[newbie24]

Hi everyone,

This is my first time on this forum and I am very happy to be here since a I am new to the hobby and I believe this is a site with plenty of knowledgeable and experience aquarists from whom i can learn a lot. As I introduce myself I would like to take a moment to thanks the Tropical Fish Keeping administrators for allowing me to be part of the community.

Well, I set up my first tank back in September 2012 and I started with 3 harlequin rasboras and 3 cardinal tetras. One of my cardinals die a few weeks after i brought him home and the other two are still in my tank. Also, one of my rasboras jumped out and die. Later on I brought home 1 more rasbora and another cardinal tetra as well as 5 chili rasboras. I also have two small snails. My tank size is 10 gallons. I have a multicolor gravel and some artificial and natural plants. I use an aqueon power filter and a 50 watt heater. In addition I have a hood with a fluorescent light. The tank, the lights and the filter came with the kit I bought initially.

I use API leaf zone weekly and Tetra flora pride monthly to fertilize the plants.

My water parameters as of yesterday are:

PH: bet 6.8 - 7.0
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: Bet 20 - 40

I have a question for you regarding my plants because I have noticed that some of my plants have dark spots on them and I am not sure what the cause for this would be. I believe there might be something going on with my water or that this is just some type of algae. I would greatly appreciate any advise you can give me about this issue and how to remediate it. Below are some pictures I took from one of the leaves.

Thank you,

Yenny

 

[SeaHorse]

Hi Yenny!! Welcome to TFK!! We're happy to have you here!!!

It does look like algae... but I'm learning about planted tanks too. It involves lighting and ferts... so hopefully a more experienced member will jump in here shortly!!

Can you tell us what is the time span that your lights are on and off... i.e the times? Thx

 

[newbie24]

Hi SeaHorse,

Thank you! My lights are on from 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM.

Hi Yenny!! Welcome to TFK!! We're happy to have you here!!!

It does look like algae... but I'm learning about planted tanks too. It involves lighting and ferts... so hopefully a more experienced member will jump in here shortly!!

Can you tell us what is the time span that your lights are on and off... i.e the times? Thx

 

[carlos puron]

Hi welcome to the forum about your lights That's almost 12 hours of light on my own experience should be from 8 to10 hrs per day if you have it close to a window that affects too what I see over there looks to me like black spot algae

This is what I've found about this type of algae I'm not an expert on planted aquarium but I've been doing my research
These are very tiny black algae spots that have a course texture to it. They usually grow at the base of plants, then make its way up the stem affecting older leaves. They will also grow on driftwood, rocks and equipment. This type of algae is considered a "bad" algae. It is very difficult to remove manually and if left unchecked they can spread rapidly throughout the tank. 　
　 If you're having black spot algae problems try adding some snails into your tank, in particular, Neritina Ruby, Neritina Spiky, Neritina Zebra. These snails will help keep black spot algae in check and keep your driftwood and rocks looking algae free It seems Amano shrimps like to eat this type of algae as well.

See if description matches your problem first if so there's the natural way to keep it checked

Keep us posted
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