Dino doom

[TurboTang]

One year in the hobby and I've been infested with my worst nightmare. Looks like dinoflagellate ostreopsis, but I wanted to get advice from the experts. It started 2 months ago with orangish growth on sand bed. I could siphon it off and it would very slowly reappear - but now comes back in days. Under the microscope they look like little red bugs moving around quickly. Does this type get into water column? Eradicate with UV? Or elevate temp? Will elevated temps harm tangs, shrimp, other livestock?

 

[andrewey]

Does your microscope allow you to get a closer shot by any chance? If not, when you look through it, does it look like the organisms are moving around freely or are they "tethered" and rotating around a single axis?

If it is ostreopsis, I would start with a properly sized UV and ensuring your nutrient levels are at the right levels. I'd probably start there before elevating the temperature- if the temperature gets high enough it will harm your inhabitants, so it's important to follow what others have done in experimenting with temperature and dinoflagellates (83 degrees F). Have you checked out the dinoflagellate thread for ID purposes and treatment purposes?

 

[TurboTang]

Does your microscope allow you to get a closer shot by any chance? If not, when you look through it, does it look like the organisms are moving around freely or are they "tethered" and rotating around a single axis?

If it is ostreopsis, I would start with a properly sized UV and ensuring your nutrient levels are at the right levels. I'd probably start there before elevating the temperature- if the temperature gets high enough it will harm your inhabitants, so it's important to follow what others have done in experimenting with temperature and dinoflagellates (83 degrees F). Have you checked out the dinoflagellate thread for ID purposes and treatment purposes?

Tkanx for quick reply!
They swim in straight lines, zigzagging all over field of view
Over last 6 months:. PO4 0.10 to 0.16
Nitrate 4 to 10

 

[andrewey]

Of the few examples I've seen of ostreopsis, it doesn't sound like their traditional movements, however I'm still learning, so I'm going to tag the real expert, @taricha to weigh in before I lead you astray

 

[TurboTang]

Of the few examples I've seen of ostreopsis, it doesn't sound like their traditional movements, however I'm still learning, so I'm going to tag the real expert, @taricha to weigh in before I lead you astray

Ok thanks! I found the dino thread and I'm reading - lots to sift through. I got a closer zoom 400x, and a video of their movement at 40x attached. Some of them seem tethered and then they will move longer distance