What is your take

[dR3ws3r]

So I have a blue-green algae problem (I believe). And one of the recommendations I saw was to use a single dose of Mardel Maracyn. So I ordered some online, and it arrived yesterday. A quick look at the expiration date and it expires in exactly one month from now.

So what is your take? Would you be disappointed as this will be used once, and go in the trash (probably)? Or do you take this as ok. I was disappointed and wrote the seller, and their reply was ... it isn't expired, so we won't do anything about it. Am I over-reacting?

Thanks

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

This single dose - can it be repeated later if things don't clear up?

I've never battled blue green algae before, so don't know what the best treatment for it is I'm afraid. But purely from a consumer point of view, I'd take the matter further and insist on a refund/return. Make it their issue, and buy from someone else. If it's ebay or amazon, they tend to be on your side for returning, no matter what the reason.

While going through that/waiting new dose, manually remove as much of the cyanobacteria as possible, and give the tank a good clean. It thrives in tanks with high organics I've been told, so areas with lots of dead leaves, mulm and inadequate flow.

ETA: This was my opinion before finding out what the product was. After learning that it was an antibiotic, my opinion has changed significantly. See further down.

 

[Byron]

I would not use Maracyn, but not because of the expiry date. This is an antibiotic, and these should never be added to a tank containing fish unless there is a specific fish-related problem requiring such a treatment.

Cyanobacteria is due to high organics in the presence of light. The only "cure" is to fix the biological system. Reducing organics is accomplished by regular and substantial water changes, vacuuming the substrate, cleaning (and keeping clean) the filter, not overfeeding, and not overstocking. Live aquatic plants also help as they use organics. Any other "treatment" will almost inevitably not last long unless the initial cause is corrected.

The above assumes this is cyanobacteria (often called blue-green algae, it is a slimy covering of surfaces).

 

[dR3ws3r]

This single dose - can it be repeated later if things don't clear up?

I've never battled blue green algae before, so don't know what the best treatment for it is I'm afraid. But purely from a consumer point of view, I'd take the matter further and insist on a refund/return. Make it their issue, and buy from someone else. If it's ebay or amazon, they tend to be on your side for returning, no matter what the reason.

While going through that/waiting new dose, manually remove as much of the cyanobacteria as possible, and give the tank a good clean. It thrives in tanks with high organics I've been told, so areas with lots of dead leaves, mulm and inadequate flow.

Thanks for the reply.

I have a 25 gal cube and have been running a fluval 207 ... even had a 107 running at the same time to try and seed the beneficial bacteria in it for a second tank. I only have 7 small fish and some shrimp, so mulm is definitely on the low side. I change about 25% a week. I have tried cleaning it off, but it finds another site to start. Often on the plants. I figured I'd give the drugs a chance. Most information kind of says that the drugs are pretty harmless to fish and plants.

And I won't be buying from them again. Hopefully I'm not being too spiteful.

 

[Byron]

Most information kind of says that the drugs are pretty harmless to fish and plants.

One sees this for many products, but it is not exactly true. All drugs are detrimental to fish. If the drug dissolves in water, and can diffuse across the cell membrane (water is continually entering fish via osmosis through the cells), it has the ability to at least weaken fish, and beyond depending upon the drug and dose. As for Maracyn, I have had fish nearly die from it, and I know other members have said the same.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Thanks for the reply.

I have a 25 gal cube and have been running a fluval 207 ... even had a 107 running at the same time to try and seed the beneficial bacteria in it for a second tank. I only have 7 small fish and some shrimp, so mulm is definitely on the low side. I change about 25% a week. I have tried cleaning it off, but it finds another site to start. Often on the plants. I figured I'd give the drugs a chance. Most information kind of says that the drugs are pretty harmless to fish and plants.

And I won't be buying from them again. Hopefully I'm not being too spiteful.

Ah, @Byron helpfully cleared up what the product you were talking about was. I didn't realise it was an antibiotic...
No, I would return it and not use it at all, knowing that. The misuse of antibiotics has led to massive antibiotic resistant bacteria problems!! Why on earth would you willingly contribute to that, just to try to solve an algae problem?? PEOPLE DIE BECAUSE OF ANTIBIOTIC RESISTENT BACTERIA. Precisely because of people using them willy nilly for nothing. It truly turns my stomach.

 

[dR3ws3r]

I would not use Maracyn, but not because of the expiry date. This is an antibiotic, and these should never be added to a tank containing fish unless there is a specific fish-related problem requiring such a treatment.

Cyanobacteria is due to high organics in the presence of light. The only "cure" is to fix the biological system. Reducing organics is accomplished by regular and substantial water changes, vacuuming the substrate, cleaning (and keeping clean) the filter, not overfeeding, and not overstocking. Live aquatic plants also help as they use organics. Any other "treatment" will almost inevitably not last long unless the initial cause is corrected.

The above assumes this is cyanobacteria (often called blue-green algae, it is a slimy covering of surfaces).

Of all the symptoms you described, I would say overfeeding might be the most likely. As I have mostly neons and they feed in the middle of the tank, stuff falls to the gravel. The shrimp do seem to clean up leftovers, but it is kind of hard to tell. I do regular changes of 25% a week and clean the canister filter once a month. I usually vacuum the gravel at each water change as well. Definitely not overstocked. 5 neons, 2 ottos and a handful of shrimp in a 25 gallon. I have a fair amount of live plants in there, but it isn't a jungle.

The "algae" is a slimy film that seems to grow on the plants and rocks to some extent. It gets all over the Java moss too. I've even seen some on the gravel. It smells pretty bad when I get it out of the tank too. I'm not an expert, but it seems to fit most of the criteria.

Is there any way to measure "organics" ...

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Of all the symptoms you described, I would say overfeeding might be the most likely. As I have mostly neons and they feed in the middle of the tank, stuff falls to the gravel. The shrimp do seem to clean up leftovers, but it is kind of hard to tell. I do regular changes of 25% a week and clean the canister filter once a month. I usually vacuum the gravel at each water change as well. Definitely not overstocked. 5 neons, 2 ottos and a handful of shrimp in a 25 gallon. I have a fair amount of live plants in there, but it isn't a jungle.

The "algae" is a slimy film that seems to grow on the plants and rocks to some extent. It gets all over the Java moss too. I've even seen some on the gravel. It smells pretty bad when I get it out of the tank too. I'm not an expert, but it seems to fit most of the criteria.

Is there any way to measure "organics" ...

Photos of the tank/gravel and slime please.

 

[dR3ws3r]

Photos of the tank/gravel and slime please.

I'll add them later .. I'm at work now unfortunately.

 

[Byron]

Of all the symptoms you described, I would say overfeeding might be the most likely. As I have mostly neons and they feed in the middle of the tank, stuff falls to the gravel. The shrimp do seem to clean up leftovers, but it is kind of hard to tell. I do regular changes of 25% a week and clean the canister filter once a month. I usually vacuum the gravel at each water change as well. Definitely not overstocked. 5 neons, 2 ottos and a handful of shrimp in a 25 gallon. I have a fair amount of live plants in there, but it isn't a jungle.

The "algae" is a slimy film that seems to grow on the plants and rocks to some extent. It gets all over the Java moss too. I've even seen some on the gravel. It smells pretty bad when I get it out of the tank too. I'm not an expert, but it seems to fit most of the criteria.

Is there any way to measure "organics" ...

Increase the volume of the water changes. Provided the parameters (being GH, pH and temperature) of tap water and tank water are reasonably the same, it can never hurt to change more water, and the more the better regardlessof issues.

Sometimes it does not take many organics to trigger cyano, in bright light. This is why a blackout is sometimes recommended, but again this does not solve the actual problem. But the light must not be too intense, and floating plants really help here (and being fast growing consume a lot of nutrients).

Don't know about measuring organics, I tend to ignore all these side issues. Maintain the tank properly and these "problems" will not occur.

 

[GaryE]

I used to get small outbreaks of cyano twice a year, like clockwork. They came, they slimed, they went. Since many club members in town had the same problem in the same sequence, we figured it was getting through the water filtration plant.
I usually turned off the lights and covered the tank with a towel, except for feeding, for a week to 10 days. More complex plants weren't happy, but they survived, and the cyano usually didn't. Until it marched back in a few months later for its biannual visit.
I'll be interested to see if it shows up now that I've moved, but I would never use antibiotics for a cosmetic aquarium problem. I actually won't even use them for my fish. They are a precious resource.

 

[dR3ws3r]

Increase the volume of the water changes. Provided the parameters (being GH, pH and temperature) of tap water and tank water are reasonably the same, it can never hurt to change more water, and the more the better regardlessof issues.

Sometimes it does not take many organics to trigger cyano, in bright light. This is why a blackout is sometimes recommended, but again this does not solve the actual problem. But the light must not be too intense, and floating plants really help here (and being fast growing consume a lot of nutrients).

Don't know about measuring organics, I tend to ignore all these side issues. Maintain the tank properly and these "problems" will not occur.

I know that it probably doesn't mean a whole lot but I have a Kessil 150 Tuna sun light, and run it about 7 hours a day at less than 50% intensity. I guess every case is separate, but that hardly seems overkill. I do not have any plants floating on the water surface though. I guess that is something I could add.

My tap water is all over the place, which is one reason why I try to do smaller changes, but I can try and do 10-20% changes 2-3 times a week and see where that takes me.

I've been cleaning the blue-green algae off of stuff on a regular basis, so I'm not sure if I can good a good picture but I'll try. On another note, the shrimp and otto's both ignore it, and it doesn't really seem to damage the plants as it wipes right off of them. It looks very much like a film.

 

[Colin_T]

How long has the tank been set up for?
Cyanobacteria can be common in newly set up tanks and disappears after a few months when the tank's biological systems balance out. If it's a new tank, it might just need time.

Cyanobacteria smells musty/ mouldy and wipes off in a film. It can come in a range of colours including green, dark blue, purple, black, pink, red & brown.

It loves nutrients, red light and low oxygen levels. If you have a LED light unit and can change the colour spectrum, increase the blue so you have equal parts blue and red light.

Increase water movement in the tank, especially around the bottom of the aquarium.

Do bigger water changes (50%+).

Reduce the dry food going into the tank. Dry food that is sitting on the bottom tends to encourage it. There might not be any dry food on the bottom but try reducing it for a couple of weeks. se frozen or live foods instead.

When you get home, can you post a picture of the entire tank too?
It will show us how many plants you have and maybe a few floating plants might help by using some of the nutrients and reducing light to the substrate.

 

[Oblio]

Here is a short bit on cyanobacteria smells. Prompted, but the entire (short) video is interesting on its own.

 

[dR3ws3r]