That Fish Blog – Aquarium Advice and Information

Cory here. I thought I’d take my next few blogs to go over the “ins and outs” of Nudibranches. Like lots of organisms living in an aquatic system, these interesting creatures bring a host of features to your saltwater tank. And, along with the good, it’s important to point out the bad…and the down right ugly things about nubibranches in your aquarium too.

The Bad:

Nudibranches target Montipora, Zoanthids, and Softies

There are so many coral eating organisms, Butterflies and Angelfish are the obvious ones. However, some of the worst pests are ones that you can barely see. Flatworms and Red bugs are most notorious for destroying Acropora species. However, Montipora species have their own pest: a Nudibranch.

They are hard to see, especially if you do not know what you are looking for. The largest I have seen was a half centimeter in length, tucked behind a crevice in the coral. They are always near a piece of the coral that is in the process of dying. This particular nudibranch feeds only on Montipora tissues, more commonly the plating varieties such as Montipora capricornis. They lay their eggs in a spiral or cluster, on the underside of the coral. Usually hatching within a few days, depending on water conditions, they immediately begin munching on the coral tissue. A couple adult Nudibranches can easily consume a one inch frag in 24 hours.

There isn’t a simple way to eradicate them. Dipping the corals in a Lugols Iodine or Tropic Marin Pro Coral Cure solution will help to loosen the nudibranches, so they can be extracted. The dip however, will not kill the egg mass. The eggs must be removed immediately using a scraper, toothpick, or a toothbrush. Any portion of the coral that has died or seems to be infected should be cut off just in case there are eggs imbedded in the skeleton.

Nudibranches are also commonly found feasting on Zoanthid polyps. These particular types of Nudibranches are especially hard to find because they look very much like the polyp that they are eating, even matching the color in most cases. Zoanthids commonly close and stay closed for days, eventually polyps begin to disappear. This is usually the first sign of infection. Again, like the Montipora Nudibranches, dips will only remove the adults, leaving the eggs behind. The eggs are usually laid on the underside of the poylps, but can also be found on the rock itself.

Soft corals have many different species of Nudibranches that prey on their tissues. Some are extremely large and colorful, while others camouflage themselves, making detection extremely difficult. Like other corals, removing the adults with coral dips and manually removing the eggs when possible is the only effective way.

There are so many species of Nudibranches in the oceans, many found on the Reef and serving some purpose good or bad. We are learning more each and everyday about Nudibranches, what they eat and where they come from. We are importing corals from around the world, in some cases from areas we have never collected before. With new locations, comes new pests and most likely new Nudibranch species, good and bad.

Check back soon for the next part of this article.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Cory

Hey readers, Dave here. It has been a busy couple of weeks here at TFP leading up to the holiday season.  It has been especially busy for me, as the top of my to-do list suddenly changed to repairing the touch tank.  Originally installed in 2002 (as somewhat of an experiment), the Marineland Touch Tank was in dire need of a makeover.

After many patches and repairs over the years, the old tank liner finally had so many holes in it that it could no longer hold water.  The liner needed to be replaced!  For anyone who has ever replaced the liner in their pond, you know what an ordeal that can be.  We found a temporary home for our touch tank celebrities, and jumped into the physical mess of getting the old liner out, including removing the hundreds of pounds of rock and substrate. Luckily, we are out of pond season here in Lancaster, so we had the advantage of being able to convert one of our Koi holding systems to saltwater, as a temporary house for our touch tank buddies,  while their home is being renovated. Next we’ll be getting the newer, more flexible liner installed and getting all the animals back home! It’s a whole lot going on, in a short amount of time.

Many, many people (both local and distant) visit the store, in part to see the stingrays and other creatures in the display.  There has been a parade of sad faces come around the corner, expecting to see their touch tank friends, but finding destruction in stead.  Never fear, the rebuild will only take a few more days, and the touch tank will be better than ever!  Along with the new liner, there are also some filter upgrades taking place behind the scenes.  We are truly sorry about the down time for the touch tank, this is the first time we have closed it since it opened seven years ago.

Stop in soon and see the stingrays in their newly renovated home.

Thanks,

Dave

Please welcome Sam Yost as a blogger on That Fish Blog.  Sam has recently been promoted to Fish Room Supervisor and will be graduating from Millersville University in December with a degree in Marine Biology. 

Hello, My name is Sam Yost.  Being a hobbyist and working with other hobbyists in the trade, I have grown to understand that  keeping good water quality is one of the most important parts of aquarium keeping. If your aquarium water quality is bad, and a regular maintenance schedule is not kept, your fish will not be healthy, or will not live to their full potential.

There are many things that can happen in a tank to degrade the water quality. One of the major problems in maintaining water quality is overfeeding.  By overfeeding, a lot of unused food ends up breaking down in the tank.  It can be difficult to tell when fish have had enough, especially if there are a lot of fish in the tank, but it may be best to underfeed instead of dumping copious amounts of food. When uneaten food breaks down in the tank, it can cause a spike in ammonia, nitrites or nitrates. This spike, even if it is small, can be deadly to fish.  It may also settle into the substrate, where it can break down and cause chemistry problems, fish illness and other problems down the line.

There are several things you can do to help alleviate these overfeeding/water quality issues.

Consider what your fish need. Different fish can require different types and sizes of food, and some may require more frequent feedings than others. Generally, fish should be fed food that is about the size of their eye or smaller, or foods that can be broken easily, like flakes, that they can easily take in.

The amount of food administered should be what they can consume with in a minute or so. It is better to feed your fish several small meals than one large meal. Generally in a community, small feedings in the morning, evening and night will work great!  By doing three small feedings, there is a smaller amount of food being wasted.

Small, frequent feedings are also more healthy for the fish.  They are not eating so much that they look bloated, and the food can be used more efficiently.

You can also minimize the amount of waste that is put in to the tank by rinsing frozen food. This action gets rid of excess preservatives that are used to keep the food fresh so they go down the drain instead of breaking down in the tank.

Finally, small frequent water changes to reduce nitrates and gravel siphoning after several days can remove any waste and decaying food from the substrate.  A good, regular maintenance schedule will allow you to keep the water pristine and give your fish the best possible water quality for long, happy, healthy lives!

Thanks,

Sam

Eileen here. With all of the water changes, filter changes, feedings, testing, supplements and other changes and maintenance we do on our aquariums, it can be difficult to remember what was done and when. Some problems with aquarium systems as well as regular maintenance are dependent on what has been happening with the tanks over time, not just within the very recent past. This is just one of the reasons that make it important to keep a record of the every day maintenance of the system as well as any other events that may have an impact on the health of the fish.

Keeping records of any activity with an aquarium system is not a new idea. Almost every public aquarium keeps records of everything that goes into or out of their water – this is even required by some scientific organizations to keep the aquarium’s certification or grants. Their records and even the records kept by stores like That Fish Place/ That Pet Place are obviously going to be very detailed than the average home aquarist might need, but it is a good idea to take their lead and keep track of your aquarium. You can use a computer program like Excel or Word  if you’d like, or you can simply keep a notepad and pen with your aquarium supplies.

So what should you record? The types of events you should keep track of can be divided into a few main categories: Water Chemistry, Maintenance, and Livestock.

l  Water Chemistry recordings would be the results of any regular water tests done on your tank (pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, salinity, temperature, etc) as well as the dosages of any supplements or medications you add to the aquarium.

l  Maintenance records keep track of regular maintenance (water changes, light bulb changes, filter pad changes or cleanings) as well as any out-of-the-ordinary events like a new heater or a malfunctioning piece of equipment.

l  Livestock records help you keep track of what live fish, plants or invertebrates you are adding to your aquarium and what you are removing from the tank or lose due to deaths or illness. You can also make observations about any unusual behavior you are noticing in the livestock, symptoms of illnesses, what the fish are (or are not) eating, even their sizes from time to time to see how quickly they are growing.

l  Other events: It is also a good idea to keep track of any other unusual events that may affect your aquarium. Power outages, heat waves, cold spells, and other events that may not have an immediate affect on the aquarium can cause changes in the aquarium a few days or weeks later that can be traced back through your records. Even a houseful of guests can be important to record if it changes the activity around the aquarium or the feeding schedule of the fish.

Getting into the habit of keeping a few notes on your aquarium can make difference in the long run. After all, some of us have a hard time remembering what we had for dinner last week, much less when we last changed that light bulb, when we added that new invert to the tank or how well a certain fish has been feeding! A running record of some of these details can help refresh your memories, as well as keep track of your progress in the aquarium hobby.

Along these same lines, Current-USA offers a free downloadable computer widget to keep track of aquarium maintanance schedules. Working in conjuction with your records, the two together can go a long way toward helping you maintain a healthy system.

Until next time,

Eileen

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.  I must confess that I like algae, perhaps because many of the creatures that I favor – shrimp, tadpoles, snails, loaches and others, do best in algae-rich tanks.  I’ve even encouraged algae to grow on the backs of aquatic snakes and turtles in zoo exhibits, much to the chagrin of the higher-ups! 

But, of course, algae certainly can get in the way of enjoying one’s pond or aquarium, and may endanger the health of the animals living therein as well.

Algae Diversity

Algae, which are not true plants, exist in a bewildering number of species.  For our purposes, we can roughly classify the commonly-encountered varieties as follows:

Green algae (hair, beard algae) thrive in well-lit situations.

Brown algae do well in low light.

Blue-green algae (actually a type of Cyanobacteria) and red algae live mainly in marine environments.

Controlling Algae

Nitrates and phosphates are the primary nutrients utilized by the most types of algae…limiting their concentration is the key to effective and safe algae control.

Algaecides and other “quick fixes”, while effective in the short term, do not address the root of the problem.  I always recommend that aquarists take the time to identify the reasons that algae has become established.  I have found this to be the most effective approach to algae control, be it in a betta bowl or a 77,000 gallon zoo exhibit.  And, because we learn much along the way and often utilize a number of fascinating animals and plants, the process is also very rewarding.

I’ll first discuss control methods that can generally be described as “natural” and will then mention a few more intensive alternatives.

Bacteria

The most effective algae enemy we might employ comes, surprisingly, in the form of another one-celled “non-plant/non-animal” – bacteria.  Many species consume the same nutrients as do algae, and can out-breed and out-compete even the hardiest types.

A number of species of beneficial aerobic bacteria (those requiring oxygen, which are also vital to water quality) will colonize gravel, filter media and other surfaces bathed in aerated water.  They will build up incredibly dense populations over an under-gravel filter, rendering it very difficult for algae to get a foothold. 

Nutrafin Cycle, which contains living bacteria, is especially effective in introducing these organisms to aquariums.  A number of other supplements, effective in fresh water and marine aquariums, are also available.

True Plants

Aquatic plants are very effective in capturing the nutrients needed by algae and limiting their growth.  However, many do not reproduce vigorously, so plantings should be as dense as possible.  In some situations, carbon dioxide supplementation and the use of plant food and iron might be useful.

Floating and emergent plants such as cattails and water hyacinth, lettuce, and lilies combat algae on two fronts – consuming nutrients and limiting light availability. 

If you are not ready to tackle aquatic plant gardening, you might consider using certain hardy terrestrial plants that thrive in water.  As long as their leaves can break the surface, peace lilies, pothos and aluminum plants will fulfill much the same role as true aquatic plants, and their root systems make for wonderful underwater effects.

Next time I’ll discuss how fishes, invertebrates and water additives can be used to combat algae.  Until then, please write in with your questions and comments.  Thanks, Frank Indiviglio.

Further Reading

To learn more about Cyanobacteria (“blue-green algae”), please see Aquarium Slime.

To read about adding beneficial bacteria to aquariums, please see my article Nutrafin Cycle.