Introducing the Oceamo Organo-MS Analysis

[Lasse]

Do not miss this



Sincerely Lasse

 

[Lasse]

I´m going to order at least 1 test because I think that my aquarium is the one that best will confirm or reject (or something in between) the concern about the accumulation of organic coral toxins in the aquarium. It has been almost 2.5 years since the last major water change (33% removed in a week) and it was almost 4 years before the water change before that

In addition, it is filled to the brim with corals that are known for chemical warfare - such as Euphyllia, green hairy mushrooms, Discosoma, fast growing SPS but only 2 Acropora.

MVH Lasse

 

[Reef Quest]

OCEAMO Organo-MS
Now available in the UK
https://www.reefquest.co.uk/oceamo-reference-icp-testing/oceamo-organo-ms-analysis

 

[Dan_P]

I´m going to order at least 1 test because I think that my aquarium is the one that best will confirm or reject (or something in between) the concern about the accumulation of organic coral toxins in the aquarium. It has been almost 2.5 years since the last major water change (33% removed in a week) and it was almost 4 years before the water change before that

In addition, it is filled to the brim with corals that are known for chemical warfare - such as Euphyllia, green hairy mushrooms, Discosoma, fast growing SPS but only 2 Acropora.

MVH Lasse

Wouldn’t there be a microorganism that consumes toxins and preventing accumulation? Seems like toxins could just be fancy carbon dosing.

 

[Christoph]

Really depends. Some organics are poorly biodegradeable and accumulate (diclofenac is a prime example), while others will have a relatively short halflife. The concentration in the tank will be an equilibrium between influx (dosing, leaching,...) and efflux (desorption, skimming, degradation, consumption,..) as it is basically the case for the inorganic trace elements.

BR, Christoph

 

[Lasse]

Wouldn’t there be a microorganism that consumes toxins and preventing accumulation? Seems like toxins could just be fancy carbon dosing.

Very interesting question statement. In addition to @Christoph answer - I would like to add that some thought from myself.

Some may change the microbial community - some may speed up the evolution for some microorganisms (compare development of antibiotic resistant bacteria - evolution on steroids). Some will change the macro community and so on

This interaction between toxins, micro- and macrofauna may be the explanation why certain organisms are more or less a plague in some aquariums but almost impossible to keep in others.

The question may also shed light on the fact that tests using DNA technology indicate that old aquariums appear to have a lower diversity instead of the expected higher diversity.

I think that this tool will in the end - as all extended knowledge - create more question marks than answers but for sure kill many long lived myths in our hobby as the growing knowledge from many ICP - xx analyzes have done.

However - if I can wish something from Oceamo (and other mass testing companies) is a possibility to complete the questionnaire and aquarium description with questions such as which species thrive and which species do not seem to thrive in your aquarium.

The different databases from aquariums all over the world constitutes a huge goldmine of information that in the future, for example, can be run with an AI agent to reveal various patterns that are currently drowning in all the information we have.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Dan_P]

Very interesting question statement. In addition to @Christoph answer - I would like to add that some thought from myself.

Some may change the microbial community - some may speed up the evolution for some microorganisms (compare development of antibiotic resistant bacteria - evolution on steroids). Some will change the macro community and so on

This interaction between toxins, micro- and macrofauna may be the explanation why certain organisms are more or less a plague in some aquariums but almost impossible to keep in others.

The question may also shed light on the fact that tests using DNA technology indicate that old aquariums appear to have a lower diversity instead of the expected higher diversity.

I think that this tool will in the end - as all extended knowledge - create more question marks than answers but for sure kill many long lived myths in our hobby as the growing knowledge from many ICP - xx analyzes have done.

However - if I can wish something from Oceamo (and other mass testing companies) is a possibility to complete the questionnaire and aquarium description with questions such as which species thrive and which species do not seem to thrive in your aquarium.

The different databases from aquariums all over the world constitutes a huge goldmine of information that in the future, for example, can be run with an AI agent to reveal various patterns that are currently drowning in all the information we have.

Sincerely Lasse

Why is bacterial diversity expected to increase with aquarium age?

 

[Lasse]

Why is bacterial diversity expected to increase with aquarium age

I do not know but there was a thought that old aquariums that works well did it because of high diversity. The DNA analyses show the opposite.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Dan_P]

I do not know but there was a thought that old aquariums that works well did it because of high diversity. The DNA analyses show the opposite.

Sincerely Lasse

Thanks!

One more (maybe more) question about diversity. Do you recall the reasoning behind why high bacterial diversity might be an important factor in reef aquaria?

 

[Lasse]

One more (maybe more) question about diversity. Do you recall the reasoning behind why high bacterial diversity might be an important factor in reef aquaria?

Stability - its an ecological saying that high biodiversity means a stable environment

Note - I change the word show in post 48 - into the word indicate.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

One of the things that I think reefers rarely think about, but which is a big factor in both the ocean and in reef tanks are viruses that prey on bacteria. They greatly outnumber bacteria in the ocean. I expect bacterial populations are heavily influenced by viruses.

While I think some folks do essentially useless things in the name of biodiversity (e.g., NOPOX instead of single organic sources), having more diversity leaves more species to fill a niche when the primary specie currently in that niche suffers a catastrophic population crash due to a virus explosion.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Really depends. Some organics are poorly biodegradeable and accumulate (diclofenac is a prime example), while others will have a relatively short halflife. The concentration in the tank will be an equilibrium between influx (dosing, leaching,...) and efflux (desorption, skimming, degradation, consumption,..) as it is basically the case for the inorganic trace elements.

BR, Christoph

I’d add to the toxin discussion that while there certainly are bacteria that can metabolize most toxins, that the absolute levels of most toxins are quite low, never rising enough in normal reef operation for those toxins to be a primary food source for bacteria that might consume them. Thus, most of those toxin consuming species need to feed on other organics and will never rise greatly in levels due to the presence or absence of a toxin in the water.

 

[Dan_P]

Stability - its an ecological saying that high biodiversity means a stable environment

Note - I change the word show in post 48 - into the word indicate.

Sincerely Lasse

Thanks, but now you got me wondering…

Is it possible to measure stability in our aquarium?

And does high diversity in “ high diversity means a stable environment” refer to all trophic levels? If yes, then having just a diverse collection of bacteria in an aquarium might not lead to a stable aquarium or for that matter, maybe a diverse collection of bacteria cannot exist when all the other trophic levels are mixed up?

 

[Christoph]

Hi Reef2Reefers,

we have added another interesting (and not trivial to measure) analyte to the Organo-MS portfolio. Its a compound you might have never heard about: Domoic acid

We are excited to announce a new addition to our analysis portfolio: Oceamo can now detect and quantify domoic acid with its Organo-MS analysis.

What is domoic acid?

Domoic acid​

Domoic acid is a naturally occurring neurotoxin. It belongs to the group of Amnesic Shellfish Poisons (ASP), toxins known to cause memory loss. It gained notoriety through mass poisonings in marine animals and fisheries warnings related to shellfish and crustaceans.

Who produces domoic acid?

This toxin is produced by certain diatoms of the genus Pseudo-nitzschia. During algal blooms, they can release significant amounts of domoic acid into the water.


What can domoic acid cause?

In nature, domoic acid is known to affect marine mammals such as sea lions, birds, and even humans. It targets the nervous system and can cause seizures, disorientation, and in severe cases, death.

Relevance for aquaristics

While extreme concentrations like those found in oceanic algal blooms are unlikely in aquariums, trace amounts of domoic acid could still play a role – for example in cases of unexplained fish or invertebrate losses, or when filter feeders (such as clams or sponges) are affected. Our new test now allows us to investigate such scenarios more closely.

Domoic acid in Oceamo Organo-MS

With domoic acid, another marine toxin is added to the list of compounds analyzed in our Organo-MS. Alongside pesticides, herbicides, pharmaceutical residues, and many other organic micropollutants, we can now also detect this potent algal toxin.

The detection limit is well below 0.1 µg/l – making the measurement highly sensitive and allowing for the reliable identification of even the smallest traces of domoic acid.

With this expansion, we aim to provide reef aquarists with yet another powerful tool to monitor the delicate balance in their aquariums and identify potentially harmful substances at an early stage.

all the best,
Christoph

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thank you for developing this one. This is one of the toxins that I had been hoping to be able to understand if it is impacting reef tanks. :)

 

[Christoph]

Hello Reefers,
a curiosity driven test that shows well the sensitivity of Organo-MS ans also how Non-target screening (NTS) works. However its not directly related to aquaristics.;



All the best, Christoph

 

[Yazannreef]

That's definitely Dirty Money. Wonder where it came from lol

 

[Christoph]

That's definitely Dirty Money. Wonder where it came from lol

We tested several bills, and found at least cocaine, coffeine and nicotine on every one of them. I guess that almost every bill that is in circulation for some time shows these residues - its likely only a extremely low amount, but still easily detectable.
Best regards, Christoph

 

[Marc Pardon]

@Christoph : does a analyse of reef tank with a refugium (macro algae) looks very different from a analyse from a reef tank without regarding AA?

 

[Christoph]

@Christoph : does a analyse of reef tank with a refugium (macro algae) looks very different from a analyse from a reef tank without regarding AA?

I cant tell unfortunately. We do not ask if a refugium is used in the Organo-MS sample submission. Would be an interesting point to add.

With amino acids we usually see quite low number with the exception of aspatic and glutamic acid, which are sometimes unexpectedly high. The evaluation of the amino acid results is difficult terrain - the consumption is rapid, outcome of the analysis depends significantly on the time gap between dosing and taking the sampling, so its best to stick to a sampling routine to make results for amino acids most compareable.

All the best, Christoph