Algae or fungus? What is this?

[Tinman1824]

Hi-

Can anyone tell me if this is hair algae? It’s brownish/red. Primarily growing on my swords. It’s a 20g freshwater tank - shrimp, nerites, kuhli loaches, clown killis and dwarf cories.

The “algae” comes off by hand but not the roots. I.e. I can wipe it off but some remains on the plant and grows back. My shrimp like eating it but they’re not fast enough. Water parameters are good. I’ve tried reducing light duration. Unsure what to do!

 

[Andy Sager]

It's an algae, not a fungus. Otocynclus catfish are good for eating it quickly and will continuously keep the other plant leaves clean as well. Be aware that you may need to do supplemental feeding for your shrimps due to the lack of algae with them in the tank.