The Puffer Forum

Almost two weeks since acclimation to hypo. All the nasty green hair algae that was on my live rock is dead(Yay!), along with all my calerpa(Boo!). Slight raise in nitrates from the die-off, but no trace of ammonia or nitrates, nor any abnormal fish behavior that might indicate discomfort. All three poofers are eating well. No trace of the cryp parasites. Much to my surprise, my coraline algae is hanging in there! Not sure it can last the next month, but it's doing better than I'd hoped. I will prepare an article on this method if all of the fish are spot-free and healthy two weeks after return to full marine conditions.

You're doing hypo in your main tank with live rock/sand in there? No ammonia/nitrite?

None at all - see viewtopic.php?f=3&t=21024&st=0&sk=t&sd=a#p223933 for a detailed explanation of the procedure used - it was recommended to me by the fish specialist veterinarian on staff at Mystic Aquarium here in CT once I explained exactly how my sump was set up.

No changes in the fish, still healthy, spot-free, and eating well, but this treatment has had one side benefit - the green hair algae plaguing the system all died and fell off! On top of that, the dead material all floated up and went down the drain, allowing me to easily dump it out of the biobag on my drain hose before it rotted much.

All good news!

Pinned topic! I call pinned topic!

As happy as I am so far, it's a BIT premature for pinning this - I have to wait another month or so, then bring them back to full marine and confirm that the infection is in fact gone - if the coraline algae and biofilter managed to acclimate at this rate to less than half marine SG, I want to be sure the cryp microbes themselves are dead.

We are now at about 5 weeks since the goal SG was reached. The only thing I really had to do was keep my eye on the SG, to make sure evaporation never took it to 1.010; there is no cover on my sump, so I must keep on top of evaporation.

The puffers are back up to full size meals as of last week and I've never found any trace of ammonia or nitrite, and NO spots at all.

However, this leaves me with finding the answer to the question, HOW did a tank acclimate this quickly from full marine SG down past half? The research has spoken(and I have now read it), and different strains of bacteria have been definitively shown to support tanks with this split.

I have a theory as to how this could be.

The bacteria that support mature tanks are, in fact, different. However, as we know, mature tanks also have a LOT more bacteria than they need, so much that any more would starve.

So yes, the bacteria keeping the tank cycled through the SG change are the "wrong" bacteria; but, by gradual acclimation, they managed to adapt to outside of their proper place. Were I to hold the tank at 1.009 for long enough, the tank would undoubted accumulate the correct strains, which are much better adapted at functioning in this SG range and would outcompete my acclimated marine population, replacing them. I had enough bacteria that despite acclimation stresses and suboptimal conditions, they managed to get the job done.

My bigger concern would have been the more delicate, tiny creatures living in the LR, that couldn't possible acclimate to the lower SG & die off. But where's the ammonia from their deaths???

I honestly think Jilly, who has a permanent white scrape mark on her forehead from continually attacking live rock, has scourged it of anything but the smallest 'pods(who seem fine). I have not seen anything bigger than a half millimeter long in most of a year.

I just read a paper on bacteria. It's titled bacteria and I believe it's in the general section.

You give me inspiration. I bought the cleaner wrasses to help with the ich but never eliminated it. Just controlled it. I may try this in the future.

Sadly, many cysts form on the gills where the wrasse cannot reach... this should eliminate it forever.