Dosing Lanthanum Resulted in Dead Yellow Tang

[slingfox]

I previously dosed lanthanum chloride (Phosphate Rx) into a 10 micron sock without issue. Two days ago I administered a half dose into my overflow which subsequently filtered by a 200 micron RedSea Reefmat. The next morning I woke up and found my Yellow Tang laying on its side on the sandbed breathing very slowly. I removed the tang and put him into a bucket with heater and air stone for observation. Unfortunately, the tang died 15 minutes later (stopped breathing completely).

My One Spot Foxface was best buddies with the Tang and has not been taking the loss well. The Foxface was hiding in the rocks all day yesterday. In the evening, the foxface swam around the tank like a speed demon banging into the rocks and display glass. The Foxface eventually went completely upside down on the sand. After about 10 minutes the Foxface righted itself and went back to its normal hiding spot and seems stable for now.

If anyone is considering dosing lanthanum chloride you should only consider doing so with the appropriate precautions if you have tangs. Going forward I plan to administer a half dose (or less) diluted with 350ml of RODI over 24 hours via an IV bag drip into a 10 micron sock which receives heavy flow via a return manifold in my sump. Slow drip setups are cheap on Amazon if you look for plant watering setups ($6 for 4 bags which are reusable).

Learned my lesson the hard way unfortunately.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Sorry to hear about this loss.

I wish we understood why this problem seems hit or miss.

 

[slingfox]

Sorry to hear about this loss.

I wish we understood why this problem seems his or miss.

Yes I heard about other tang deaths previously. I got complacent and my pets paid the price. Will be more careful going forward.

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

I had a Yellow Tang get stressed, when the basement was tiled, and they used a primer on the Floor, was able to rescue using an enormous amount of Charcoal, and outside air. The second time they used the primer, I wasn’t home and lost him. Did some research as to why, as none of the other fish were affected. Apparently their Gill Structures are Finer, when they swell, it cuts off the oxygen.

 

[slingfox]

Note: My Reefmat has been using a suspiciously low amount of roll each day for the last week or so. I thought this was due to me doing a deep clean of the rocks and sandbed during a weekly maintenance. I checked last night and found that my the Reefmat fleece had gotten slightly misaligned which means water was leaking out one side of the roll rather than getting filtered. I believe this may have contributed to the lanthanum particles not get filtered out by the Reefmat. Regardless, going forward I intend to dose slowly into a 10 micron filter sock.

 

[ninjamyst]

I been dosing LC twice a day in my 200g tank with 2 yellow and 1 purple 5" fully grown tangs. I dose directly into overflow which goes to a 200 micron filter pad and then flows to skimmer chamber and then refugium chamber. How big is your tank and sump? I have a 48" sump and I think that helps with some of residue settling in my sump before getting back to display

 

[slingfox]

I been dosing LC twice a day in my 200g tank with 2 yellow and 1 purple 5" fully grown tangs. I dose directly into overflow which goes to a 200 micron filter pad and then flows to skimmer chamber and then refugium chamber. How big is your tank and sump? I have a 48" sump and I think that helps with some of residue settling in my sump before getting back to display

I have the RedSea 525 which is a 110g display and 30g sump. How much are you dosing daily? I think my issues were large one-time corrective dose + my Reefmat fleece was misaligned so a lot of water was not getting filtered.

 

[ninjamyst]

I have the RedSea 525 which is a 110g display and 30g sump. How much are you dosing daily? I think my issues were large one-time corrective dose + my Reefmat fleece was misaligned so a lot of water was not getting filtered.

5ml of phosphate-e twice a day. I read to go slow and do small dosage multiple times a day.

 

[Lavey29]

I dose lanthium regularly with no issues but have read that it can cause 02 deprivation so I only dose during the day.

 

[bushdoc]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Sorry that we all had to learn from your mishap!
Problem with dosing Lanthanum chloride and issues with fish, especially tangs has been previously reported.
It has been speculated that the Lanthanum Chloride precipitates in gills of Tangs, hence possibly no issues with dosing into 5-10 micron sock, but different story with 200 microns.
I do dose lanthanum ( on occasion) into 5 micron sock from Large ATO container, very diluted and my Yellow and Powder brown Tangs and other fish are doing swell. Recently, though I changed to GFO in a media reactor.

 

[ocncheffy]

I dose two little fishies phosban-L into my sump with no filter socks. I only use 1ml a day and all 3 tangs have been fine it seems.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I dose lanthium regularly with no issues but have read that it can cause 02 deprivation so I only dose during the day.

I cannot see how that is possible, unless you mean reaction with gills. Lanthanum will have no interaction with O2.

 

[Lavey29]

I cannot see how that is possible, unless you mean reaction with gills. Lanthanum will have no interaction with O2.

Yes perhaps that was it affecting gills leading to 02 depravation.

 

[carlosruga]

I lost my yellow tang today after dosing Lanthanum Chloride (LC). The tang was perfectly healthy yesterday. I used a very low dose (2.5ml) for my 100g tank, administering it before a 200-micron sock. I strongly recommend anyone using LC to exercise extreme caution. If you have tangs, please drip the LC at a very slow rate and use a 5 or 10-micron sock or filter for better safety.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I lost my yellow tang today after dosing Lanthanum Chloride (LC). The tang was perfectly healthy yesterday. I used a very low dose (2.5ml) for my 100g tank, administering it before a 200-micron sock. I strongly recommend anyone using LC to exercise extreme caution. If you have tangs, please drip the LC at a very slow rate and use a 5 or 10-micron sock or filter for better safety.

Sorry about the tang. Thank you for the info.

I wish we knew why this sometimes happens and more often, does not. I would not assume the smaller sock solves the problem.

 

[ocncheffy]

I lost my yellow tang today after dosing Lanthanum Chloride (LC). The tang was perfectly healthy yesterday. I used a very low dose (2.5ml) for my 100g tank, administering it before a 200-micron sock. I strongly recommend anyone using LC to exercise extreme caution. If you have tangs, please drip the LC at a very slow rate and use a 5 or 10-micron sock or filter for better safety.

So strange, I dose 1ml of lanthium daily in front of my skimmer for my 93g tank with no issues. Currently has a yellow tang, foxface, and a kole. Been doing this for roughly a year so far... I also use Phosban-L as you need to dilute it yourself.

 

[carlosruga]

Yes, indeed it is very strange. However, I've read now several posts about tangs dying after using Lanthanum Chloride (LC). So, I’m almost sure it was the culprit. For reference, I used Phos-Correx from Continuum Aquatics.

@Randy Holmes-Farley, you’re right—I can’t assume that a smaller sock would solve the problem. We have no definitive proof to determine exactly what is causing the tangs' deaths with LC. But, I think anyone considering LC as a phosphate reducer method should be aware of the risks, especially if they have tangs. If anyone decides to use it with tangs, a smaller micron sock and a slow drip might help (I haven’t encountered a post stating a tang’s death using this method).
Tangs seem to be very sensitive to LC.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

. But, I think anyone considering LC as a phosphate reducer method should be aware of the risks, especially if they have tangs.

Yes, for sure, and I always try to note that concern when folks ask about lanthanum.

 

[GARRIGA]

Fair to say? Use with 5 micron sock and avoid pool supply source?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Fair to say? Use with 5 micron sock and avoid pool supply source?

I don’t know. If soluble lanthanum is the cause under some circumstances, those actions won’t help.