Activated Carbon: HHLE Smoking Gun

[GreshamH]

When Jay first started talking about this I had two sailfin tangs in different tanks on a common system that never ran carbon ever. One got HLLE, the other didn't. What am I missing?

The article did not by any means prove that carbon fines are the ONLY cause of HLLE.

And for that matter, without detailing on how it causes HLLE, you do not know if it is even a direct effect,
or an indirect effect through some other agent.

Then it prolly shouldn't be billed as 'the smoking gun' eh?

Well...

Think of it like claiming that sex without condoms is the smoking gun for HIV infection. There are certainly other ways, say needlesharing or blood transfusion, but this is one confirmed causative factor. Actually, I don't think there are any other confirmed causative factors for HLLE, so maybe my analogy sucks.

That's what I got away with, I mean they said it's rarely seen in nature, however it's still seen in nature. It's more like carbon fines are a causative factor that increases the chance of HLLE. Like cancer, lots of things which increase the chances, not just a single thing that causes cancer (I still eat red meat... and do so happily, cancer or not!!!)

I do question though why do you see them come into a LFS with HLLE, are they caught that way? Or do wholesalers actively run carbon kind of recklessly? (I'm ignorant on that side of the equation) or is there something else which causes it?

I at one time had a purple tang with HLLE, bought it that way (supreme discount), and I never ran carbon and yeah it did end up clearing up, the scaring was still visible but it didn't look as bad.

I have never as as a wholesaler received a tang with HLLE, nor have I ever seen one at a wholesaler in my life. I have never shipped one out either, it's not something that happens in the short period they are held in the CoC. I have seen them in LFS where one must assume they had been there was a long time if they develope HLLE.

 

[anathema]

When I see those in stores I assume they are trade-ins from people giving up on the hobby, or at least dumping off their sick fish.

 

[GreshamH]

I must admit the store I worked at had tangs with HLLE. Some came from customers, some developed in our custody over time. I fed the crap out of them (ONF1 & 2 cubes, flake, brine, nori, etc, etc). Every so often one would get it. We did all the things people suggest, grounding the tanks, garlic, etc... all the anecdotal stuff yah know

While the study isn't the smoking gun, I am SUPER happy Jay did the article and people are giving HLLE attention (speaking about it, etc). I think what Jay did is a real starting point for future work and I hope some one who can run a much more expanded trial will pick up that ball and run with it.

 

[GreshamH]

There's more to reefs then corals to me