Worm like Coral with flow type head

[Alvarez]

I have been fighting off green hair algae for quite awhile even with the water parameters looking good, lowering the light to almost no light besides ambiant daytime light (which is pretty low) and lowering feeding.. Due to the lower light a lot og my turbo snails have died. Now the LFS after mentioning worm like corals that have flower type heads said they are bad and I need to get juice to kill them.

What are they? I will post some pics if needed. They look like white worm like arms with flower type heads on the end and they are sticking out of the LR.

My fish are all ok but recently our foxface rabbitfish was stuck against one of the pump intakes and looks like he is in a bad way but still alive.

I have had this tank for over a year with no problems. *sigh*

 

[Fluff]

Perhaps they are referring to aptasia anemone? Definately post some pics if you can. That would help alot.

 

[Hara]

and just as an FYI, turbo snails would not die due to lack of light. They do not require it.

 

[melosu58]

I agree that it sounds like aptisia. Does it look like this . First one on the list. If not check out the other hitchikers on that page.

 

[roka64]

Thanks for that page, Mike, I bookmarked it!

 

[Alvarez]

I had aiptasia and got shrimp that ate it... they look a LOT like TUNICATES that were on that page

 

[Fluff]

Tunicates are completely harmless filter feeders. I really can't think of anything at the moment that would be a threat so please post a pic. And I agree, the death of your snails had nothing to do with light. And now your foxface isn't doing well. It all sounds very suspicious and of course I'm gonna ask (even though I realize your tank isn't new) what are your parameters? Any new additions? Anything that's changed right before things began to go bad that you can think of, anything at all would be of help. As well as the pics when you can get them.

 

[Alvarez]

These corals have been there for awhile they are just growing so I mentioned them at the LFS... My parameters are all ideal according to my strips and my saltlevels are where they always are..

I was told by a friend the turbos were dying because loss of light fended them less food... they would walk up a wall and fall and my hermits would attack them... I think 3-4 turbos died... all other snails are alive (small astreal snails)

 

[roka64]

Sounds like your hermits might be hungry if they are attacking the snails that fast, or they need larger empty shells to move into.

 

[Fluff]

I'm confused. You say now that these things are corals. If they are corals, why does your lfs say "they are bad and I need to get juice to kill them"? There are plenty of corals with stalks and flower type heads but not sure why you'd want to kill them. I guess the only way to break this mystery is when the pics get posted.

As for your turbos, you mentioned the tank was still getting ambient light so there should have still been some algae. Also, my turbos eat fish food when I feed if they can catch it. I would think unless you had the tank in a black out for a very long time, then I could see them starving to death. That doesn't though explain the weakening foxface. A healthy foxface would be strong enough to swim past an intake without being pulled into it. Unless he is suffering also from lack of algae? Are you supplementing? If so, the snails would eat that as well. Perhaps I'm missunderstanding?

 

[Alvarez]

heck the reason I got the foxface was because many said it would eat the green algae up. I want the green algae gone... there is way to much of it. it caught me off guard when the LFS said the corals were bad he said it sounded like a type of feather duster.. shrug.

Sounds like your hermits might be hungry if they are attacking the snails that fast, or they need larger empty shells to move into.

there are tons of empty large shells laying around and none of them took over the vacant shells they are still laying there.

 

[Fluff]

Oh my, they are harmless sponges. They are called Q-tip sponges due to thier shape but completely harmless filter feeders.

 

[Alvarez]

I just rechecked the water levels and they are still in ideal range even with the weakened foxface... I feel so bad for the foxface as his back is bent from being stuck to the intake but he is still breathing and separated from everything else now... I saw a goldfish do the same thing and he didn't make it through in my sons fresh tank a year ago... is there any hope for him? Anything I can do?

 

[Fluff]

Oh, and not many fish will eat hair algae, sadly enough. It's something that needs to be controlled by manual removal, more water changes and reducing nutrients. You could also try a phosban reactor if you'd want to go that route. Some have had great success with it.

 

[Fluff]

Perhaps placing him in a hospital tank for some extra TLC may help, it's really hard to say if he'll make it or not.

 

[Alvarez]

I don't like the idea of chemicals I will manually remove it though... how do I do it? I use a turkey baster and blow all I can off and change my skimmer cup often.

 

[Fluff]

I had a phosban reactor recommended to me by Julian Sprung but I never figured out how to get it working, but some swear by them. They look much like a small skimmer on the back of the tank, nothing huge and gaudy....

...anyway, manual removal you could just pluck it with your hands. Be sure to get it out of the tank and not just blow around. You could also try a soft bristle toothbrush to brush it away or if it's long hair, swirl it on the brush like spaghetti. It will take diligence and is only a half fix, as the problem is in your water. Even if it's not showing up on your test strips, there are phosphates in your water so I'd suggest upping your pwc's to help fight it.

 

[Alvarez]

I have upped my PWC's and used to do 2 jug PWC every 7-8 days now I do 1 jug every 4-6 days the green algae has gone down... I will go back to 2 jugs I suppose every 6 days.