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FAQs on Algae as Food: Troubles, Fixing
Related Articles: Algae as Food,
Foods/Feeding/Nutrition, Culturing
Food Organisms,
Culturing Macro-Algae; Red Algae in
General, Marine Algae,
Algae Can Be Your Friend, Related FAQs:
Algae Foods 1, Algae Foods 2,
Algae Foods 3, & FAQs on Algae Food:
Rationale/Use, Sources,
Culture, Feeding Methods,
Products, & Foods/Feeding/Nutrition 1,
Phytoplankton,
Marine Algae, Coral Feeding, Brine
Shrimp, Vitamins, Nutritional
Disease, Frozen Foods,
Coral Feeding, Growing Reef Corals, Culturing
Food Organisms, Red Algae, See
also the individual groups of organisms feeding FAQs files | 
More algal growth, DSB, LR...
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High Nitrate pollution source identified 12/22/08
Hi
guys,
<Chris>
I just wanted to let you know that I was able to
locate the source of my Nitrate problem in my tank.
<Oh!>
The
source water was good (tap water No Nitrates), the RO/DI water (taken
from the tap)was good (no nitrates), the Instant Ocean mixed with RO.DI
water was good (also no nitrates). So I tested the fish food in the
clean RO/DI water and I use 2 types.
1) Ocean Nutrition Formula 2
small pellet (this tested NO Nitrates)
2) Yaki Sushi Nori by B&C
consumer grade sushi seaweed (Off the chart High Nitrate) Probably used
nitrates on purpose as a preservative. This is no longer in use and my
Nitrate problem should be over here in a day or two after 50% or more
water change(s).
<Ah yes>
I just wanted to make a post so that if
anyone else has the same problem they will think to test the food.
<Is one of my resounding suggestions as well.. a primary source... no
matter what foods are employed>
Also, with regard to my green chromis
behavior, turns out it was guarding eggs. I noticed them on the side of
the tank where he/she? was swimming. Thanks for the heads up.
Thanks
Chris Edwards
<"Who said heads up!? I'll take some of that!" Thank
you for the follow-up, input Chris. You've helped many people down the
line. Happy holidays, BobF>
Gassy Tang 8/31/06
Hi crew!
First let
me thank you guys for the response I got last time it was a big help for
a worried hobbyist. I just had a question about my tang, I looked in
the archives and any reference that I found to gas was on gas bubble
disease which doesn't seem to me to match up with the difficulty my
little guy is having. When he defecates often it is accompanied by
gas. Is this normal?
<Mmm, no... but have seen>
He eats a lot
of dried seaweed, I also feed him formula one but he prefers the
seaweed. I am working on getting some live rock I know that will be
beneficial to his general health. Could it be that the water has to
high of a saturation level?
<Not likely... I think you're right to
point to the dried seaweed diet here>
In this tank, which is a 110,
I have two Skilters which are each rated for supplementary filtration of
a hundred gallon, two powerheads one for seventy five gallons one for
forty five, a UV filter for up to one hundred and twenty five gallons,
and a wet-dry for one hundred and twenty five. There doesn't appear to
be too many bubbles in the tank but I am relatively new to the keeping
of marine systems. Also the tang seems as though he feels good he swims
around looking happy, appetite is voracious, and he relieves himself
quite often. I love him so much, I don't want anything to happen to
him. Any advice will be much appreciated. Thanks for everything, I
don't know what I would do without your site.
<I would try the live
rock, maybe culturing some live macro-algae... but otherwise not worry
here. Bob Fenner>
A Tale of Two Dead Naso Tangs - 09/17/06
Hello,
<<Good
Morning>>
I am writing you and talking to anyone else I could
think off.
<<Wise not to limit yourself to a single source of
information/advice/opinion>>
This past week I lost a pair of
Naso tangs.
<<Sorry to hear...>>
I am devastated over this
for a number of reasons, but mostly because I can't find an answer
to why they died. Before I ask you to give some thoughts on what
you think might of happened let me give you as many details and
variables I can.
<<Thank you…always helpful>>
The tank is a
350 gallon fish/reef tank. I keep a variety of angels and tangs,
clowns and damsels. There are also inverts like shrimp, snails and
crabs. There are not a lot of corals at this time but the idea for
the tank is to keep a number of corals with larger variety of fish
not usually kept in a reef.
<<I see...and researching re to
assure/maintain compatibility I'll assume...>>
There are a few
LPS and SPS corals along with a few soft leathers.
<<Mmm...with
"variety of angels"?>>
I do have to be very careful in what
corals I choose because of the types of fish.
<<Ah yes!>>
The larger of the tangs was a Hawaiian Naso the other was a smaller
Red Sea blonde.
<<Hmm...ever considered a "biotope" display?>>
I know typically these species are not kept together but they have
done very well often swimming side by side and staying together at
night. The tank has ample swimming room and the aquascaping is such
it gives the fish room to swim in a big circle.
<<Excellent>>
The tank has been established for 4 years. Only up until last year
I started to get into corals having spent the money to have a
dedicated electrical circuit for the lights and pumps.
<<Reef
setups are indeed "power hungry">>
Prior, the power options
didn't allow me to have the right lighting. I now run 3 10K 250watt
HQI de's with PC actinics. The tank gets a weekly water change from
RO/DI water and top-off is from the same unit. I dose manually
calcium and dKH supplement as needed, parameters are checked weekly.
<<Very good>>
The only issue I have which is not serious is
slightly elevated nitrates.
<<...! I don't know your definition
of "slightly", but even so, chronically elevated nitrate can/will
have effect on your livestock (and what about
ammonia/nitrite?...these were/are checked as well?). This may be a
clue to the two Naso tang's demise>>
I use a refugium with grape
<Caulerpa> and Chaetomorpha macro algae.
<<Mmm, another issue
(clue?) here in my opinion. Grape Caulerpa is very noxious, even
toxic to fish (many herbivorous fishes won't eat it for this
reason). Combining it with Chaetomorpha in a refugium means the
alga are constantly waging war (alga compete just as corals do for
space on the reef), releasing chemicals/toxins to inhibit and/or
kill each other. Such constant and powerful chemical warfare (Alga
rates at the top of the list with some of the nastiest corals for
aggression/noxiousness) can't be "good" for a system. Not to
mention the loss of usefulness/processes for having the algae in the
refugium in the first place due to the "energy" expended on
warfare>>
The Chaeto is fed to the tank where the angels and
tangs feast.
<<Hmm...wonder the possibility of the Chaetomorpha
being "tainted" from close exposure/battle with the grape
Caulerpa...>>
The nitrate levels are elevated, but don't cause
any issues with nuisance algae, the Acropora and Montipora orange
cup coral are growing and doing well so I use that as a measure
since the nitrates don't seem to cause any other problem.
<<I
agree it would seem the corals you mention would show deleterious
affects from elevated nitrate before the fish would...but I'm still
very curious as to your actual nitrate reading(s)>>
I do
understand the bio load may be a little high causing the elevated
nitrates, however I go to great lengths to make sure the water
quality and environment stay optimal. Of course the tank has a
large skimmer on it which is cleaned 1-2 times per week.
Ok,
with that overview here is what happened over the last few
weeks. About three weeks ago I noticed the RO unit was not
producing any RO for the top-off.
<<Raw RO water for
top-off? Not recommended...>>
The unit being in place a little
over 6 months I thought it might just need to be cleaned and didn't
need new filters or membrane replacement.
<<Not likely,
no..."should" get a couple to several years out of the membrane,
even with this size tank...life of the filter cartridges will depend
mainly on your source water/how often they are rinsed clean>>
The water source is well water. After rinsing the filters in tap
water and putting the unit back together it did start to produce
some RO however the TDS was > then 0 and could not produce enough
for a water change.
<<Again... I need specific measurements to
really be of much help>>
At this point I called the company to
discuss my options.
<<A good move>>
They agreed that the
membrane should not have to be replaced but agreed to send me a
filter kit and new membrane anyway. The unit is a 100gpd.
<<As
is mine...>>
I skipped my weekly water change that week waiting
for the filters.
<<Um...not seasoning/maturing/buffering your
water before "and" after mixing the salt?>>
I received the
filters and they forgot to ship the membrane.
<<Mmm...>>
I
waited until that weekend to install the filters. After the filters
were installed, the unit still didn't make RO for my water change.
<<Strange...perhaps you should remove/gently rinse the
membrane...install a "flush" kit>>
Bottom line, by the time I
got RO back online it was almost 3 weeks without a water change.
<<Shouldn't have been a problem>>
I didn't think this was that
critical as I checked param.s and everything seemed to be ok.
<<Would agree>>
I started to cut back on feeding slightly which
is usually done twice a day, every other day.
<<I don't agree
with this, fish should be fed daily...preferably multiple small
feedings. If feeding daily causes secondary issues with your tank
then reevaluate your maintenance/husbandry practices/stocking
levels...but don't jeopardize the fishes long-term health by
"cutting back" on proper and adequate nutrition>>
I target feed
the fish to make sure everybody gets enough without over feeding the
tank. They get mostly pellets soaked with Vita-Chem.
<<A good
product...and New Life Spectrum pellets I hope!>>
That is
supplemented with frozen Mysis and the macro algae.
<<Ah good,
variety is key...and the more the better>>
During this 3 week
period, I added 2 fish to the tank one of the fish was a replacement
for a small saddle back puffer that jumped out the tank some time
ago,
<<Jumped!...? Was this fish stressed/harassed by other
fish? Perhaps another clue here as well. Could be the puffer was
stressed to the point of releasing toxins (jumped to escape its own
poison?) and the tangs are merely victims of the long-term
affect...and hopefully the "only" victims>>
and the other was a
mandarin dragonet. This is my first time keeping a mandarin but
given the size of the tank and amount of pods I see I thought I
would try to
keep one.
<<Sounds reasonable to me as well
considering the "mature" nature of this tank>>
During this time
I also took a handful of the spaghetti algae about baseball size and
tossed it in the main tank during the lower feeding period. Also
something I have done many times before. Now the blur of events I
have been going over and over in my mind trying to figure out what
happened. I can't say exactly when during this period but, I did
notice the larger Naso hiding a little bit. He was still feeding
and there were no other signs of problems. I kept an eye on him and
noticed during the last week that he had seemed to have a sunken
stomach, stopped feeding and was staying at the top of the tank in a
vertical position. Shortly after the larger Naso started to exhibit
this behavior I noticed the smaller Naso also with a sunken stomach.
<<Were these fish treated with a copper-based medication at any
point prior to this? Tangs treated in this manner will sometimes
suffer from loss of digestive microbes in their gut, preventing them
from digesting food/assimilating nutrients. Another thought is the
behavior of these two fish is similar to those afflicted with
internal parasites, though many times such afflicted fish show
absolutely "no interest" in food>>
I began to feed the tank
everyday in the morning and later in the day, both tangs showed
interest and slightly picked but were not near their normally
aggressive feeding behavior. Their breathing also seemed slightly
labored. The large Naso was the first to
die, the smaller died
yesterday. Neither fish showed any signs of marks, spots, no
physical changes outside of the sunken stomachs. Before disposing
of the smaller tang I lifted the gill flap and used a bright light
to examine the gill. The gill was bright red and showed nothing
abnormal. Both fish had labored breathing towards the end but again
didn't have any other visual indications.
<<May have been
secondary to the stress of/weakening by malnutrition>>
No other
fish in the tank currently show any signs of abnormal behavior and
continue to feed normally. I have done 2 water changes last week
once the RO produced enough water hoping to save a least one of the
tangs.
<<Not likely the issue...and possibly an additional
stressor (bouncing water parameters), especially if the new salt mix
is not allowed to mature/complete its chemical processes before
adding to the tank>>
The smaller did appear to be swimming
around better the day before but refused to eat.
<<Never good>>
As of now I am suspecting the following; The RO unit; is it possible
the filters contaminated the water some how, either the exhausted
filters or the new filters?
<<I'm doubtful of this>>
Did
adding the puffer or mandarin bring something in the tank?
<<More of a possibility, yes>>
BTW all my fish come from 2
places that I trust and know. I never have any problems with their
fish or corals.
<<Fortunate>>
Did the puffer release toxins
in the water?
<<Possibly>>
The previous saddle back was
there for a year and never had any issues. Is it possible that
something was in the macro algae the tangs ate?
<<Another
possibility I think, yes>>
Again, the Nasos eat this algae all
the time and can eat a baseball size amount in a day.
<<Possibly
a matter of toxic accumulation>>
Lastly, I dose the tank weekly
with only Kent dKH supplement. The product is added to my sump
which is connected to the refugium.
<<If tested/added as needed
this should not be a problem>>
I was thinking maybe the macro
algae could have contained concentrated levels of this?
<<I
don't think so>>
Other fish ate the algae, but mostly the Nasos.
<<Could be telling>>
Lastly, the tank has Euro-bracing and is
open. The stand is over 4 feet high, the tank total height is
around 7-8 feet.
<<Cool>>
This was done because of the kids
and placement of the tank. It is of perfect viewing in a standing
position.
<<Indeed>>
I thought I'd mention this in the event
something got into the tank that's unknown?
<<Anyone been
"cleaning" around the tank?>>
I do find bugs every now and again
in the sump that must be attracted to the lights.
<<Yes>>
The only other thing that I thought of was this past weekend my wife
had some people over to clean the house. I was not around but
always give my wife strict instructions that the cleaners stay away
from the tank. They were new people, so I don't know if something
was introduce through their cleaning?
<<Weren't the tangs
displaying symptoms before this?>>
Sorry for the long email,
<<No worries my friend, I appreciate the detailed explanation
(hmm...wonder if I can make an article out of this some how?)>>
<Likely so. RMF>
but I am at my wits end on this and can't begin
to explain how I feel. I have been in the hobby a very long time
and have never seen anything like this before. Please help...
<<Well Patrick, I have been in the hobby more than 30 years myself,
and "have" seen this before. Unfortunately, knowing the exact cause
is usually very difficult without a necropsy of the fish. I do have
some thoughts/theories as I've stated>>
Thanks and regards,
Patrick Mundt
<<My pleasure to assist. Do give thought to
separating/choosing a single macro-algae (my vote goes to the
Chaetomorpha) for the refugium...and do take a look on our site re
using RO water for top-off as well as making/mixing with salt for
water changes. Cheers, Eric Russell>> Re: A Tale of Two Dead
Naso Tangs – 09/18/06
Eric,
<<Patrick>>
Thanks for
the response.
<<Quite welcome>>
You do however raise more
questions, and also cause me to ask you to further explain some of
your answers : )
<<Certainly>>
To address some of your
concerns, the RO water is made with salt a day before the water
change. Nothing is added to the water outside of Tropic Marin Salt.
<<An excellent salt (would use it myself were it not so expensive),
but, raw/newly mixed saltwater is very irritating to your
livestock...I recommend you make it up far enough in advance to give
it a few days to a week to “mature”>>
The nitrate levels are not
0 but range between 10 - 30 ppm.
<<Too high for the fishes
(should be less than 20), and WAY too high for the corals (should be
less than 5)>>
This is tested using only Salifert test kits.
<<A good line of test kits>>
I put the grape Caulerpa in the
fuge about 2-3 months ago. Both types of macro algae have grown
much better since adding the grape? Don't know why.
<<Hmm...likely coincidence...feeding off the source of your high
nitrates>>
I only feed the fish the Chaeto. I do remember
having to remove to grape that was tangled with the Chaeto before
feeding that day. The first puffer I had was a great tank mate,
very interesting and didn't bother anything. Other fish left him
alone he never appeared stressed never saw anyone bothering him. In
regards to his jumping out of the tank, I have moon lights on the
tank as well, and it did appear odd to me to wake up for work and
find him on the floor.
<<Indeed...not a fish that comes to mind
when you think “jumper”>>
I thought the combination of lights
and perhaps him going after something to eat caused his death.
<<Don’t know...but seems unlikely to me>>
Usually the puffer
finds a perch and sets up for the night. To the medicating the
tank; Last year after being begged by a fellow aquarist I agreed to
take a powder blue tang from him that was harassing his fish. Big
mistake!
<<Indeed...a difficult/problematic species...probably
best left in the ocean>>
The fish came with a gift and before it
was over wiped out half my tank.
<<No quarantine mate?>>
As
I mentioned before I have 2 very reliable LFS, I have not used a
second tank in years.
<<A ticking time bomb...>>
Anyway, the
Odin. or other parasite moved very fast and as a desperate act I
medicated the tank with Malachite Green (I'm sure this is not
spelled right <<corrected>>).
<<Yeeikes! Dangerous stuff...very
toxic (must be measured very carefully)...tends to kill the “good
guys”>>
Anyway, one of my LFS sources assured me they have
medicated their show reef tank with this stuff with great success.
<<(sigh)>>
So to answer your question, yes the tank was
medicated but this was a long time ago and the tangs in the tank
died from the parasite, the medication did get rid of the parasite
and didn't kill any of the corals. The feeding of every other day
was suggested to me, all the fish in the tank seem a litter over
weight, (I think), even the 2 Nasos were very thick and clean. I do
think they should eat every day, but I think they have gotten used
to this.
<< <grin> Would “you” get used to eating every other
day?>>
I have had a small passer that has grown into an adult
with great adult colors and has been with me since I started this
tank. So what do you think the downside of this may be?
<<Can
only wonder how much “better” the fishes would be with daily
nutrition...>>
Next, having read through your site, I must have
missed the RO part, why not use RO for top off?
<<Raw RO water
lacks any buffers/earth elements...these are pulled/drawn from the
tank water to reach equilibrium each time raw RO is added, creating
instability/ a seesaw effect on your water chemistry>>
I figured
the weekly water changes would replace anything the RO is missing
for top off no?
<<Likely it does...but buffering the top-off
water to reduce fluctuations in water chemistry is a better solution
and will reduce the associated stress on your livestock>>
TDS of
the RO was approx > then 150.
<<A properly functioning RO
membrane should give you a reduction by a factor of 10 over the
reading from your tap>>
Based on what you have said, I think I
will remove the grape macro algae.
<<Super!>>
After this
email, I think I am leaning more towards the algae causing the
problems as I know tangs more then other fish have to be handled
with care in regard to diet.
<<Important to al fishes...the more
varied the better>>
Please let me know what you suggest for the
water change water.
<<I think I have...but if not clear, just
give a holler...>>
I am always looking to hear other experienced
advice...
<<As am I my friend>>
Thanks,
Patrick...
<<Be chatting my friend, Eric Russell>> |
Sea Vegetable…Nori – 02/01/08
Having been involved with marine
systems for many years, I have accumulated a large selection of books on
the subject.
<<Me too!>>
Just want to say that Bob Fenner's book
'Conscientious Marine Aquarist' is positively outstanding and my
constant reference when contemplating adding another critter to my
collection.
<<Indeed… And at the risk of sounding like a kiss-up…
Bob’s experiences and knowledge across virtually every aspect of the
hobby lends to some very valuable insights. And, after getting to know
him, I can say he is truly “in it” for the hobby’s sake. Also, I think
Bob is currently working on an update of the book…am sure it too will be
well worth owning>>
I recently added a dwarf lion because I learned
from the book why my first one died (goldfish :< )
<<Mmm…>>
Just
one question... The book mentions marine sea vegetables and so I went to
my health store and purchased Nori. My fish love it!
<<And you are
surprised? [grin]>>
What worries me though is on the list of
nutrition facts Iodine is 70%.
<<Yes…as a “natural” source>>
Is
this safe for my fish?
<<It is…and as a whole, this “seaweed”
addition to their diet will enrich their health>>
I could not find
any reference to it on the FAQS.
<<Got one there now! [grin]>>
Thanks for a terrific web site!
Carol
<<Most welcome…is a
collective effort. Regards, EricR>> <Ah, yes. RMF>
Hair Algae problems
Can Nori seaweed cause hair algae problem.
RGibson
<Not likely... not much "fertilizer" content (little nitrate,
phosphate to it/dried, the Red Algae Porphyra). Bob Fenner> BGA
in algae cultures
The aquaculture facility I work for is
encountering problems with BGA in our batch culture system. The water
used is filtered down to .35micrometers and it is UV'ed. BGA is
predominantly in our T-Iso cultures and is becoming a problem for the
larvae it is being fed too.
Could you advise on how to eliminate
BGA all together? Any advice would be appreciated.
<The S.O.P. is to
bleach/acid wash the contaminated cultures and start over with
Cyanobacteria-free culture media and Isochrysis... You likely know this
already... sorry to be the re-enforcer of not-so-good news. Bob Fenner>
Cathy Phosphate in Nori and Kombu? No worries 2/16/04
Hi, I have just acquired a Scopas Tang, for which I have bought some
Nori, and Kombu. My worry is that in feeding these, I will probably be
introducing phosphate into the tank, am I right that these will contain
phosphate?
<no worries at all... nominal indeed. The real problem
with phosphate laced foods is from terrestrial farmed/grown produce like
lettuce/spinach, etc which is grown with heavy doses of phosphate and
nitrate based fertilizers>
Is there something I can do to reduce the
phosphate content of these foods before feeding?
<focus instead on
utilizing or exporting it in the aquarium. Other sources of phosphate
will enter and need addressed anyways. Use of calcium hydroxide is great
for this (precips phosphate)>
Also, can the Kombu be boiled to soften
it without destroying nutrients it contains?
<like our/any foods...
it will destroy some/many nutrients. If you must, briefly blanch it
instead>
Also, I bought this stuff at the Asian market, how can I
know it has no added preservatives or other chemicals?
<honest list
of ingredients is the best I/we can hope for>
Finally, do you have
any other suggestions for a balanced diet for a Scopus Tang? At present,
along with the Nori and Kombu, it gets the mussel and clam fed to the
other fish.
<having a variety of 6-10 foods of random origin and
processing will likely be fine (FD, Frozen, pellet, fresh). Focus as you
have done on a heavy green component... and do consider growing some
Gracilaria (AKA "Tang Heaven" from IPSF.com) in a refugium. Anthony>
Greens for tangs 5/10/04
Hi gang:
<howdy!>
Was at my LFS
today (the best of three with significant saltwater collections in the
area) and there was a note on the Gracilaria tank saying it "won't
contaminate tanks like romaine or Nori".
<they are half right...
romaine is a poor choice. but the Nori is fine/excellent>
I've never
fed my tangs romaine-based products. . . but my understanding was that
was primarily because it was nutritionally inferior.
<and the fact
that they are polluted with phosphates from the fertilizer used to grow.
But this is not true of Nori. Perhaps they lumped it in mistakenly>
I
DO use Japanese Nori (available economically from a local organic foods
supermarket) as the staple for my tangs, supplemented with Formula 1 and
live bloodworms. Plus a refugium busy enough that everybody in the tank
probably gets a few live Mysis shrimp a week. Anyway. . . is Nori a
problem?
<nope... a very fine food... please continue to use/promote>
Last question: I saw a note in Anthony Calfo's article on acclimating
inverts to captive lighting suggesting investment in a light meter. Um.
. . how does one operate these generally non-waterproof devices
underwater (or is a reading made from just outside the front pane?)
<they are not "generally non-waterproof" outside of wherever it is that
you shop <G>. Do seek models used by field biologists and aquatics
folks. Apogee makes nice, affordable ones>
and to what sort of
reference scale does one compare them?
<depends on what info you seek
to know/compare. If bringing a coral home from a friend or pet store,
take a reading from the depth at which it last resided and adjust
accordingly in your tank. For wild caught corals, there is data on light
readings for various species from various locales: check the academic
literature, libraries and databases for this majority of info. Some
hobby literature includes it too (like Nilsen's articles from Aquarium
Frontiers). And for species for which there is no data, get a
measurement of light at depth from another similar coral in an aquarium
before buying the new specimen. You can/will also use the meter to take
a reading on new bulbs and in time to see how they age, stray. For this,
seek a PAR meter instead of just a lux meter. Apogee brand my friend ;)
Keyword search the 'Net>
Thanks in advance for your help on this.
Chuck
<rock on my brother. Anthony> Phosphate and
phytoplankton
Hello Adam C:
<< Adam C is out right now, so I'm
jumping in. >>
Thank you for the help. I have added both Rowa-Phos
and a Poly Filter to the sump. In addition, I will continue to do the
10% water changes every third day until the phosphates become
undetectable again and then I will remove the Rowa-Phos and Poly
Filter. In your response, you stated one "live" phytoplankton brand has
good quality control to remove phosphates and nitrates, is this DTs
phytoplankton?
<< I don't know whom he was referring to, but I think
Mountain Corals and Phycopure are both great as well as DTs. >>
DTs
was the brand I was using with no elevation in phosphates. The brand
which caused my phosphates to become elevated was Instant Algae
manufactured by Reed Mariculture in California.
Please let me know
what you think.
<< I also like Reed Mariculture and Florida Aqua
Farms and I love Brine Shrimp Direct's Tahitian Blend Algae. >>
Thanks again for your insight.
Joe
<< Blundell >> Ogo
and quarantine 03/07/06
Hi,
<Aloha>
I ordered
some Ogo from Indigo
<Hee! Will send to Gerald, Heslinga... Indo->
Pacific Sea Farms about a week ago. It is currently in a 15 gallon qt
tank. It is under 96 watts of PC light,
and it is being tumbled
around by a powerhead which might be too powerful. Salinity is 1.025,
temp is 80 degrees, PH 8.3, no ammonia nitrite or nitrate, calcium 400,
and the water is RO/DI. My problem is I don't know if it is doing all
that well. The plants
<Algae>
are still red, but the tips might
be turning slightly white.
<Not atypical>
Is this from two much
light?
<Likely "just" shipping, stress>
I would hate to lose the
Ogo before I had a chance to use it, so is it safe to add some to the
tank for food for my tangs,
<Yes>
or should I wait the two week
quarantine period.
<Are you concerned re Aiptasia, or? I would
search through it, feed a bit off, move some to other quarters for
culture (if you have them)...>
I contacted IPSF and they said
quarantine was not necessary, but I am still a little leery about
putting it in the tank. So do you think this okay, or should I wait?
Thank you,
Aron
<I wouldn't likely wait. Bob Fenner, who will
eating Gracilaria in po'kes on the Big Island in another day or so>
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