Stringy Threads: Need Identification

[Lisa Cain]

Two weeks ago I transferred everything from m 32 gallon biocube to my new 90 gallon aquarium. I siphoned the sand, filer material and changed 30-40% of the water. The sand was very dirty and although I cleaned a lot the siphon broke so a lot of the debri remained. My sand after a day turned golden brown. My ammonium and nitrates were zero. Yesterday I put in 1 saddle back puffer and a diamond goby. Giving the tank to my 16 year old. The water as crystal clear (purigen, and chemipure elite are in the filter) and water parameters were excellent until I put in three new pieces of live rock and the two fish. The goby has been sifting the sand like crazy and making holes. Both fish seem fine but the goby is making the water inhabited with sand particles and these strings are developing and are hanging from the walls of the aquarium and rocks. See pictures below. This morning there were only a few from yesterday and the water was clear but as soon as the goby came out and sifted the sand about 3 hours later thin strings were everywhere. Please identify the strings? Should I move the puffer to o the 90 gallon tank? I brought him for my son and I do not want him to die.

 

[Ubergroover]

i have seen stressed coals do this....in your case hard to say. monitor your levels and have water made up.

 

[Lisa Cain]

i have seen stressed coals do this....in your case hard to say. monitor your levels and have water made up.

I do not have any corals in the tank only a puffer and goby.

 

[norfolkgarden]

#reefsquad ?

Thanks!

 

[ihavecrabs]

Did your nitrates and phosphates bottom out after the move?

 

[Jason mack]

Could be cyno bacteria, they come in all colors ...

 

[malacoda]

Kind of reminds me of the 'webs' put out by vermetid snails when there is a lot of detritus, coral food, etc. stirred up in tank water, only on a much larger scale than I've seen from the typical small vermetids.

My first suspicion would be something living in or on the rocks that is casting out similar feeding strands to capture the detritus kicked up by the goby.

 

[lzrlvr]

It may be possible that nutrients are being released from the sand when your goby disturbs the sand bed

 

[Lisa Cain]

Did your nitrates and phosphates bottom out after the move?

My nitrates are 10-20 ppm
ammonia is 0
pH is way out of wack 7.4

I took the rock out washed it and the rock is covered again after about an hour. Looks lik ea ghost town. It has to do with the goby sifting the sand. This did not happen until I added the goby who is disturbing the sand.

I have never seen this before. Nitrates are about the same or lower than when the tank was running.

 

[Big G]

I've seen something like this with a "new tank" and the growths were sponges that grew incredibly fast and then absorbed the "food" from the water column and disappeared over night when the "food" was exhausted.

 

[Lisa Cain]

I've seen something like this with a "new tank" and the growths were sponges that grew incredibly fast and then absorbed the "food" from the water column and disappeared over night when the "food" was exhausted.

The biocube is a year old but I removed all of the old rock and tried to siphon the sand. It was dirty and I did not gt a lob of the debri. It only happens when the goby sifts the sand.

 

[Big G]

The biocube is a year old but I removed all of the old rock and tried to siphon the sand. It was dirty and I did not gt a lob of the debri. It only happens when the goby sifts the sand.

Exactly. The water column is full of bio material, from your goby digging, that is feeding the growth of the sponges. It's incredible how fast these types of sponges will grow. And equally incredible how fast they disappear once their food is gone.

 

[B-ridge]

I could be wrong but it looks like dinos to be