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View Full Version : Do I have dinoflagellates? :(


kypdurran
01/14/2014, 11:07 AM
Can anyone tell me if these pictures indicate dinoflagellate infestation?
I'm lucky to be friends with a doctor of biology who retired from a local university that will be willing to positively identify it but wanted to check to see if anyone could visually ID before I brought him a sample.

http://www.team464.com/reef/dinos/1.jpg
http://www.team464.com/reef/dinos/2.jpg
http://www.team464.com/reef/dinos/3.jpg
http://www.team464.com/reef/dinos/4.jpg
http://www.team464.com/reef/dinos/5.jpg
http://www.team464.com/reef/dinos/6.jpg
http://www.team464.com/reef/dinos/7.jpg
http://www.team464.com/reef/dinos/8.jpg
http://www.team464.com/reef/dinos/9.jpg
http://www.team464.com/reef/dinos/10.jpg

My water parameters are spot on with the exception of ORP being at around 250mV. Nitrates are reading zero, phosphates are undetectable, pH ranges from 8.0 - 8.2.

cody6766
01/14/2014, 11:20 AM
It looks like it to me. Dinos and Bryoisis are probably the biggest frustrations we come across and I've had both. They can be beaten, but it takes time and strictly following the methodology available online. I can't remember the exact procedure I used, but it was one readily available on RC and/or Google.

KirbyBTF
01/14/2014, 11:26 AM
Only one picture looks like Dinoflagellates to me. I've had plenty of them to ID lol. Dino's are usually one long strand with an air bubble at the top attached to the algae strand. Most of your pictures are of large patches of algae intertwined together, IME Dino's don't do that. It's not Bryopsis either, to ID that looks closely at each piece of algae. Bryopsis will look like a small fern.