Cause of HLLE found

ironeagle2006

Active Member
http://www.coralmagazine-us.com/Guess what they found the Cause of HLLE and it is not Bad Diet or Water or Stress. It is Activated Carbon. If your running Lingate based Activated Carbon in your Sumps your the cause as an Article in this magazine the 4-5th one downs shows the data.
Glad I quit running all types of Carbon in my system. Guess what no HLLE in my system either.
 

meowzer

Moderator
Quote:
Originally Posted by ironeagle2006 http:///forum/thread/386005/cause-of-hlle-found#post_3387955
http://www.coralmagazine-us.com/Guess what they found the Cause of HLLE and it is not Bad Diet or Water or Stress. It is Activated Carbon. If your running Lingate based Activated Carbon in your Sumps your the cause as an Article in this magazine the 4-5th one downs shows the data.
Glad I quit running all types of Carbon in my system. Guess what no HLLE in my system either.
HMMM....I run chemi-pure elite in the 225G....I no longer have HLLE
I remember way back when, when my tangs developed HLLE....The use of carbon was one of the speculated causes...
 

2quills

Well-Known Member
Interesting read. Although they did say at the end of the article that the study was based only on two types of carbon and that no conclusions could be drawn in regards to the multitude of other various types of carbons being manufactured and sold to hobbyists. I've been using a naturally (steam) activated granular carbon since day one in my system and have yet to see any ill effects on my tang or potters angel (which were both fishes that come from families that were listed on the HLLE susceptibility list).
I think that if it were going to happen then it would have happened by now. I might not have a microscope to put them under but by my observations they are very healthy, beautifully colored and very active fish that don't have trouble wolfing down a meal at feeding time. I would still like to see the actual science behind the claim which has yet to happen. Never the less I'll do my best to stay away from lignite based carbons, continue to rinse mine well and enjoy the benefits it brings to my system. I still think it's a little bit sketchy to label all activated carbons as the devil though. I'll try to keep an open mind and hope that we see more study on this subject continue.
 

beth

Administrator
Staff member
That's a nice article, however, somehow it doesn't cover all the instances of captive fish who get HLLE where carbon is not used. The article sites studies, but studies do not equal an absolute fact that the only thing that causes HLLE is carbon.
There are a lot of studies that clearly identify that many or different factors can result in HLLE in some fish, however, carbon is not solely the culprit.
HLLE is caused by a deficiency or reaction to something that is not right in the captive fish's environment, including food supplementation.
I do agree that carbon is better used sparingly, if at all, in fish tanks, just for this reason.
 

travelerjp98

Active Member
Also, it says that it is in exposure to dusty activated carbon. If the carbon is rinsed well, this problem would probably be avoided.
 

paidey

Member
i just got a my first salt water fish (a cream angle) we got her at the LFS .She was free but she had HLLE i felt bad for her so kiefers my step dad is letting me hold her in his tank .But here's the thing i don't have a SALT WATER TANK
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i have three fresh water tanks. i have a bio cube 29 gl. i have a 10 gl. and a 30 gl. so I'm going to take the fresh water fish out of the bio cube and make it a saltwater tank! Alot of work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

caz2022

Member
Very interesting. I don't run carbon in my system at all and the Yellow Tang I recently acquired WITH HLLD isnt really showing any signs of it anymore :)
 

flower

Well-Known Member
I have several tangs and both are over 5 years old, and I have run activated carbon since day one. I have never had a fish with HLLE. I want you the know also that I run lots of carbon not a little bit, and I always rinse it until the water runs clear, maybe it is just the dust.
 

mproctor4

Member
I've read a couple of articals about HLLE and carbon, I believe they said it is ONE of several possible contributing factors. Lots of people run carbon and don't have a problem. I just took a tang out of QT with HLLE that did not have carbon in the system. It sounds like it just adds fuel to the fire if the flames are already in place.
Welcome to the site Paidey.
 
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