Bryopsis Cure: My Battle With Bryopsis Using Fluconazole

[homer1475]

I've done the fluc treatment 2 times with 0 issues with any acro(I'm pretty acro dominant). Now whether thats because I dose a ridiculous amount of live phyto daily, or not I have no idea. MY acros didn;t skip a beat, and my dosing actually went up during the treatment, and continues to go up.

 

[Garf]

If my tank isn't that infected, can I get away with just scrubbing away the bulk of it forever? Or am I just delaying the inevitable and it'll have to be dosed. Very nervous about losing my sticks.

You can pull off the long bits and discard, then cover the roots with Aiptasia killers (kalk paste or my favorite sodium hydroxide mixed with kalk powder) if you want a spot treatment.

 

[adsf430]

You can pull off the long bits and discard, then cover the roots with Aiptasia killers (kalk paste or my favorite sodium hydroxide mixed with kalk powder) if you want a spot treatment.

what about just covering the effected areas in putty?

 

[Garf]

what about just covering the effected areas in putty?

Yep, probably best to superglue it in though. They seek any gap, and sprout.

 

[adsf430]

Yep, probably best to superglue it in though. They seek any gap, and sprout.

Ok, and worst case scenario, do I just does one capsule of this product (tank is a 20 gallon AIO with a lot of rock) and follow the directions on the first page of the thread?

Reef Flux Fluconazole Treatment

Reef Flux is a fluconazole treatment that is effective against certain fungal fish infections. It contains no fillers or additives and is lab tested for purity. A notable side-effect of fluconazole is that it is extremely detrimental to bryopsis algae. Previously known as Algae Buster, Reef Flux...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

Or is this not the best product?

 

[homer1475]

Reef flux is what I used, and it works well. JFrom my readings and following this thread, the blue vet one seems to be the one people have issues with(although it works too). just follow the direction on the bottle(think it's one capsule for every 10 gallons).

My issue is it works, then a few months later, bryopsis returns. Seems to be a never ending battle for me. I was going to use it again, but for some unknown reason, it died way back in my tank when I was away on vacation. Still have some here and there, but it's not the plague it was before I went away. lol

 

[adsf430]

Reef flux is what I used, and it works well. JFrom my readings and following this thread, the blue vet one seems to be the one people have issues with(although it works too). just follow the direction on the bottle(think it's one capsule for every 10 gallons).

My issue is it works, then a few months later, bryopsis returns. Seems to be a never ending battle for me. I was going to use it again, but for some unknown reason, it died way back in my tank when I was away on vacation. Still have some here and there, but it's not the plague it was before I went away. lol

Thanks that really helps, and just because I'm a stickler may I ask if you have acros? and what exactly is the blue vet one (Sorry for not looking myself but this thread is 300 pages haha).

 

[homer1475]

Yes I am acro dominant, or rather pretty much only SPS. I only have 4 LPS, and 1 softie(gorgonian).

Blue vet(blue life) is just another manufacturer of fluc available to the hobby.

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[homer1475]

Oops sorry looking at my tank, I have 7 LPS.

2 elegance, 1 wall hammer, 1 duncan, 1 lobo, and 1 hammer, and 1 duncan. All colony size(many heads). Pictures of my tank in my build thread if you care to look.

With all the sticks, it's hard to remember how many LPS are hidden here and there. LOL

 

[adsf430]

Oops sorry looking at my tank, I have 7 LPS.

2 elegance, 1 wall hammer, 1 duncan, 1 lobo, and 1 hammer, and 1 duncan. All colony size(many heads). Pictures of my tank in my build thread if you care to look.

With all the sticks, it's hard to remember how many LPS are hidden here and there. LOL

We all lose track haha, will for sure take a gander.

 

[Cheezle]

Day 13 update.. just did a 5 gallon water change on my 20 long and added my pouch of chemi pure blue, we're back to business as usual.

I'm very happy with the results and thankful for this thread and everyone who offered advice.

A little progress so far.. I pulled a ton from the tank before I dosed, but we're about 3 days in and I like what I'm seeing. This stuff is turning to ash and isn't growing back like it was before. I have a 20 gallon tank and only dosed as if it were 15 gallons since I have so much rock, but I'm leaning towards dosing another scoop since 3 has worked so well. Fluconazole is the real deal

 

[Ulmo]

Trying ReefFlux for the 3rd time now.

Hypothesis for how Bryopsis got introduced: Zoa colony on Indonesian rock from LiveAquaria (around November 2021). A month or so after introduction of that piece, noticed the fern structures growing from that same rock.

Tried plucking for the first couple months, it kept spreading (wish I had done this treatment at first sight and not tried any manual removal). Never exploded to plague proportions, but there were small specimens almost everywhere in the tank, including some that were suffocating/shading corals. Eventually it was growing like a sparse forest across all lit areas of the sandbed (this was before I added a conch in January 2022, which started turning over sandbed and it *looked* cleaner after that, but maybe that burying is what is causing my treatments to not work?).

In February 2022 I tried the first ReefFlux dose (5 capsules at once, for approx. 45 gal of total water). Turned skimmer completely off for 5 days, then on but not collected before eventually resuming the driest collection I could achieve. Removed GAC and Purigen. Watched all bryopsis I could see wither and die within the first week. 25% water change and put new GAC/Purigen in at 3 weeks. Thought it was a successful eradication.

(Side note about algae scrubber during first treatment: left online during whole treatment, all GHA died, replaced by a tough orange/brown algae, but was back to near full GHA production within a couple weeks of resuming water changes and carbon)

April 2022 noticed it returning on the sandbed and a few corals/rocks (less than last time at least). Tried another 5 capsules of ReefFlux. Skimmer stayed on at lowest setting with cup off the whole time, all absorption media out again. The bryopsis did not wither until much later during this treatment. Did the 25% water change and added new media at 2 weeks. That's earlier than I would have liked, due to family coming to visit for two weeks. Wouldn't have had time to go through the post treatment process while entertaining, and didn't want to let the dirty water keep going that long.

(Side note about algae scrubber during second treatment: left online, GHA died again, replaced by small amounts of the orange stuff from last time, but mostly by a new green slimy/gelatinous variety. GHA very slowly resumed a halved-growth rate after treatment)

June 2022, it's back again, growing quickly in the same areas but not suffocating/shading anything yet. Today I put in 7 capsules of ReefFlux (if it doesn't work this time, maybe I should try Flux Rx?). Same media removal, skimmer on at lowest setting and no cup.

Plan to let it stay in for 3 weeks this time, or should I let it go a full month? I really worry about how dirty my tank will get by that point. I already have a high nutrient system (generally 20-30 Nitrates, 0.1-0.2 Phosphates). Each week I skim 2/3 cup of wet but dark skimmate and clean a nice thick build-up of sludge from the neck. Carbon dosing 6ml of DIY NoPox daily, which is difficult to reduce as it is mixed in ratio with my Balling part C reservoir, also my concerns about the system's dependency on it. With no carbon, Purigen, and halting algae scrubber growth, it just amplifies the anxiety.

I can try to reduce my feedings even more (which is normally half of a small cube of frozen each night for 6 small fish, and a supplemental daytime feeding every 2-3 days of either Masstick, spirulina, ROE, or pellets.

Really not liking this, as I felt so much stress in the previous two treatments from not keeping my full import/export program in place. Can someone tell me "let it go longer, it will be ok, and then you won't have to do a fourth treatment"? Is bryopsis really this persistent, or can someone see something I'm doing wrong? Again, I wonder if the conch constantly turning over the sandbed is keeping some spores protected from the treatment that the conch then releases later to keep it coming back.

Sorry for long winded post, just wanted to give as much information as possible to hopefully get some help/advice.

 

[CK00020]

My experience in the beginning was much the same as yours, I am getting ready to dose for like the fifth or sixth time. I don’t know what else to do at this point, mine came in on a zoa frag from Wwc, wish I would have chucked that in the garbage. It’s very hard on my cuc, conchs seem to pull through fine but snails die frequently.

 

[Vleis]

Hey all.

How do I know its gone 100%. Came back for the second time now, so Im doing my treatment now & then im going to treat it with the 10% dosage for 6monthjust to make sure.

Any side affect for the LONG 10% maintained dosage?

 

[CK00020]

Hard on cuc from my experience

 

[adsf430]

Can I leave my skimmer on during treatment if I just make it too low to reach the collection cup? I have a CO2 scrubber attached to it so just want to keep the benefits of that without skimming the medication.

 

[CK00020]

Yes

 

[mattgsa]

I have done Reef flux several times and it just comes right back. So I have started a new treatment.

Treating Bryopsis Algae With Brightwell Aquatics Hydrat-MG | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

There’s many different kinds of nuisance algae that can cause problems in the reef aquarium and Bryopsis can be one of the worst, or one of the ‘best’ depending on your perspective.

reefbuilders.com

I went on the Brightwell site and asked if there was any validity to this, and much to my surprise the owner of the company called me and confirmed that it is true and does work. I just started a couple of days ago, but I'm looking forward to seeing the results.

 

[Marc Daniels]

Can I leave my skimmer on during treatment if I just make it too low to reach the collection cup? I have a CO2 scrubber attached to it so just want to keep the benefits of that without skimming the medication.

Just plug the airline going into the skimmer.

 

[CK00020]

I have done Reef flux several times and it just comes right back. So I have started a new treatment.

Treating Bryopsis Algae With Brightwell Aquatics Hydrat-MG | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

There’s many different kinds of nuisance algae that can cause problems in the reef aquarium and Bryopsis can be one of the worst, or one of the ‘best’ depending on your perspective.

reefbuilders.com

I went on the Brightwell site and asked if there was any validity to this, and much to my surprise the owner of the company called me and confirmed that it is true and does work. I just started a couple of days ago, but I'm looking forward to seeing the results.

Where did you buy this brightwell product?