Frag Outpost Forums - Coral Propagation and Reef Aquarium Forums - View Single Post - Red Slime Algae (cyanobacteria) taking over my tank

EvilTwin · 05-12-2006, 03:34 PM

Now, I know that the thought of experimenting on your tank would be unbelievable, but fear not, I am being safe.

In an effort to find a solution to my cyano problem, I was looking around for something that would eat the stuff. There are numerous webpages that talk about a species of hermit that comes from Mexico that really likes the stuff. Figuring it can't hurt to add a few more hermits, I ordered some up from Foster's and Smith. The species that is know to eat cyano is Clibanarius Digueti. Garf.org has a blurb about them and recommends and sells them.

Well, they arrived today, so...enter the experiment. I decided that before adding them to my main display I would place them all in a specimen box along with a small piece of live rock that had some cyano growth on it to see what would happen. I wasn't too optomistic, as they all just seemed to crawl around the bottom for a bit, but eventually, they started to climb onto the rock. I wasn't too sure what they were up to but at first I suspected they were just trying to reach higher ground or play king of the hill. After spending an hour and a half on a conference call, I checked the box, and sure enough, they had consumed nearly all of the cyano on the rock. I'm impressed. So I am left wondering one thing:

Did they eat the cyano because there was nothing else to snack on? I wonder if I put them in my tank, with they continue to prefer this for food. We shall see.

05-12-2006, 03:34 PM	#5
EvilTwin One lucky reefkeeper Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: PA Posts: 192	Experiment Time!!!! Now, I know that the thought of experimenting on your tank would be unbelievable, but fear not, I am being safe. In an effort to find a solution to my cyano problem, I was looking around for something that would eat the stuff. There are numerous webpages that talk about a species of hermit that comes from Mexico that really likes the stuff. Figuring it can't hurt to add a few more hermits, I ordered some up from Foster's and Smith. The species that is know to eat cyano is Clibanarius Digueti. Garf.org has a blurb about them and recommends and sells them. Well, they arrived today, so...enter the experiment. I decided that before adding them to my main display I would place them all in a specimen box along with a small piece of live rock that had some cyano growth on it to see what would happen. I wasn't too optomistic, as they all just seemed to crawl around the bottom for a bit, but eventually, they started to climb onto the rock. I wasn't too sure what they were up to but at first I suspected they were just trying to reach higher ground or play king of the hill. After spending an hour and a half on a conference call, I checked the box, and sure enough, they had consumed nearly all of the cyano on the rock. I'm impressed. So I am left wondering one thing: Did they eat the cyano because there was nothing else to snack on? I wonder if I put them in my tank, with they continue to prefer this for food. We shall see.