Bryopsis Cure: My Battle With Bryopsis Using Fluconazole

Did Fluconazole Kill all of your Bryopsis?

  • Yes

  • No

  • I'm treating my tank with it now.

  • I love Bryopsis and I'm mad that everyone is killing it.


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Ross Petersen

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I think that is a fair number -- anecdotally of course. I've been following this thread for a long long time and that feels about right.

When it goes bad, it can go bad very quickly. Other times it can cause a slower decline I've never been able to understand when/why, but I have seen it first hand and it isn't pretty. That is why I never recommend it for just simple GHA. For bryopsis though, you really don't have another alternative other than removing rock.

If you have a buddy with a nice stable stick system, maybe park some pieces until you are clear? If you see things turn bad, be rerady to do the usual WC and carbon, but also be sure to SHUT OFF THE LIGHTS. Maybe watch ALK as well.
Aside: is bryopsis itself harmful to SPS? Aside from totally messing up nutrient levels and invading substrate? I see that a large fraction of folks voted that it's beautiful and can be left to be... o_O
 

ScottB

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Good idea about keeping a few nice frags with friends. Couldn't hurt.

What's the light situation - I know fluconazole kills bryopsis when photosynthesis is ongoing. Is the drug not toxic itself... but rather some bryopsis (or other) metabolite released into the water? Sorry - didn't see this in the thread, but didn't read all 292...
The light issue was my observation when I went to investigate a Fluc driven tank crash. The only SPS/LPS pieces that were not complete toast were those that were shaded.

I did some basic water tests and all was normal. I sent out for an ICP all was normal. We don't know why 1/5 or so systems collapse like this. Maybe it is 1/10, IDK. I've not read of a softy tank having issues, although there was some paly in this particular tank and it was NOT happy either.

Fluc is an anti-fungal. My guess is there is some specie(s) that a few of us have in our tanks that go nuclear when hit with Fluc. But then I read (in this thread) from a guy who'd done fluc a couple times in the past with no trouble, only to have it collapse on a third dose months/years later. I just don't get it.
 

ScottB

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Aside: is bryopsis itself harmful to SPS? Aside from totally messing up nutrient levels and invading substrate? I see that a large fraction of folks voted that it's beautiful and can be left to be... o_O
Beauty is CLEARLY in the eye of the beholder on this one. I guess if you keep a bunch of staghorn coral or other sticks that cannot be crowded out the harm would be minimal.
 

Ross Petersen

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Hello. Has anyone successfully dosed fluconazole at 10 mg/gallon (half the recommended dose) to kill bryopsis? Pros and cons here? Thx
 

DesertReefBoy

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Here we go! 90 gallon SPS dominate tank! Lets see how this goes!
I have been battling this stuff for almost two years now. I have been pulling it out when doing water changes but it is starting to grow in between my sticks and stress them out. It is growing on my frag racks and almost completely overtaking my shroom box. I did a 10 gallon WC this morning and pulled most of it out minus the stuff on my shroom box. I’m hoping to avoid having a large swing in nutrients. I figured I have 110 gallon water volume with my large sump. I added 2200 mg spread out in the DT and sump.
I’m really nervous and hopeful it will work. I have a bunch of high end sticks (angry bird, vivid insanity, rainbow splice, jaw dropper, bkchem fruit loop, ect).
currently nutrients are a little low. I cut my feeding back a few weeks ago and noticed a few corals starting to loose color and brown. Nutrients were No3 16 Po4 0.1 now they are No3 2 Po4 0.02

I’ll post daily updates. Sorry for the crappy first picture I was in a hurry.

4DA00C40-64C4-4E38-B7C8-53924279E9C0.jpeg
 

ScottB

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Here we go! 90 gallon SPS dominate tank! Lets see how this goes!
I have been battling this stuff for almost two years now. I have been pulling it out when doing water changes but it is starting to grow in between my sticks and stress them out. It is growing on my frag racks and almost completely overtaking my shroom box. I did a 10 gallon WC this morning and pulled most of it out minus the stuff on my shroom box. I’m hoping to avoid having a large swing in nutrients. I figured I have 110 gallon water volume with my large sump. I added 2200 mg spread out in the DT and sump.
I’m really nervous and hopeful it will work. I have a bunch of high end sticks (angry bird, vivid insanity, rainbow splice, jaw dropper, bkchem fruit loop, ect).
currently nutrients are a little low. I cut my feeding back a few weeks ago and noticed a few corals starting to loose color and brown. Nutrients were No3 16 Po4 0.1 now they are No3 2 Po4 0.02

I’ll post daily updates. Sorry for the crappy first picture I was in a hurry.

4DA00C40-64C4-4E38-B7C8-53924279E9C0.jpeg
The numbers are in your favor for an okay outcome. I would be nervous as heck with those pricey named sticks in there, but again, most times they do fine. With Bryopsis, you really don't have a choice.

If you see the slightest warning signal from your acros, shut the lights immediately. This will buy you some time to run carbon and change the water. Then you may need to consider a temporary rehome, so that you can treat the tank. Good luck.
 

DesertReefBoy

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The numbers are in your favor for an okay outcome. I would be nervous as heck with those pricey named sticks in there, but again, most times they do fine. With Bryopsis, you really don't have a choice.

If you see the slightest warning signal from your acros, shut the lights immediately. This will buy you some time to run carbon and change the water. Then you may need to consider a temporary rehome, so that you can treat the tank. Good luck.
So far so good. It looked like a few of the sticks slimed up but everything looks normal!
 

DesertReefBoy

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I won’t be able to take any pictures until Thursday due to being on shift. Here are two better pictures for documentation purposes. Things are looking a little stringy kind of thinking I might be getting a small case of Dino’s with my nutrients as low as they are. I’m working on slowly bringing them back up and will be ordering some bacteria and pods to add to the tank.

8F486FEC-8F96-477F-B0B4-18B7044E14AF.jpeg
8D7523FA-9552-429F-A58F-C6A4E22C247C.jpeg
 

DesertReefBoy

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Had a busy day yesterday and when I got home the blues were on. Tried getting a good picture. So far the bryopsis is starting to turn a little white and may be thinning out some. All the SPS look great! I was starting to notice some dino forming. I turned my T5 off, dosed some beneficial bacteria and pods. I don’t think the dino have anything to do with the fluconazole. My nutrients have been dropping like previously mentioned. I’m going to test them here in a few and I’ll post the results.
4AF7B651-E402-45E6-A599-5890182B0645.jpeg
 

DesertReefBoy

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Just ordered another dose for my tank.

3 months, and it's making a harder comeback in more spots then it was with the initial dose.
How long did you leave the medication in the tank before you did a WC, started skimming, running carbon ect?
 

dvgyfresh

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Heard that fluconazole can kill caulerpa , anybody have experience? I’m thinking of dosing to help remove/kill off , I will do manual removal as best I can but it leaves the roots / I can’t get it all
 

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DesertReefBoy

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Heard that fluconazole can kill caulerpa , anybody have experience? I’m thinking of dosing to help remove/kill off , I will do manual removal as best I can but it leaves the roots / I can’t get it all
I have tons of it in my sump and it is thriving 12 days into treatment!
 

homer1475

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Reef flux in last night. This journey begins again....

How long did you leave the medication in the tank before you did a WC, started skimming, running carbon ect?
Followed directions on the bottle. 3 days no skimmer 3 weeks no carbon, and a large 30% or more WC after 3 weeks.
.
 

homer1475

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One week in......

Nothing skipping a beat. Bryospsis still holding strong next to the hammer, but turning white. Everything else is mostly gone.

Thinking I might do a second treatment right after a huge WC. Anyone do this, and how did it go?
 

ScottB

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One week in......

Nothing skipping a beat. Bryospsis still holding strong next to the hammer, but turning white. Everything else is mostly gone.

Thinking I might do a second treatment right after a huge WC. Anyone do this, and how did it go?
Make sure none of the bryopsis is left shaded. The algaecide only works when active photosynthesis is taking place.

Glad it is going smoothly.
 

homer1475

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Yeah only problem with that, I can't move my rocks.

It's weird too, where it originally started, it's the worst I've seen it, and the last still hanging on. All the new growth around the tank(didn't have it all over last time, just a few spots) is mostly gone in just a couple days.

I was clear of it till about a couple weeks ago. I got almost 3 months, before it came back in force, and grew very fast, all over this time around. Last time it grew very slowly, and only in a couple spots.
 

ScottB

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Yeah only problem with that, I can't move my rocks.

It's weird too, where it originally started, it's the worst I've seen it, and the last still hanging on. All the new growth around the tank(didn't have it all over last time, just a few spots) is mostly gone in just a couple days.

I was clear of it till about a couple weeks ago. I got almost 3 months, before it came back in force, and grew very fast, all over this time around. Last time it grew very slowly, and only in a couple spots.
That is strange. Are you in a very different nutrient situation versus the previous outbreak?
 
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