bryopsis and lettuce nudibranch

Discussion in 'Algae' started by schackmel, Mar 8, 2011.

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  1. schackmel

    schackmel Giant Squid

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    Our 28g tank has had a recent outbreak of bryopsis. All of the LFS in our area have a bad infestation with this junk but we had been keeping the outbreak under control when it was in our big tank. However that tank cracked and is down now. We moved the coral that survived into this 28g tank and due to a number of various problems, the bryopsis took off!

    I had a lettuce nudibranch in the big tank due to the bryopsis and he survived so we moved him into the little tank.

    Well, he is EATING the bryopsis and is doing a good job with it. He is getting very fat and moving around the entire tank like it is a smorgesberg. He cant keep up to it, so we have ordered 4 more to place in there (temporarly) to plow through it. We are going to also start dosing Kent mag as soon as we get it also, but lettuce nudibranch is a good natural help to bryopsis
     
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  3. steve wright

    steve wright Super Moderator

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    Thats pretty cool schackmel

    do they get it right down to the bare rockwork
    or do they tend to only eat the fresher greener growth at the tips?

    Steve
     
  4. schackmel

    schackmel Giant Squid

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    right now the main infestation is on the glass......just starting to get some on the rock work. But the eat the enitre patch all the way down to the base We just got 4 more lettuce nudibranch today so hopefully we can wipe this out before it gets too far out of hand.

    the other outbreak that we have right now is hybroids......

    The corals are doing suprisingly well right now. It is definately harder in a small tank as we are having to dose stuff daily and adjust the amount daily. We are also doing at least twice a week water changes.

    We are seeing noticible growth of the corals esp the chalices and LPS. Even the acros are polyping out and growing. It will be nice when we can get the big tank back up again, though it is a slow process trying to get someone to talk with us
     
    Last edited: Mar 9, 2011
  5. Corailline

    Corailline Super Moderator

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    It is a dry heat, yeah right !
    Curious how much are you topping off daily?

    Cool on getting the nudis for the algae. I have no idea how long it would take to eat the bryopsis but I imagine they would be able to polish it off pretty quickly. Are you going the elevated magnesium after they eat finish off what you can see?
     
  6. schackmel

    schackmel Giant Squid

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    Our magnesium was low at 1200 so we raised it up to 1440 as of yesterday. We plan to shoot for 1600 now that we have the Kent. Our kH was down to 6 and we have it now at 10. SG at 1.026 calcium at 440.

    Dosing wise, we are still trying to get the regimen down. We did a 10g water change on Sunday and am going to do another one today (we are having to feed quite a bit due to the SPS). I am using the BRS two part solution for the alk and calcium and was using brightwell mag until we found the kent yesterday.

    We dont get as much evaporation on this tank as our other 19g.....I am guessing because of the lid and the other one is open top.

    We are running a JBJ UV sterilizer, no skimmer as we cant find one that fits, carbon, purigen and phosguard. I havent taken our water sample back to the store to test the phosphate level yet but suspect it is still high!

    We will have to rehome at least a couple of the nudibranchs as soon as we get this under control, but I am not thinking this will be a hard task in this area!

    The hydroids are bothering me......... the tank is too small for a yellow coris wrasse and I fear these will get out of control fast.

    Little tanks are DEFINATELY harder to care for then bigger tanks!
     
  7. Crimson Ghost

    Crimson Ghost Blue Ringed Angel

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    Lid, less evap and algae are the words that stuck in me old noodle after reading your post – that and “sorry to hear”, which goes without saying ! do you have good gas exchange in this tank? Perhaps a better question, do you have an oxygen test kit? Poor exchange due to lids prohibits evaporation and *could* increase CO2 and limit O2 sine the exchange does not take place. Just saying…..I know what you are facing is a HUGE challenge for anyone and I wish you luck !!
     
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  9. schackmel

    schackmel Giant Squid

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    No, those are excellent points! We have the two stock pumps on a wave maker and 2 nano koralia which put out good movement and good surface movement. One thing I did fail to mention is due to the heat that these tanks put out and our desire to not put a chiller on this tank, we keep the small feeding lid open all day, and when I get home at night, I open the lid about a 1/4 of the way for several hours. This way our temp stays pretty consistent between 77 and 78!

    We do have evaporation in this tank, just not as much as the 19g that also has a MH on it

    The oxygen is one of our concerns definately. I think opening the lids and doing frequent water changes (which we keep areated 24/7 with 2 pumps) helps this.
     
  10. schackmel

    schackmel Giant Squid

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    day 3 of the addition of the 4 nudibranchs and I would say the infestation (visible) has been destroyed by about 50-75% One side of the tank is completely clear of bryopsis, even off the rocks. Dosed the first round of kent mag tonight
     
  11. schackmel

    schackmel Giant Squid

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    here are a couple pics of the nudibranchs eating the bryopsis......I see 4 more visible patches on the glass (was easily at 15 to 20) and a couple pieces on the rocks. There is one area that I dont know how we will get treated because one of our barnicle blennies has nested in there and will fight anything that comes to get his "fuzzy blanket" away

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    this was prior to the addition of the nudibranch
    [​IMG]

    the glass needs to be cleaned in these pictures, however we dont want to spread things so we are letting the cuc take care of their business prior to cleaning the glass
     
  12. Dingo

    Dingo Giant Squid

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    very awesome! I have always thought they were cool and have thought about getting one many times but never did since they are selective feeders.
    I wonder if they are able to survive off of nori after the algae is gone?