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Dinoflagellates
Symbiodinium / various
Family: Dinoflagellata
📍 Worldwide in marine and brackish water
Brown, stringy, bubble-filled slime that often appears in new reef tanks — frequently mistaken for cyanobacteria. Dinoflagellates ('dinos') form slimy mats that can smother corals and sandbed. Treatment is complex: raise nitrates (>2 ppm), raise phosphates (>0.05 ppm), run extended dark periods, and increase UV sterilisation. One of the most frustrating reef nuisances.
Keeping this species
- role
- nuisance — complex to treat
- cause
- ultra-low nutrients (zero-edge system), new tank syndrome, UV overuse
- control
- raise nitrates and phosphates, 3-day blackout, UV steriliser, add copepods
- warning
- some species produce toxins — ventilate during blackout treatment
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Natural Habitat Temperature
75°F — 81°F seasonal range · (Jan low, May high)