Where have all my Dino's gone?

[salty_noob]

I just wanted to share my recent experience in case someone can explain what happened and maybe help someone else in the battle against LCA dino's.

So I have a 180 gallon peninsula tank coming up to 1 year since set-up, it's been a fun and interesting year but one with a few set backs that have been covered in other threads.

A couple of months ago I was quite happy with the way the tank was developing except I had a fairly serious dino problem, identified under a microscope as LCAs, and I was really not looking forward to a long battle with dosing silicates etc. Then fate intervened and I had an Ich outbreak due to a non quarantined fish that wiped out several fish and led me into setting up treatment and observation tanks while I decided to take the main tank fallow. So in the first week of my fallow period I dosed with 4 jars of pods from AB, added a couple of shrimps (4) and some emerald crabs (5) to have something moving in the tank while it was empty.

Due to the lack of fish and me obviously not feeding the 'verts enough to keep the tank fed, after a couple of weeks my nitrates dropped to almost zero, everyone in the tank seemed happy but I started to see a bit of Cyano appear. Around this time I also noticed there were a lot of small creatures running around on the sand bed between the dino and cyano patches, I'm still not sure if the are copepods or amphipods but they come out all over the rocks and sand when I turn the flow down. They are dark and up to maybe 2-3mm max in length, my family describe them as "little sand ants"

Over the next couple of weeks the cyano got worse but the dinos appeared to be going away so I decided to use Chemiclean to get rid of the cyano and see where things stood underneath. 2 days of treatment and before any water change the cyano and dinos are both gone and my sand looks nice and clean, pods are still in very healthy numbers. So far I am 1 week post chemiclean and still no sign of returning dino's, I just have to figure out now how to get the system back to a nice stable nitrate base by the time my fish are transferred back.

So did the cyano smother the dino's? are the pods eating them? will it all come back when the fish return? corals, 'verts and my BTA all seem happy for now.

Thoughts from the community? Is a fallow period with pods all that is needed to beat LCAs?

 

[Xavier434]

I am far from an expert especially compared to some others on these forums, but if I had to bet my paycheck I would say that the Cyano was outcompeting the Dinos and then by a stroke of luck you timed your chemiclean right in a way that allowed the Cyano to be wiped out around the time it knocked the Dinos back to a non visible point.

A word of caution though. They probably are not gone. They just aren't visible which is perfectly fine. This is normal in nearly every tank. I wouldn't be surprised at all if either or both return unless you dominate the tank with a stable ratio of nitrates, phosphates, and especially healthy bacteria. In the end, something is going to dominate the bacteria level of your ecosystem. You want it to be the healthy kind.

So what to do next right? In my opinion, the answer is put your fish back as soon as you feel it is safe. Combine that with regular dosing of healthy bacteria. You have lots of options to choose from there including but not limited to Microbacter 7 and Dr. Tims Waste Away. Also, regularly test for nitrates and phosphates. You don't want to be at zero for either. If you are, then feed more. The healthy bacteria is going to eat those nitrates and phosphates which might seem counterintuitive but you need it all. Some trial and error is required to strike that balance and the only way to do that is a systematic feeding and dosing regiment combined with recording a lot of test results.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

We call this humble bragging kids

 

[salty_noob]

We call this humble bragging kids

That wasn't my intention, I am happy but somewhat confused by this situation, and interested to get thoughts on how I might keep this positive position, if that is at all possible.

 

[blaxsun]

Did you want them back...?

 

[blecki]

It was the pods.

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

That wasn't my intention, I am happy but somewhat confused by this situation, and interested to get thoughts on how I might keep this positive position, if that is at all possible.

Oh I'm playing. Your post is fine.

 

[salty_noob]

Did you want them back...?

heck no, but I'm pretty sure some of my fish are going to enjoy the pod fest when they go back into the tank.

 

[saltyhog]

Finger's crossed! Keep us updated.

 

[Supa]

I would say it’s a combination of things that is keeping it at bay. FWIW I battle the same situation and when my pod population depleted(from wrasse and other fish eating them) the problem came back but not as bad.

 

[soreefed]

I had a similar situation minus using chemiclean. I had Dino’s pop up after zeroing out on phos and nitrate. Started dosing nutrients and as the levels increased Dino’s went away and cyano took over. Sucked cyano out on a weekly basis and for a couple of weeks until the cyano didn’t come back, my sand bed looked nearly brand new.

Then the Dino’s came back very mildly but the cyano didn’t. Dosed water glass for a week and now I’m seeing the Dino’s go away entirely while some diatoms and hair algae are growing.

IMO the Dino’s aren’t gone there is just an invisible battle occurring and nothing has won yet.

 

[salty_noob]

so the sand bed stayed clear through the end of my fallow period and the pods (I think these are amphipods based on size, do copepods get to be 2-3mm?) were out on the rocks and sand bed all the time. Fish went back in today, there is not a pod in sight, let's see if the brown comes back.