BGA

[QTOFFER]

This is my first battle with the dreaded BGA.

Tonite, I get home early with plans to do my weekly PWCs that I really should have done Sunday.

I open up the 58 gal, and detect that unpleasant, sickeningly sweet smell. Oh no. A piece of driftwood in the back is absolutely covered with a bubbling sheet of "Leprechaun puke". The anubias was covered, and there was a small amount (no bubbles) growing on the back of the tank and on the substrate.

Thank God none of it is on my prized Windelov Java fern, which has been growing nicely since I started dosing with K a few weeks ago. And thank God there is no sign of it in any of my other tanks.

I pulled out the driftwood and soaked it in boiling water for an hour while I did my PWCs. Then I scrubbed it with a nail brush under running water. The BGA on the glass and substrate got sucked up into the python. I clipped off the affected anubias leaves (most of them).

I'm running the diatom filter too.

I have four NO fluorescent tubes (105 W total) One of the tubes is over a year old, and needs to be replaced. Would an old tube favor BGA growth?

Will it be necessary to do a blackout? I really don't want to dose the tank with antibiotics - the fish are looking so good.

How invasive is this stiff, and how fast does it grow? I don't want my main show tank to look like the Emerald City in the merry old land of Oz.

Bleh!

 

[crazycat]

i think it can get pretty invasive. and i'm not sure if it really goes away by itelf.

i just did battle with it too. i used meds, since blacking out my huge tank was not exactly an option. and although everyone recommends blackout over erythromycin, i have to say that the meds worked wonders. i had no problem with my fish, plants, or bacterial colony. i tested for ammonia every day tomake sure and nada. everything was copasetic. and it has not reappeared.

i know meds should never really be the first choice, but if it comes to that, you can rest easy that they are not as disruptive as some may think. but that's just my experience.

good luck!

 

[travis simonson]

You're a techie right? Cause and effect. What have you done lately that may have brought this about? Sometimes it is almost impossible to tell. Given your tank parameters it is unlikely that you have too much light. Other factors are the likely influence. Has the tank been stable up to this point? No bouncing from one weird outbreak to the other?

That said, whenever I smell that nasty crap and am not sure why it's there, I do a blackout - NO HESITATION. BGA will wipe out your plants in a heartbeat if you let it go. Given that you're not sure what caused it - do a blackout and then work back. At least you know a blackout will get rid of it and you can re-jigger your nutrient parameters from a clean start. Don't let your tank sit and smoulder under the weight of BGA.

1] Do a 50-70% water change

2] Add additional aeration if you have it

3] Cover the tank completely and turn off all lights; blankets, towels, pull everything out of your cupboards and make sure NO light gets in; tape them down if necessary

4] Cut CO2 unless you have a pH controller

5] No feeding the fish or fertilizing the plants during the blackout

6] Leave in place for 3-5 days (3-4 days has always worked for me, but YMMV)

7] Take the bandages off and reveal your new BGA free tank - has always worked like a charm for me

8] Do another 50-70% water change to clean out the dead gunk that the blackout killed.

9] Laugh at the stupid devil algae that is now dead

Try this first before considering any sort of meds. If this doesn't work, then go the Erythromycin route, but not before. Erythromycin can harm certain flora and fauna and should be avoided if at all possilbe. It WILL work, but your habitiat may pay the price. Keep us updated man

 

[Simpte]

Well said travis.

 

[QTOFFER]

Thanks for the reply Travis,.

This morning I did a 70% PWC, turned off the lights, and covered the tank with two thick, heavy throws.

I have an extra air pump, but no bubble wand - I'll pick one up on the way home tonite.

To answer your questions, I haven't had anything strange going on in this tank except for an outbreak of green algae back in November. Since then, I've been running the diatom filter every other week for two hours. Water params have been stable, although the nitrates are chronically low (5 - 10 ppm). I was hoping that bringing the tank up to its stocking capacity would fix that.

Last week, I added six black neons and six bloodfins. These fish had been in QT for three weeks. The tank I had them in is lightly planted (a baby Java fern nursery), and there is no sign of BGA or any other algae in it. I have six more black neons, six pristillas, and two C Melanistius that I intend to add to this tank when their QT period is over in about two weeks.

I've been dosing ALL my tanks twice a week with Flourish and Flourish K (1 ml per 5 gal) as directed. That's really the only thing different that I've been doing. That, and the fact that I've been feeding my angels live blackworms or frozen bloodworms once a week.

Wish me luck!

 

[travis simonson]

Good luck! Although with a blackout you don't really need it. They are nearly 100% effective at treating BGA And if you happen to fall into the <1% of users who find that a blackout doesn't work - like Cat says, Erythromycin is basically 100% effective.

 

[QTOFFER]

*sigh* I won't be seeing my angels for four days.

What did they say in Apollo 13 as they slipped behind the dark side of the moon and lost radio contact?
Something like "So long Earth - catch you on the flip side".

Well. here's my tank all draped for blackout.

Can anybody suggest a way to make the next four days go by faster?

 

[travis simonson]

Can anybody suggest a way to make the next four days go by faster?

I know exactly what you mean. Have you considered a medically-induced coma or the possibility of cryogenic suspension?

 

[BlazerFRS]

Go shopping for some fish for those 15 and 10 gallon planted tanks.... unless you already have some and they're not in your sig.

Can I suggest Dwarf Puffers!

 

[BrianNY]

Or come over and do my water changes.

 

[QTOFFER]

Update:

It completely slipped my mind to let you know how the blackout went.
I unwrapped the on Monday evening after four days in blackout. Smell is completely gone. All fish looked good and very happy to se me. Plants look a little peeved, but nothing that some light and ferts won't fix.

I decided to blackout my remaining three tanks just as a precaution - I think there might be a small amount of BGA in all. Nothing serious yet, but I want to nip it in the bud.

I also scrubbed the hair algae off all my driftwood, and am soaking all my rocks in dilute bleach for a few days.

 

[travis simonson]

All fish looked good and very happy to se me..

My favorite part about blackouts. The fish just seem so jubilant when you take the covers off. They're like, "Look, it's clean! No seriously, it's clean! Are you sure you don't want to give us some food in celebration of how clean the tank looks?"