More weird stuff! Please help!

[cwolf88]

Hello! Ive gotten some awesome help from you guys recently and need some more please! I have attached some pics for stuff I dont know what it is! There is one thing thta looks like a worm or centipede......weird never seen it before and its like 2 inches long. Also there is this algea stuff all over that just exploded and I know I need a cleaning crew but its very odd and fast moving. ALso it has lots of bubbles and has even made giant hills of dirt full of air. My other question I have is my tank just had 3 fish break out in severe ick, which even after treaments they all died Do i need to medicate it more to get rid of it before I get new fish? How do I make sure my new fish wont get infected? Thanks again for all your help! I have been having a horrible time this restart! Sorry my pics are below on the next post!
Carmen

 

[cwolf88]

Sorry about that!

 

[firestorm]

Worm might be a bristle worm...if those are bristles I'm seeing in the picture - if it is its harmless - just don't touch it - bristles can sting you.
The 'algae' may be cyanobacteria - judging from the bubbles you're saying its creating...definately a bad thing - usually due to overfeeding, resulting in higher nitrates and phosphates - more flow will also help get rid of it. Do a search of the forums for a step by step.
The only way to cure the tank of ich completely is to let it sit without fish for six weeks or so...Sucks, I know - but the parasites life cycle is around 6 weeks, and with no fish it cannot complete its lifecycle, and thus cannot reproduce. Make sure you QT new arrivals after this period so you don't reintroduce it.

 

[cwolf88]

All the fish are dead, but I still have live turbo snails. Will they hold the bacteria? It does suck that the tank has to sit, but will the snails mess everything up? Thanks!

 

[firestorm]

I don't believe snails can hold the parasite through its full life cycle, though ick can hitch-hike into your tank on anything (aka, QT everything, fish corals, and even snails in the future).
That being said, I'd post this same question in the disease section of the forums. Beth or Sep are much more knowledgeable on diseases than most here - espically me.

 

[flower]

You are clear on ich, just let the tank sit. Let’s work on your water. Do you have a test kit for phosphates? If not get one.
Since no fish are in the tank it will be easier to get rid of your problem algae. You don't need to feed the inverts.
Get a phosphate remover to add to your water. I use phosphate E, it works great to get the initial numbers to 0.2 or Since no fish are present you can use a red slime remover. It removes cyano no matter the color.
Run a phosphate pad in your filter. Purigen works great. Siphon out the algae with a turkey baster you buy for that purpose. (

don't use the household utensils) After all of this do a 10% to 15% water change.
Test you water with a marine or reef, master test kit. while the tank is fish free, concentrate on getting your water to as close as perfect you can.
Ranges to try and get.
PH 8.0 - 8.4
ALK. 2.5 - 4.5(reef, according to my book)
Phosphates 0 - 0.2
Nitrates 20 - 40
Calcium 400 - 450
Very low phoshates and good calcium will build your coraline (nice purple algae)

 

[mie]

Phosphate removers such as pads and chemicals only mask the problem, you need to find the cause of your problem and fix it. Flow and proper feeding habits usually take care of cyano problems.

 

[cwolf88]

Thanks everyone! I was probably guilty of over feeding(since everyone was sick they probably werent eating what I was giving them and I was feeding like normal), so hopefully these suggestions will work! I tested my amonia, nitrites, nitrates, and ph and everything was great except my amonia....it had spiked I am gonna get a test kit for phosphates today to see what my levels are there(probably should have had one already). And Ill post in the disease section too! Thanks again!
Carmen