question about all this algea

Rozie26

Hi all. I have finally figured out all my plants and they are doing quite well...only problem is i have a ton of algea. I have a bristle nose pleco in there and a king tiger, although i know the tiger doesn't eat a ton of algea but the bristle nose is supposed to be awsome. i also have this stringy algea that is growing and "flowing" between all my broad leave ludwigia. anyway what the heck? and my plants are growing like crazy. Oh and i have a java fern that has these little brown "sprouts" that have green sprouts off those or near them. are these daughter plants? thanks for the help.

Rose

tophat665

The brown spots on the java fern are spore clusters, and the little plants are definitely daughters.

The stringy stuff you have is green hair algae. Plecos won't do anything about it. American-Flag Fish, Swordtails, Mollies, Siamese Algae Eaters, Amano Shrimp, Cherry Red Shrimp, Crystal Red Shrimp, and, I am told, Bamboo Shrimp will eat this (though I take that last with a grain of salt).

What it means is that the plants you have aren't using the nutrients fast enough to out-compete the algae. It could be a matter of too much nutrients, too many fish, to few or too slow growing plants, not enough CO2, or not enough of the right kind of light, and I'll leave it to wiser heads than mine to ask you the right questions to figure out which of those it is.

Rozie26

ok well i have a 36" coralife light my tank is a 30 gallon and my plants are growing pretty good. i only have a few fish in there five to be exact and two are pleco's as i mentioned before the other is a mottled catfish and two leopard tenepoma's (sp) i never can spell that right. Now the java fern the brown SPROUTS those are pods that send out more daughter sprouts? just making sure it's not algea too. i have a co2 canister on the back and the bubbles are bubbling. and i have used some liquid fertalizer as my mayaca plant was white at the tips and the lfs guy said it needed more nutriants. i have not put any plant tabs in because i had so much algea so i figured they didn't need it. thanks for the help. the algea is driving me nuts.

tophat665

On java fern, there should be little brown dots visible on the bottom of the leaves from time to tim. These should be in a more or less straight line either side of the center line of the leaf (there may be more than one line each side). They're small, about the size of a millet seed, a couple of millimeters, and they should be only slightly raised. If what you have is larger and looks like fur in spots on the leaves or hair at the edges, then you have the dreaded Black Brush Algae (cue the horror film music). BBA is an insidious little critter that is a true pain in the fundament to remove. The only fish known to eat is is the ever popular yet seldom seen Siamese Algae Eater. Only the true SAE eats BBA, none of the look alikes, and even the SAEs aren't exceptionally fond of it.

A better alternative is to try and raise and stabilize the amount of CO2 in the tank. You can also use flourish excel - either just dose normally in addition to your CO2 injection or turn off the filter (briefly) and apply it to problem areas with a syringe (think turkey baster, not hypodermic), or both. Make sure to be consistent. If you don't get results in a week (it should turn brown then red, then grey then fall away) then up the dosage of excel.

Rozie26

well hmmm i have no idea what i have then. cuz this is starting out as a spot like you say then it grows stright out like a little brown sprout about an inch long and is furry, but on some of them there is new little green sprouts? i'll see if i can get a picture of it when i come home from work tonight and put it on the next post. I am not sure that i have a bad problem cuz when i prune i have even more plant grown like the next couple days and i have to prune like once a week. i also have red crypt which for some reason is not doing so well and jungle val which also not doing to good. but the others are growing like crazy. just have the algea. i did notice last night that there seemed to be a little less algea, and i think it's cuz my BN pleco has gotten used to the tank and was ready to EAT! ANYWAY as i said i'll try to take a pic and post tonight. thanks again.

rose

Andrew

i am guessing too long a lighting period or a prolongued absence of a water change.
just get in there pull it out with your hands then work on preventing the build up- increase the surface area of your filter material, and reduce lighting hours, up the water changes to get rid of the nitrates and phosphates, new water dosed with fert will aid your plant growth and hamper algae development.
Thats what i have done and it works.