tank overfed from fuge?

[bprewit]

I have had a aptasia boom lately, plus the Vermetid gastropod population is multiplying at a amazing rate. I have a lion fish that gets fed twice a week, and a blue cheek trigger that gets fed a small pinch of flake once a day. Xenia and a plate coral are the only corals in my tank with a couple of small colonies of palyothoa, 55g tank and a 25g refugium. I dont overfeed, nothing is left after the fish eat and have a good skimmer that produces gunk everyday. Also have lots of snails and hermits to clean up best they can. My water parameters are all excellent, even nitrate stays at >2. Algae problems in the tank are non-existant. Problem is I have a GIANT pod population in the tank and fuge. The fuge lights go off at the same time the main tank lights come on and every morning when this happens the tank gets flooded with tiny pods that come from the fuge. Is it possible that the aptasia and other critters in my tank are being overfed by the excessive pods that come from my fuge? I dont have enough coral that will feed on them, dont have any fish really that feed on them. The trigger really dosent seem to care when the pods flow into the tank as they are pretty small and he just hangs out at the corner of the tank waiting for me to feed him in the morning. At night looking with a flashlight there are little critters running everywhere around the rock and sand so what gives? I know that some nuisance critters like aptasia reproduce faster when there is excessive nutrients in the tank, overfeeding fish and such. What is the deal? Anyone have ideas or suggestions?

[CD]

IMO, I don't think it's the 'pods causing your aptasia problem. Aptasia is a PITA, and once it gets a hold in your tank, it will spread - whether or not the nutrient level is high. I would suggest trying to kill as many of the aptasia as you can with Kalk paste injections (you can buy needles/syringes at almost any pharmacy). The lion and the trigger are more aggressive fish, which rules out all the natural predators I can think of at the moment, so I think the Kalk paste injections will be your best bet. If you're not familiar with the process, LMK and I can elaborate further.

As far as the 'pod population, I'd say maybe you could put some kind of 'pod predator in your 'fuge for awhile. Green mandarins will take care of the population in your 'fuge, but once you ran out, it would most likely starve to death. Maybe you could borrow one for a month or so? I definitely wouldn't put that type of fish in your main display though.

Wendy

[Ram_Puppy]

I would ask larry if berghia would be preyed upon by your fish, they may be small enough not to be a treat. He told me he put a few in his tank and some in his fuge, they reproduced and his aiptasia went by by...

I plan on stocking up on some in a couple months, I have kalk pasted myself to death, and even with perfect water quality the little buggers just keep coming back. I have one, I have injected joes juice in right down it's throat, twice it even puffed up from the load, and it is still there, It is a miracle of nature I guess, I have no concievable idea on how it survived.

[GaryP]

I would suggest that you hook up with Instar the next time you are down here and get some Berghia from him. He breeds them. They seem to be the best bullet proof means of control of Aiptasia. He lives just south of San Antonio, near Floresville. The Berghia travel well.

[AlienAnchovies]

about the needles/syringes
every time i go to a pharmacy and ask if i can buy one i get turned down
i dunno maybe they think im a heroin addict or something

but yea joe's juice works wonders, a while back i had insane amounts of aptasia and by insane i mean 4 or 5 large aptasia every couple of inches all over my rock work, well after feeding the pita aptasia some of the said juice theyre pretty much gone and i'll probably see one every other month or so, imo the funny thing about joe's juice is that it doesnt really kill all of them but kills enough tissue so that it takes a while for it to regenerate

[bprewit]

Man the pharmacy here looks at me like im a idiot when I go to buy a syringe. I usually just get them from my vet as he actually understands what I am trying to do vs. the pharmacy which thinks now they have heard every excuse there is to by a needle. Sheesh! The kalk paste works great, the bigger aptasia close up around the drops of it and I suppose try to start eating it and it gets them pretty good, though lots of times there is just enough left to regenerate into a new aptasia. The little ones I like because i take the needle off the syringe, mix calk and R/O water into a super thick paste and it works like cement sealing the little bugger in its hole forever. They can regenerate new tissue but they cant break out of the dried kalk paste so they are done for.

[AlienAnchovies]

nuts, i always thought the refused to sell me needles/syringes because im messican

[CD]

At night looking with a flashlight there are little critters running everywhere around the rock and sand so what gives?

I tell you what - if you want to suck up as many of those live 'pods as you can (turkey baster works great), put them in a bottle and ship them to me (I'll pay, of course) I'll take as many of them off your hands as you want to get rid of....I'm serious!
I have a wildcaught Hippo that is apparently surviving on 'pods (won't eat the foods I offer), and she is depleting what I had in my tank and 'fuge to a HUGE extent! I need these ASAP, so PLEASE LMK if you would want to do this? They could probably be shipped in a screw top plastic soda bottle with a single heat pack via USPS Priority mail...maybe stick a little piece of macro in the bottle with them.
PM me or reply here? I would *really* appreciate it!! ^_^

Wendy

[seamonkey2]

If you guys need needles/syringes I can get them for you, I work in a medical facility and have plenty,.


JP

[Tim Marvin]

A good sized Raccoon butterfly would take care of the problem, and they are pretty hardy fish. You will not be able to keep any worms,anemones, sponges, or bivalves in that tank in the future though.