The Dreaded BBA

[BrianNY]

So far they haven't touched the p. stellata so I don't think you have to worry there TG. I don't much care for these fish and am looking forward to moving them to my low light 55g. I've no delicate ground cover in that tank.

As far as dosing, I'm just very diligent at keeping nitrates around 15ppm. I'm thinking one of the contributing factors to the BBA growth was not enough NO3. PO4 remains very steady at .5ppm and I'm curious if I should get that up a bit.

One more observation. More frequent and massive water changes have helped.

 

[TankGirl]

I am pretty much with you in terms of my opinion of these fish, Brian. I don't think I would ever have chosen them for my tank, but I defintiely see them going to work. I have nowhere else for them to go, so I think I'm going to have to adjust to them, and depending on how well they keep the BBA cut back I'll probably keep them. Also, since they are decent sized (2" not including the stoopid flowy tail ) I have noticed that I have not had to dose NO3 at all since adding them. The Endler's have had another population explosion after all this was over, and now it seems I have a very fully stocked tank.

I have to say that with the increased PWC's I have been doing, twice weekly instead of once weekly, all of the fish look better (BillD will appreciate this) and my juvenile boesemanis have grown. My two adult rainbows are about 3.5" now so when I have 5 adults that will increase the bioload significantly. If the 3 barbs reach their purported size of 4" or so I will be pushing it, considering the 5 serpae tetras, two BN plecos, a couple of white clouds, a cardinal tetra and 5 Corydoras.

With that in mind, I am wondering what role NH3 plays in BBA? I know there is a correlation between elevated NH3 and other algae problems, and if this is so with BBA then what nutrient deficiencies would hinder the uptake of NH3/NH4? Can a planted tank handle being slightly overstocked, in spite of the dubious benefit of a steady supply of NO3? Am I on the completely wrong track here - making things more complicated than they need to be?

 

[czcz]

Brian,
I definitely think you should start dosing PO4 to at least 1.0ppm and see what happens. You may be surprised by the result: if you do have a P deficiency you should see quick pearling.

Liz,
I am not positive and am barely a beginner with physiology (if that), but I would think NH3/NH4 would only help BBA. I believe plants will uptake N in any form readily, but when I had BBA its covering the leaves made me think it was eating N before the plant leaf could, which may be why its so important to remove any signs of BBA as quickly as possible. While it is easier to avoid algae in an understocked tank than one with a high bioload, I think Travis's Mbuna tank and philosophies show that it can be done with an adequate biofilter. Tom Barr in particular likes feeding a lot often for his fish and in turn his plants.

Unless you have ammonia registering on your test I think you should continue to focus on CO2 while eliminating the possibility of nutrient deficiency with regular dosing, fwiw.

HTH,
Joe

 

[sneakymission]

I have this stuff growing on a fake plant. It also is growing on the glass a little bit and it doesn't simply rub off like normal algae, you have to scrub it as hard as you can with one of those sandpaper algae scrubbers you can get at your lfs. I have a pleco that eats a lot of it. It still sucks though.

 

[greenmaji]

Hows the BBA fight going?
Hope its going well..

 

[BrianNY]

The battle is remeniscent of the trench warfare of WWI. Gain a little ground, lose a little ground.

Thr truth is I've been gone for a while so I haven't devoted as much time to this tank as I should. The rosy barbs have done an excellent job eating the BBA from the upper portion of the tank but don't seem to touch any growth on the gravel.

I'm expecting my shipment of 22 SAEs and 20 Amano shrimp today. Also I will begin dosing TMG. I'll keep you posted.

 

[TankGirl]

That is quite a serious crew you will be adding! Were you using something different for traces before?

I am going away myself after Christmas so I know what you mean about devoting time. Tanks like these require serious babysitting for a while until balance is achieved. Best of luck!

 

[greenmaji]

yes your crew sounds impressive let us know how they take on the algae if you dont mind..

 

[jcarlilesiu]

you have plans for that crew when they are finished devoring your problem ) I could use a couple helping hands with my tank. I have both "fuzz algae" and BBA attacking everything. Im going to do a thorough cleaning tonight. I have never had this stuff before I got my 56 gallon. Im guessing its from the throw off of balance, I just hope I can get rid of it with out killing all my plants. Wish me luck