Ostreobium Green Boring Algae Treatment

justonwo · Oct 30, 2015

As best I can tell based on comments from others and web research, my purple acropora lokani is infected with ostreobium green boring algae. Apparently, this algae can cause problems in high nitrate environments, which was a problem with my tank until only very recently when carbon dosing got the nitrate levels down.

It appears to be infecting two other frags in the tank as well, both acropora. It's in the very early stages on my ice fire echinata and has made significant progress on another smooth skin acro.

My nitrates are now about 1-2 ppm, with phosphate at 0.16 ppm, which I believe is pretty close to well-controlled values.

One article suggests the use of controls for the cyanobacterium that cause Red Slime Algae and Black Band Disease, as the suspected cause of Green Boring Algae is a similar cyanobacterium. These are products like Ultralife Red Slime Remover.

http://aquariumcoraldiseases.weebly.com/green-boring-algae.html

Does anyone have experience with this disease and how to control it?

For reference, my water parameters are:

SG: 1.025
Alk: 9.0
Mag: 1320
Ca: 435
Temp: 79

Triggreef · Oct 30, 2015

Kole tang. Emerald crabs 1 x every 4g. And banded trochus 1 x every 8g. If you have that ratio of those items, you'll never have algae issues of any kind, including cyano bacteria. Regardless of your nutrients or what anyone else says. Period.

Big E · Nov 3, 2015

The largest cleanup crew in the world isn't going to do anything. This disease attacks the coral from the inside out.

I've never been able to save a coral from it........only had it happen to frags.

The only thing you can do is frag the coral and hope the skeleton at the cut off point is white. When you glue the frag back down make sure the cut is completely sealed in super glue.

Eckolancer · Nov 3, 2015

I wonder if this is what killed my blue tort colony. I lost major colonies. I kept on fragging but nothing seemed to save the coral.

justonwo · Nov 4, 2015

Yeah, the once vibrant purple lokani in my avatar started to turn green around the base, and the damage has slowly spread around the base. The tips still have a deep purple and look completely healthy. The encrusted base is also vibrant purple with great polyp extension. I fragged part of this colony last week, hoping that the onslaught of the green invader would be stopped. It appears to be progressing regardless of what I do, so I salvaged the remaining frags I could from the colony. I don't hold out much hope from what's leftover, although the encrusted base looks pretty much immune to the algae. It's really only the parts of the colony that didn't get much light that were affected.

twilliard · Nov 4, 2015

Triggreef said:
Kole tang. Emerald crabs 1 x every 4g. And banded trochus 1 x every 8g. If you have that ratio of those items, you'll never have algae issues of any kind, including cyano bacteria. Regardless of your nutrients or what anyone else says. Period.

What does a person do when the algaes run out for these guys?

Triggreef · Nov 4, 2015

twilliard said:
What does a person do when the algaes run out for these guys?

Feed them? What else?
You'll never run out for the trochus or tangs. And the emerald crabs eat everything from nori to pellets to mysis. It is the perfect crew, and the only members of any crew needed.

twilliard · Nov 4, 2015

Triggreef said:
Feed them? What else?
You'll never run out for the trochus or tangs. And the emerald crabs eat everything from nori to pellets to mysis. It is the perfect crew, and the only members of any crew needed.

Sorry I was just looking for information on what to feed them.
I like your choices but I don't have room for a tang

Triggreef · Nov 4, 2015

As far as this guys post though, this sounds like more of a bacterial infection than algae. I've never heard of such a thing, but obviously as he suggests, no clean up crew will work here as the pest is traveling through the coral skeleton.

I would say if this post is a real thing, do not sell out any livestock, not coral, not fish, not rock... Do the best you can, but at the end of the day this is going to be a complete loss and start over. Bleach the heck out of all equipment before starting over.

twilliard · Nov 4, 2015

I'm not sure stating the tank is doomed is correct.
There are solutions to any kind of pests.

Triggreef · Nov 4, 2015

One other thing after reading this:
Fork and Larkum 1989, talk about a further algae from the genus Ostreobium sp. which is reported as a shade loving coral symbiont. It may be likely that the algae does not cause any direct damage to the coral itself, but simply colonizes the skeleton of corals suffering from other diseases......

I'm thinking this is more accurate to what is going on here. Do you have Monti or stylo in this tank? Just wondering as they are much more tolerant of environmental changes than the acros your describing.

Triggreef · Nov 4, 2015

twilliard said:
I'm not sure stating the tank is doomed is correct.
There are solutions to any kind of pests.

Your correct, maybe a bit of sarcasm on my part there.

Naiad · Nov 4, 2015

Triggreef said:
One other thing after reading this:
Fork and Larkum 1989, talk about a further algae from the genus Ostreobium sp. which is reported as a shade loving coral symbiont. It may be likely that the algae does not cause any direct damage to the coral itself, but simply colonizes the skeleton of corals suffering from other diseases......

I'm thinking this is more accurate to what is going on here. Do you have Monti or stylo in this tank? Just wondering as they are much more tolerant of environmental changes than the acros your describing.

This type of Symbiotic turned parasite relationship (and visa versa) is what we study in the lab I work in. Quite likely that in natural environments this is not a problem. I bet the high nitrates caused a tip in the balance. The coral begins dieing and the algae thrives. As more coral dies it is just fuel for the algae. Your corals could also be fighting another illness and the algae is just taking advantage of the situation. I think the best thing is to try and get the corals health back up first and formost. You are right some colonies may be too far gone. Removing to a coral qt/ hospital tank would be the best option.

justonwo · Nov 4, 2015

Thanks, guys. Your explanations seem like plausible descriptions of what's happening. I wonder if the issue will stop once it hits the deep purple/thriving part of the coral?

I'm seriously doubting this will spread to other parts of the tank. I haven't seen any evidence of that so far. But if that happens, it doesn't seem like there's much I can do about it . . .

justonwo · Nov 4, 2015

You can see in this photo that the encrusted base (circled on the right) is very healthy and vibrant, even though it immediately borders (and has immediately bordered since the beginning) the area that has turned green. My suspicion is that its high level of light has saved it from the fate of the rest of the base. The part circled in the middle is the fracture from this morning's final fragging attempt. And the part circled at the bottom is the green/damaged part. Sadly, and annoyingly, some wretched vermetid snails are beginning to grow on the damaged coral.

I put one of the other frags about 12" away from the main colony and 2 other frags on the opposite side of the tank, in case there is any concern about proximity to the affected base (I don't think there is). I'm hoping what remains of this colony will thrive even if the rest succumbs. I'm betting that the base circled on the right will stay healthy and continue to grow (the lightly colored part on the top left-hand side of this encrusted part was in the shadow of a fragged branch, hence its light color).

Triggreef · Nov 4, 2015

The part at the bottom probably just shaded itself out. My guess is the spot you fragged there will encrust back over and heal within a couple weeks and that piece will be fine, so long as your alk mg and ca all stay stable.