cocoon, crud and algae

H

hkalmus

AC Members
Jan 10, 2004
10
0
0
Visit site
I've got this large white fibrous mass that looks like a cocoon growing in a crevice of my live rock. It's a bit smaller than a golf ball and changes shape from time to time. Does anyone have any idea what this might be and will anything horrible come crawling out of it. I first noticed it about 6 months ago but it may have been there longer (I did some rock rearrangement, moving rock from my smaller tank to the current tank).

Second question: My tank is about 9 months old. I cycled about 50 lbs of live rock at the start and have noticed recently that there is a lot of crud on the rock, looking like decayed plant matter or just plain dirt. Should I leave it alone? I was thinking maybe I should brush a little bit off every day and hope the skimmer picks it up. Water quality is fine and all residents seem quite happy.

Third question. I've got a case of the dreaded red slime algae which comes and goes to varying degrees on a daily basis. Are there any critters voracious enough to handle this problem, should I brush it away as much as possible (and will it foul the water)? Any other suggestions. Thanks Harold
 
1. I'd vote sponge. There are many species that do relatively well in reef tanks. Or maybe a tunicate. In any case, it is a good thing if it is growing well. Unless something nasty crawls in, nothing bad will come out.

2. Detritus, the stuff settling on your rock, is generally a source for nutrients that will feed algae (like the cyano in question 3). The best thing to do is siphon it off the rocks, or blow it off with a powerhead/turkey baster and let the skimmer deal with it. Every few water changes, I use a hagen 402 powerhead and become "tropical storm dave" to get the gunk off the rocks and out of the nooks and crannies. Sometimes I just let the skimmer deal with it, sometimes I use a mechanical filter, like a quikfilter on the powerhead, for a few hours.
Most of my stuff is snail poo, I think.

3. The best things to reduce cyano outbreaks are:
-increased circulation, trying to avoid dead spots in the tank
-reduced nutrients (you didn't mention your nitrate and phosphate levels)
-increased calcium and alkalinity, to give an advantage to coralline algae
There are some animals that eat it. Scarlet hermits nibble at it, and there are a few species of sea hare that prefer it, but the best method for me has been prevention.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom