Cyanobacteria, Blue green algae, BGA, PITA

[Allivymar]

Well it turns out the algae in the 25g isn't BGA, but I have a horrific case of cyanobacteria in my brand new 15g! *sighs* Came in on some new plants; I didn't dip them as I should have. The plants went in a week ago and its just about covered the tank; every plant has some on it, its almost covered the java moss, its covering the brand new driftwood and even the Onyx sand. Its a brand new tank with very low nitrogen levels (I don't know what they are today, but over the weekend they were 0/0/15 - I added a mature sponge into the tank so it instantly cycled as it came from a mature tank with 6 adult fish and 13 babies, and went into a tank with 2 fish).

I searched the planted forum, but I can't find the thread I'm looking for concerning BGA. Think it was by lmw80. So I want to clarify; its 200 mg per 10g as I read in a thread (LOL was my post - was something I read on the krib site)? I don't want to cover the tank; the rams are starting to build nests and I don't want to mess with that.

2 other things. Can I remove that sponge and return it to the 25g or will that drag the BGA along with it like I think it would? I do have some BioSpira, so I'm not worried about having to recycle the tank. And what about the fish n snails? I have to admit I'm a bit hesitant to medicate healthy animals, as they would be exposed to the erythromycin.

 

[Mr Burns]

sorry, can't help you much with the PITA algae. how do you usually dip your plants? is it just H2O2 to kill the algae?

 

[shawmutt]

So I want to clarify; its 200 mg per 10g as I read in a thread (LOL was my post - was something I read on the krib site)?

When I used Maracyn for BGA, I dosed according to the box instructions. I do believe it's one tablet, or 200 mg, per 10 gallons.

Can I remove that sponge and return it to the 25g or will that drag the BGA along with it like I think it would?

I think it would bring all the bacteria, the good AND the bad (and the ugly? ) to the 25 gallon.

And what about the fish n snails?

My fish are still alive and finnin', but you may want to do additional research on the snails--I have none in my tank.

Good Luck with the PITA BGA Alli!!!

 

[Guest]

Be very careful with anything that goes into that tank. the sponge filter is contaminated with BGA for sure. Be careful with your nets, hands, algae scrubber, or anything. That stuff is a huge PITA as you said, and it does spread easily.

Yeah, 200mg per 10 gallons sounds about right. I used prescription Erythromycin, but that dose sounds familiar.

I never killed any livestock when treating for bga, but I worry every time.

Ally worrying about killing snails... I'd better not comment any further...

 

[Allivymar]

LOL Shaddup corvu! I KNEW someone wouldn't leave that one alone LOL

Yeah, I was pretty sure the sponge would be infested...was just kinda hoping it wasn't *sigh* Good thing I didn't move it back the other day like I planned.

 

[Allivymar]

Just to give folks a visual of whats going on, as well as a reference as to what cyano looks like, I took a pic last nite. I'll post a pic of the tank last week right after it was completely planted so you can see how quickly this stuff grows.

That all being said, the plants are looking really good overall. The mayaca(the tall plants with the fluffy looking tops) that madasafish gave me last week, that turned out to be the likely cyano carriers look awesome compared to when they went into the tank; they've really gotten much fuller...go figure LOL The hygro is all adding more leaves as well.

 

[lmw80]

Tada!

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=15281&highlight=

 

[Allivymar]

Thank you thank you thank you Lori! Why didn't that thread come up when I did my search; that was THE one I wanted to read. I used cyano, cyanobacteria, erythromycin, BGA etc etc...weirdness.

Ooo. Good thing I read it too. Didn't think about removing as much as I could so it wouldn't rot in the tank. Whew.

 

[lmw80]

When are you going to start treating the tank? Yeah removing all the stuff that's in there now is a little, but very important step. I wish you the best of luck ally, as I wouldn't wish cyano on anyone!

 

[Allivymar]

I started last night. I am concerned about the effect on the ram fry (mom n dad will likely be laying in a few days), but this stuff HAS to go.

How do I remove it from the plants without tearing the plants up? The stuff on the mayaca (the tall plant with the fuzzy tops) has it all over the middle of the stalk, but the tops are incredibly healthy. I'd hate to kill off the entire plant trying to get the cyano out of it (its obviously not a broad leafed plant I can just rub the cyano off of).

 

[lmw80]

Try a soft bristle toothbrush. Just rub it very softly up and down the stalk...see if that will work.

 

[shawmutt]

Just clean it the best you can, the stuff will come off when it dies. When the cycle is finished, and you do a water change, you'll be able to suck up the dead stuff.

 

[Allivymar]

I took out as much as I could tonite, but a lot of it wound up floating in tiny bits in the tank *sigh* I'm hoping the filter media will grab it and I can just rinse it out (I still have the mature sponge sitting in the tank). The toothbrush didn't really work; just pulled the plants out of the Onyx sand, so I wound up removing most of it by hand. Yuck.

 

[Guest]

I searched the planted forum

the thread was in General discussion, that's why you didnt find it.

In any case, keep up the treatment, it will dissapear from the plants where you cannot remove it manually.

One additional thing I've found, check up against the glass in the gravel. sometimes it will lurk there, up to an inch beneath the surface of the substrate, you should be able to see it easily if its there. if it is there, stir it up so the meds get down into it. Mine would be killed off everywhere else in the tank, but not below the gravel. only by the glass, because room light is good enough to keep it alive. I hope this makes sense, I'm kinda tired. OK, actually hangover

 

[Allivymar]

*slaps herself in the head*

Thats why alright. I was searching in the plant forum. Duh!

Its all over the surface of the Onyx sand; I'll have to check with a flashlite to see if its snuck below. I hope not; the Onyx sand is dusty as hell, and everytime I move it, despite rinsing it well, then using the diatom filter in the tank and mixing it up, it STILL clouds up. I'm sorry I bought it, although the plants seem to love it.

 

[Mr Burns]

I didn't dip them as I should have.

just curious alli... what do you dip your plants in and why?

 

[Allivymar]

I have used Lime-it ( http://www.aquabotanic.com/abstore/en-us/dept_13.html ) in the past and really liked it. But its expensive and doesn't go very far. I usually dip them in a 1/9 water bleach mix, but I was in a rush this time (got home at midnite and had to be up early in the morn, so I just popped them in the tank *sigh*).

 

[Mr Burns]

originally i thought you were suggesting that you dipped the plants in h2o2 to kill any algae that was already on the plants. i thought that would be a good idea, but wasn't sure what it would do to the plants. lime-it is considerably more expensive than bleach, so i think i'll stick to that...although next time i'll make sure the ratio is right! thanks for clearing that up.

hmm..just to clean another thing up...you said "1/9 water bleach mix." did you mean 9 to 1 water to bleach?

 

[Allivymar]

yeah LOL sorry! 1 part bleach, 9 parts water to be clear. I was being lazy and messed it up LOL

 

[Allivymar]

Update:

Its been about a week since I finished the maracyn treatment, and I believe it to be an unqualified success. There is NO sign of it in the tank, and all the plants have absolutely taken off.

Lesson learned! No new plants without at least a bleach dip.