Dinoflagellates – Are You Tired Of Battling Altogether?

[saltyhog]

Asking for a friend of mine.
Are these porocentrum only ? @ScottB @taricha

Yes, Prorocentrum.

 

[saltyhog]

55w, 400 liters net, pump around 700 liters

That's a little odd but not unheard of. If not seeing improvement soon, check to make sure your quartz sleeve isn't covered in precipitate. If your bulb is older, it may need to be replaced.

 

[dkrupenn]

That is not a common dino at all, and unlikely to be. We only see about 5 of them. If this is greater than 400X you are looking at something else. What magnification?

The magnification is 100X and 250X respectively.

 

[ScottB]

The magnification is 100X and 250X respectively.

Disregard my quote. If @taricha sees LC Amphids, let's go with that.

 

[iLMaRiO]

do you think would be safe dosing Aquaforest Phyto Mix during a dino bloom ?

 

[ScottB]

do you think would be safe dosing Aquaforest Phyto Mix during a dino bloom ?

Experience seems mixed at best. Could be a difference between live and dead phyto. Live phyto is not alive very long even under the best conditions. Personally, I would not dose dead phyto for sure. Just seems like a food source that the dinos might capture first.

 

[saltyhog]

I have found live phyto to be helpful . I grow my own to make sure of it's viability. I agree with Scott, dead phyto could be a possible negative in battling dinos.

I also think not all phyto is equal in this situation. I only dose motile phyto like tetraselmis or dunaliella . That way I can monitor it's viability with my microscope. Nanachloropsis and similar aren't good ideas for dinos IMO.

 

[Kevinkmk]

Can I do a water change after the blackout? I’m currently doing a 2 days blackout with UV to eliminate the rest of Dino. However, after the first day my po4 is at 0.39 ppm and no3 is 45.6 ppm. Before the blackout po4 is 0.15 ppm and no3 is 47 ppm.

@taricha and @ScottB

 

[ScottB]

Can I do a water change after the blackout? I’m currently doing a 2 days blackout with UV to eliminate the rest of Dino. However, after the first day my po4 is at 0.39 ppm and no3 is 45.6 ppm. Before the blackout po4 is 0.15 ppm and no3 is 47 ppm.

@taricha and @ScottB

Those are some pretty racy numbers so I understand the desire. How long since last change?

It is extremely common for a WC to cause another dino bloom. While you have nutrient to spare, a WC could be replacing some depleted trace elements that are limiting for the dinos.

I would wait for some green film algae or some other form of competition to gain ground before doing anything that might encourage a revival. If you feel compelled because your corals are struggling then okay, but leave the glass dirty unless it is dinos on the glass. Keep thinking competition. You MAY have to go through some cyano. They are a very often the first surface competitor to reappear.

 

[Kevinkmk]

Those are some pretty racy numbers so I understand the desire. How long since last change?

It is extremely common for a WC to cause another dino bloom. While you have nutrient to spare, a WC could be replacing some depleted trace elements that are limiting for the dinos.

I would wait for some green film algae or some other form of competition to gain ground before doing anything that might encourage a revival. If you feel compelled because your corals are struggling then okay, but leave the glass dirty unless it is dinos on the glass. Keep thinking competition. You MAY have to go through some cyano. They are a very often the first surface competitor to reappear.

It’s only been one day and the po4 jump double. I guess I will hold off on the water change and just observe the corals to see if they can handle it.

 

[ScottB]

It’s only been one day and the po4 jump double. I guess I will hold off on the water change and just observe the corals to see if they can handle it.

I assume this test is with Hanna ULR. Not sure why it would jump like that in just a couple days. Check your cuvettes for smudges or scratches and test again.

You could very carefully dose a little (aquarium grade) lanthanum chloride to bring down the PO4.VERY slowly drip some into your overflow and run some clean, low micron socks to trap the flocculent. Water changes work for nitrates but not so much on phosphates. But go super slow or your corals will get upset.

 

[Kevinkmk]

I assume this test is with Hanna ULR. Not sure why it would jump like that in just a couple days. Check your cuvettes for smudges or scratches and test again.

You could very carefully dose a little (aquarium grade) lanthanum chloride to bring down the PO4.VERY slowly drip some into your overflow and run some clean, low micron socks to trap the flocculent. Water changes work for nitrates but not so much on phosphates. But go super slow or your corals will get upset.

Yes it’s the Hanna ulr range phosphorus tester. I knew it’s high because I can see the blue tint after mixing it for 2 mins. I pretty much lost all acro frags during the outbreak, so I guess l will just let it ride the course and do slow water change after the Dino is gone.

 

[Kevinkmk]

Hi guys, since the Dino I do have continuous acro tissue lost. So today, I took a sample of the acro tissue and try to see if the Dino is smoothering the acros. However, interesting they don’t look like dinos at all! Do you guys have any idea what is it?
@ScottB @taricha
Video:

March 24, 2022

youtube.com

 

[taricha]

@Kevinkmk Those are ciliates eating the symbiotic zooxanthellae from the coral. This is what brown jelly disease looks like under the microscope.
see post here and other places.
(the treatment - antibiotic - in that thread seems quite good for people battling brown jelly disease, which means the cause is bacterial. No way to know if that's true in your case with acros.)

 

[Kevinkmk]

@Kevinkmk Those are ciliates eating the symbiotic zooxanthellae from the coral. This is what brown jelly disease looks like under the microscope.
see post here and other places.
(the treatment - antibiotic - in that thread seems quite good for people battling brown jelly disease, which means the cause is bacterial. No way to know if that's true in your case with acros.)

You are the man!

 

[ScottB]

@Kevinkmk Those are ciliates eating the symbiotic zooxanthellae from the coral. This is what brown jelly disease looks like under the microscope.
see post here and other places.
(the treatment - antibiotic - in that thread seems quite good for people battling brown jelly disease, which means the cause is bacterial. No way to know if that's true in your case with acros.)

Agree that BJD is pictured, and @taricha is da man.

WRT to BJD though, I am torn about them as an acro pathogen versus just a scavenging set of bacterial maggots.

 

[saltyhog]

Agree that BJD is pictured, and @taricha is da man.

WRT to BJD though, I am torn about them as an acro pathogen versus just a scavenging set of bacterial maggots.

I agree completely. If the dino in this case is Ostreopsis I would lean more towards the later.

I don't think dinos "smother" corals but are opportunistic occupiers of the available space when the corals are dying of toxicity caused by the dinos or some other cause. They grow on the dead skeleton because it's new available space. Probably a dumb theory but just an observation from past dealings.

 

[Kevinkmk]

I agree completely. If the dino in this case is Ostreopsis I would lean more towards the later.

I don't think dinos "smother" corals but are opportunistic occupiers of the available space when the corals are dying of toxicity caused by the dinos or some other cause. They grow on the dead skeleton because it's new available space. Probably a dumb theory but just an observation from past dealings.

It’s Ostreopsis. However, I don’t see any Dino on these acro tissue or skeleton after uv. Maybe my uv is working the way it should be. What is WRT by the way? I think the Dino toxic, blackout and unstable nutrients make their immune system so weak that these bacteria take hold and take them.

 

[iLMaRiO]

i think some cyanos are coming after dinos started to reduce . whats the protocol to get rid of cyanos after dinos?

 

[ScottB]

It’s Ostreopsis. However, I don’t see any Dino on these acro tissue or skeleton after uv. Maybe my uv is working the way it should be. What is WRT by the way? I think the Dino toxic, blackout and unstable nutrients make their immune system so weak that these bacteria take hold and take them.

wrt - "with regard to". I am lazy.