Translucent algae?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

nirbhao

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Sep 28, 2016
Messages
3,000
Location
Michigan, Metro Detroit
It looks like you can see the water flowing, like if you mixed corn syrup or glycerin in water. Searching "clear algae" isn't helpful.

What is this?

1476917752019.jpg
 
That looks like white mold/fungus. It is probably beginning to rot. You can just remove the Bamboo and wash it off. The Bamboo is not an underwater /aquarium plant.

It is mistakenly sold as such in the stores. If you can take it back and get a credit /exchange for underwater plants, that would be recommended.

You may also hang it in the back so roots can be in the aquarium and the plant will be sticking out from the top. Also possible to add it to a HOB filter with roots in the area where the water is and the roots can be next to the filter pads.
 
Well, fungus is pretty terrible and I have no interest in that.

I've had the bamboo since July, and several of the shoots have new growth. They also all have nice, big root networks.

(Grumble grumble grumble)
 
Fortunately Friday is water change day, so I did a thorough job cleaning. I took all but one of the bamboo plants out of the aquarium and wiped them down with hydrogen peroxide. I did find a shrimp pellet in the leaves of one of them. Gross! They are in the filter box until I sort something better out.

1477066012652.jpg

I might go to the garden center and see if I can find some stalks that will be tall enough to be entirely out of the water, because the center of the aquarium is very empty right now!
 
They look pretty healthy actually, but yes fish food micro particles can get on the leaves and grow odd fuzz. Maybe they will do even better, though there may be an adujustment period for the leaves.

What usually happens is they give a big push for growth then the inside base where the roots are start getting soft and they begin to rot up through the center of the stalk and then BAM! - a rotting soft squishy mess will occur. Maybe you wonder how I know this???? lol because I tried it, I am fairly a skeptic so I figured they might grow under water for ME, hahahaha. NO!

But it can mess with your water quality and kill fish/ or shrimp with a spike!

Hydrogen Peroxide is pretty strong. Diluting it is a good idea.

More room now in the tank for a new thing. :brows:
 
Last edited:
I'm actually pretty good with plants! And, yes, I'm guilty of the "but I will succeed where others have failed!" thought process. No hurting the fish and snails, though. Not worth it.

I use 3% (the kind you get at the pharmacy) solution of hydrogen peroxide, which is not too harsh for plants. I use it on the roots of new plants pretty regularly, because I usually buy my plants on clearance at the end of the season, after they've collected everything gross they've encountered. For plants in dirt, though,i I usually add back a beneficial fungus. Not in the aquarium!

I had wanted to do some Harlequin rasboras. Hmmm
 
Back
Top Bottom