rubbermaid trash can, and the skimmer was as tall as the trash can. It produced an insane amount of skimmate.... but was freakin' NOISY and eventually had to go .


I've seen some skimmers made from soda bottles, lol. Not a bad idea!

 

[ctenophors rule]

so, i have some hair algae and dino (neither of which did i have till i got a new frag from a certain devious reefer)

i would love to terst your theory, but i am unsure where one would find wild mollies in florida, would one use a seine net, or a cast net, and where?

also how long would i need to acclimate a molly from a freshwater lfs tank to my salt water? anyone sell salt water mollies?

thanks

 

[ctenophors rule]

so, i have some hair algae and dino (neither of which did i have till i got a new frag from a certain devious reefer)

i would love to terst your theory, but i am unsure where one would find wild mollies in florida, would one use a seine net, or a cast net, and where?

also how long would i need to acclimate a molly from a freshwater lfs tank to my salt water? anyone sell salt water mollies?

thanks

 

[redfishsc]

The nice thing is you can use mollies from the LFS. Most of the varieties out there, especially the jet black types, and the various color morphs of the sailfins, can live happily in saltwater.


I acclimate them, preferably, over a 12-24 hour perid. Put them in a bucket with a heater if you have one (keep them warm, try not to let them sit under 75 degrees for long)--- and an airstone. Remove a small amount of water from the bucket and replace it with tank water. Do it in a way that will have them in full saltwater (check w/hydrometer/refractometer) in 12-24 hours.


Expect the occasional death, especially a pregnant female. Try to buy females that aren't busting at the seams with babies. Also avoid freakish mutations like the abysmal "balloon mollies" (the person who developed that strain should be beaten to within an inch of his life if you ask me!). Freaks with major distortions like that tend to be very sensitive.



Now, if you want to collect your own, and you live in a place where there are brackish streams (assuming you live on the Carolina coast down to Florida, or on the Gulf coast) and take the biggest dip net you can find--- or make (see below).

Find a brackish stream, and look for pools of slow or medium-swift current (not still/stagnant) water---- you may see minnows scurrying from your shadow.

Sweep around as FAST as you can, mollies are quick. You may catch all sorts of fish in the process, but if you find one molly, you can find others!



I make my own net out of a laundry bag, a long shovel/rake handle (wood) and I use steel bar (1/4"). I could pm you instruction on how to make it if you like--- it's easier to make than it is to describe, lol.

Lastly, and most importantly---- mollies will not solve your algae problem--- only help keep it in check. Nutrient control is the only way I've found to solve algae pain....