Algae?? Ottos??

[mPhish]

This morning as I was feeding my fish, I noticed brown stuff on my fake white coral. Theres a little on my other decoration too. I'm guessing it's algae, but if so, what kind and how can I get rid of it? I have good filtration and the only problem in my tank is that one of my plants (water wisteria) keeps losing leaves. I don't remember it being there yesterday but I may not have noticed it. Also, I was thinking about getting an otto a bit ago, would that help with algae? Do I have room to fit an otto with 8 guppies in a 10 gal? (I'm guessing not) Thanks for any help!

 

[Fishinfreak]

What do you have for a filter on this tank?

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[confusedfishmom]

Newer tank? I believe brown algae is common in new tank set ups.

 

[mPhish]

My tank is relatively new, a little less than 2 months. I have a Marineland Penguin Power Filter. Is this algae just neutral, do I need to do something?

 

[confusedfishmom]

Look up brown algae and diatoms. I think you just need to wipe off the brown algae. My understanding is that it's not harmful but not good either. Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in. . We had this in one tank. Cleaned it by wiping off. Never came back.

 

[schoeplein]

Brown algae is diatom bacteria. I've had it in every new tank I've ever had. It'll burn itself out eventually, assuming there isn't a ton of dissolved silicate in your tap. If your tank is exposed to sunlight, that will also make the issue worse.

Ottos need to be in a group, and I wouldn't suggest adding them just to clear this stuff up since it should clear on its own.

The wisteria issue could be due to a number of things - poor lighting, poor nutrients, poor substrate.

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[sam180]

Look up brown algae and diatoms. I think you just need to wipe off the brown algae. My understanding is that it's not harmful but not good either. Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in. . We had this in one tank. Cleaned it by wiping off. Never came back.

My 75g tank is 10 weeks old and I had a pretty decent outbreak of diatoms a few weeks ago. I scrubbed it off, but it just came right back. Plan B is now in effect which would be my 5 new ravenous Otos that are chowing it down as we speak. I would think you'd be okay adding 3-4 to your tank.

 

[mPhish]

I wouldn't mind adding ottos, not just because of the algae, but do I have room for 2-3? Also, I just noticed more algae on the back wall. What about Algaefix?