Copepods cleaning glass

Sleepingtiger

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Prefix: I started my tank about 2 months ago and have been dosing phyto and copepods now for a month. The tank is fallow due to a ich outbreak and has been fallow for about 3 weeks.

Hairy algae about 4 weeks ago took over my tank. Brown algae covered the glass. I would have to clean my glass everyday, mainly the front and left panel. The back and right panel were against the wall so I really didn't care that much. The back and right panel was covered in hairy algae so thick, you can't see through it.

About a week ago, I began to notice the algae on my left and front panels began to recede. Where it was receding I found white copepods.

Since then I have not cleaned my glass and about 70% of the front and left glass panels are clean. The back and right panels are about 20% clean and the rest is very lightly covered in algae. So light that I can see easily see right through it.

Not only that, the algae on my rocks are clean. They are now white again. The areas where hairy algae still are thick is covered in white spots. I am seeing filaments of hairy algae floating in the tank.

Has anyone else experienced this? This has me optimistic about the benefits of constantly dosing pods and phyto. I only run my skimmer 24hrs on, 24hrs off. I normally dose phyto and pods when the skimmer is off. I don't have filter socks or roller mat.
 
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Sleepingtiger

Sleepingtiger

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fryman

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What kind of copepods do you dose?

Probably copepods are not eating hair or other macroalgae although they may live in it. There are types that can eat film algae. There's a common white amphipod I've seen that I believe eats film algae.

Also could just be the algae has run out of something it needs (N/P, or something else like iron) and is dying off on it's own.
 

Mr Fishface

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Maybe the algae used up the nutrients and now is receding because of that? Having said that I am really curious if anyone else has had a similar situation. Makes me wonder if phyto and pods before putting any fish in would be a better way to start and keep algae in control.
 
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Sleepingtiger

Sleepingtiger

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What kind of copepods do you dose?

Probably copepods are not eating hair or other macroalgae although they may live in it. There are types that can eat film algae. There's a common white amphipod I've seen that I believe eats film algae.

Also could just be the algae has run out of something it needs (N/P, or something else like iron) and is dying off on it's own.

You could be right about lack of nutrients. I still add brine and mysis shrimp every other day to feed my two pistol shrimp and my growing population of amphipods. I also have some type of leafy green algae growing on the rocks.

If you look at the picture.... you can clearly where the algae starts and where the glass is clean, there is a line of white specs (pods). Especially picture #3. I can only assume that the pods are eating their way up the glass.

Where the glass is clean, algae has not comeback. It has been clean for over a week.

I purchased the pods from Jays Reef Bugs, a eBay seller. I purchased the Tisbe/Tig/Cyclops/Euterpina/Pseudo bottle.
 

fryman

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If you look at the picture.... you can clearly where the algae starts and where the glass is clean, there is a line of white specs (pods). Especially picture #3. I can only assume that the pods are eating their way up the glass.
The white specs in pic#3 look like spirorbid worms to me.
 

tnw50cal

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I've watched copepods eating film algae and diatoms in new tanks, but fish move in and eat them and then I've got to clean the glass until the urchins and turbo snails move in.
 

homer1475

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When I ran fallow a few years back, I had the same thing happen. Minus the hair algae missing, but my glass was crawling, and fairly clean.

I figured with no predator in the tank, they were free to roam around, and liked the film algae on the glass.
 

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