Bryopsis, Not a pretty picture

[Samw]

Hopefully, in a few months, I'll post a follow-up picture with no bryopsis.

http://www.hyperdream.com/~samw/reef/2002-04.Album/bryopsis.jpg

[DJ88]

Sam,

I know it is a PITA, but I pull bryopsis out of mine every day. Keep it as short as you can helps fight it. As well I am massively skimming my tank and I also have hit it with kalk paste and boiling hot water in a turkey baster. Regular water changes as well.

I am beating mine. It is only a few small whisps of what it was. It takes time. Months of patience and work. But it can be beaten.

[Samw]

Thanks Darren. Actually, I do plan to pull out the rocks completely and scrub them and then add more emerald crabs, and some lettuce nudibranches if I can find them. Then I'm going to super glue some mushrooms on those areas. If I still see some growing back in places with no mushrooms, I'll use boiling water from a baster.

[DJ88]

Sam,

J&L got the slugs in this weekend. They have lots right now. Do acclimate them over a looong period of time. And they don't live super long.

I have found the emerald crabs don't like bryopsis. Mine sure didn't. :(

[Samw]

Originally posted by DJ88:
Sam,

J&L got the slugs in this weekend. They have lots right now. Do acclimate them over a looong period of time. And they don't live super long.

I have found the emerald crabs don't like bryopsis. Mine sure didn't. :( <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hm, maybe my hair algae isn't bryopsis or maybe there's nothing else in my tank for the crab to eat except for the bryopsis? I definitely see 1 of my emerald crab pull bunches of this hair algae and eat it. The crab which I see eating all the time has molted twice already in about 2 months whereas my other emerald crab which I bought at the same time hasn't molted once yet. I know it hasn't molted yet because it still has one claw whereas the other one use to have 1 claw and then it got 1 big and 1 small claw and now it has 2 big claws.

I see J&L has lowered the price of the Lettuce Nudibranches. Time to get an army of these. smile.gif Emerald crabs have come down too. Great!

[ 30 April 2002, 01:01: Message edited by: Sam W ]

[DJ88]

Sam,

Hair algae and Bryopsis are two different types of algae. If your emerald crab is eating the stuff the slug won't help you get rid of it. It won't eat it. As well if it is hair algae it is a lot easier to get rid of. All you need is to keep it pruned back and let snails and hermits devour it. A batch of hermits will make short work of it if it is hair algae.

Can you get a closer shot of it?

What does it feel like when you pull it out? Slimy or fibrous and tough like grass?

Does it look like small ferns? ie lots of small branches coming out the sides in an even pattarn?

Sam,

Here is what I beleive is helping me beat bryopsis;

1. Twice weekly water changes of 5 gallons.
2. Pulling the algae out daily.
3. Reduction in feeding.
4. Over skimming.
5. Reduced photoperiod.

I think the most important ones are water changes, pulling it out and skimming.

[ 30 April 2002, 07:34: Message edited by: DJ88 ]

[Samw]

Hi Darren.

Many webpages that I've read mentions Bryopsis as a type of hair algae so I use the 2 terms the same way. In other words, I think of hair algae as a family of algaes and bryopsis as a specific type of hair algae.

For example:

http://www.anchofish.com/cleaners_companion.htm

"Hair algae : includes cladophora, cladophoropsis, derbesia grow fast as a result from high nutrient levels. Another type of hair algae is bryopsis an inch length of feathery dark green bushy species may bloom in aquarium with too little water movement combine with high level of nutrients."

Here's a closeup. They are dark long thin strands of algae. It is not slimy. Its is strong and fibrous. It does have some fern-like tips. It is tough like grass. It doesn't seem as dark and feathery as photos of other bryopsis that I've seen. I have seen my emerald crab eat a some of this algae, whatever it is.

http://www.hyperdream.com/~samw/reef/2002-04.Album/algae.jpg

[ 30 April 2002, 09:22: Message edited by: Sam W ]

[DJ88]

Sorry bout that Sam,

When I say Hair I mean the stuff that is edible. Bryopsis not.

Looks like you may have one that at least someone in your tank will eat. lucky you.. Do you have any hermits?

Yours looks to be different from the crap I have.. lol.

If your emerald is taking chunks of it you may want to try some hermits. If I put a piece of rock in my tnak with regular mico algae on it they swarm it and have it clean in no time.

Try pulling as much as you can out with your fingers and see how your emerald works on that. Do you have one? or more than one?

[Samw]

Darren, I have 2 emerald crabs. One of them hides most of the time and hasn't molted yet. He probably doesn't eat much whereas my other emerald which molted twice already, probably eats more of my hair algae. I have 20 red legged, 10 blue legged, 6 scarlets, and 8 left handed hermits. I haven't really seen the hermits touch that stuff. The scarlets pick up bits and pieces once in a while so if I were to get more hermits, it would be the scarlets. Unfortunately they are also the most expensive of the 4 types of hermits.

[Silverfish]

Howdy lads, thought I'd jump in. I seem to have a red type of bryopsis in my tank, along with some really tough reddish hair algae. The bryopsis (looks like bryopsis from the pics I saw on RC when I did a search) is not too bad yet :rolleyes: , but I want to nip it in the bud before you know what. The hair algae has gone nuts though, and I am battling both the same way.

I use boiling water mostly to nuke the stuff. I was using a turkey baster, but it is hard to get into the tank without it all shooting out everywhere first. Today I tried a small syringe with a piece of that "milky white" 1/4" tube on the end. I shot the algaes with boiling water and it works great. I am going to Industrial Plastics tomorrow to get a big syringe (thought I saw some there) so I can really blast em!

I wonder if a boiling kalk mix would work? Might try that too.

BTW, the bryopsis I have looks like little ferns, I didn't know there were other types. My emeralds totally munch on the hair, but not the Bryopsis.

[DJ88]

Here is another one I have done that works fairly well. But you need to be cautious with it.

mix up a thick kalk paste and then use an old syringe from a test kit and fill in the crannies the bryopsis is in. As well boiling hot water in a turkey baster works. I like the kalk tho. Works really well. It burns it to a crisp so to speak. Jsut don't over do it in your tank. I am very careful to keep an eye on my tank's pH and not to get any on neighbouring corals.

By the sounds of it you are lucky your one emerald is eating the bryopsis. I know mine never did. :(

[Samw]

Well, I spent until 3am yesterday scrubbing rocks. At least the tank looks better now. Unfortunately, once you pull rocks out of your tank, you can forget where to put them back. Tried to zap-gel some blue mushrooms onto the rock underwater. Not working well. I might have to pull the rock out again to glue mushrooms on.

I bought 4 more emeralds and 3 lettuce nudis. The emeralds immediately started eating the hair algae stubs from the rock as soon as I dropped them into the tank.

http://www.hyperdream.com/~samw/reef/2002-05-Album/cleantank.jpg

[christyf5]

Wow, that looks soo much better. Wanna come over to my place and scrub my rocks?? My algae is out of control too. Its so frustrating. I'm thinking about starting over with all new rock.

Christy smile.gif

PS. When you say "scrubbed the rocks" what are you using to scrub them with?? Thanks!

[Samw]

It wasn't too bad. Only 3 large rocks. The hardest part is trying to rearrange them when you put it back in. It'll never look the same as before. I used a toothbrush.

[ 02 May 2002, 22:13: Message edited by: Sam W ]