Battling beard algae

[ahelmes71]

I have been in a long-term battle with what I guess is "beard algae," the tufty brownish-green stuff that covers driftwood and starts spreading to plants.

I usually pull and throw away all leaves that start to get tufts on them on my crypt or java ferns.

One thing I find myself doing is cherry-picking about 40 - 50 individual gravel rocks each time I clean the tank because there are always a handful of individual stones that have developed a small tuft.

Is this insane, or do any of you do likewise? I don't know what else to do...it seems impossible to thwart this stuff once it gets a foothold. It seems like you just have to manually attack it. I don't think any fish could keep this in check.

I threw my two pieces of driftwood in a bleach/water bucket over the weekend and may try scrubbing them down later. I REALLY hate this stuff!!!!! It ruins plants.

 

[Fishie]

Do you have any algae eaters and what do you have in your tank?

 

[ahelmes71]

Do you have any algae eaters and what do you have in your tank?

I have just one algae eater in a 55 gallon, and four corys. I have five rainbows and four congo tetras. I'm running some kind of Penguin filter that probably is just barely sufficient for the tank size.

I'm wondering if more frequent water changes will help...does the beard algae thrive on dirty water once the filter is no longer cutting it? (i.e. the green goop starts to develop on the filter inserts)

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I feel your pain. I had a huge outbreak in my 17g. Have you tried an excel spot treatment? That's how I've been battling mine and I seem to be winning

 

[ahelmes71]

I feel your pain. I had a huge outbreak in my 17g. Have you tried an excel spot treatment? That's how I've been battling mine and I seem to be winning

I had not heard of that. I was just reading up on that on Google.

Hard to believe you can just inject a liquid fertilizer into a specific area of the tank without it getting instantly diluted through the whole tank, but I guess it must work somehow. I may give that a shot. Thanks for the tip!

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I had not heard of that. I was just reading up on that on Google.

Hard to believe you can just inject a liquid fertilizer into a specific area of the tank without it getting instantly diluted through the whole tank, but I guess it must work somehow. I may give that a shot. Thanks for the tip!

It's a good idea to turn the filters off so it stays where you want it. And be careful not to over dose the tank.

 

[alLexX]

i believe it's time to call in a squadron of ottos,3 should do nicely. lol, specifics would help determine the root of the problem,and then you can fix that. what are your levels(ammo,nitrite,nitrate),how often do you feed,how much,and what species of algae eater?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

i believe it's time to call in a squadron of ottos,3 should do nicely. lol, specifics would help determine the root of the problem,and then you can fix that. what are your levels(ammo,nitrite,nitrate),how often do you feed,how much,and what species of algae eater?

I believe ottos don't eat BBA. Its said SAE are the only fish that eat it but I have 2 in my 70g and they will only eat it after it's been killed or weakened by excel.

 

[alLexX]

I believe ottos don't eat BBA. Its said SAE are the only fish that eat it but I have 2 in my 70g and they will only eat it after it's been killed or weakened by excel.

i dont know if they do but they wipe out most algae really fast

 

[fort384]

Ottos will not eat BBA. SAEs will - just make sure if you go this route that 1)you want to keep the fish and you might have to supplement their diet after the BBA is eradicated and 2) you get true SAEs. I can't tell you how many times I have seen SAE look alikes online and in stores mismarked as true SAEs. Flying foxes and a few other look-alike species won't do a lick of good against BBA and can get very aggressive in a tank. My experience with SAEs is that they are a fairly docile fish that does well when kept in small groups.

Excel spot treatment works great. Glutaraldehyde will start to turn it pinkish white in just a day or 2. I have used that method several times.

Manual removal is also a good way to go. If a leaf is heavily infected, don't try treating it - just trim and toss.

The other cheaper way to go is H2O2 spot treatment. It is pretty much as effective as excel for probably 1/5 the price. H2O2 disassociates into water and oxygen almost immediately after you spot inject it so it is safe. I have done it several times with good results, as have many other members.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

If you decide on SAE (and you have room in your tank) here is some info on how to identify them.
http://www.fishlore.com/aquariummagazine/may08/siamese-algae-eater-id.htm

 

[aqua_chem]

You can spot treat the symptoms all you can, but if you don't address the issue, it will come back....


....and the issue is too much light! BBA is indicative of too much light and too little CO2. If you don't fix that imbalance, it will NEVER go away.

What kind of light do you have on there and what are you doing for carbon supplementation? CO2, excel, etc

 

[fort384]

You can spot treat the symptoms all you can, but if you don't address the issue, it will come back....

....and the issue is too much light! BBA is indicative of too much light and too little CO2. If you don't fix that imbalance, it will NEVER go away.

What kind of light do you have on there and what are you doing for carbon supplementation? CO2, excel, etc

Very valid points.

 

[Hholly]

American-flag fish eat a lot of algae.