Tip of the Day – 1/5/2015

Sometimes, no matter what protocols you take to rid yourself of dreaded aquarium plagues (e.g. cyanobacteria, red planaria flatworms, or any of a number of other issues) you just can’t seem to win. No matter how tight you keep your water parameters, no matter how meticulous you are with your aquarium, no matter what preventative steps you tank…these issues still arise. It doesn’t make you a bad aquarist. After all, you are caring deeply enough to worry about it and spend loads of time trying to fight it. And, dare I say, some of these issues are not really harmful or necessarily indicative of any real underlying problems. Red planaria, for example, are really quite harmless. Cyanobacteria, it will pop up from time to time, usually staying in the sand. Some of these are mostly aesthetic issues more than anything. But, they can lead to bigger problems, so it’s good that you are so concerned. If there is any takeaway from our meandering point, it’s this. Don’t kill yourself over a little issue. Don’t overreact either. Just carefully and cautiously approach it with the intent of removal, but not at the cost of harming your aquarium (many medicines and treatments are quite dangerous in a reef tank setting).