Mystery growth on plants

[jasondbeasley]

I've consulted my local fish store people and they have never seen this and have no idea as to how to treat it. It has spread over all my broadleaf, live plants as well as the glass.

Any ideas as to identification and solution?

Many thanks.


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[Fishanatic]

Can we have more information such as tank parameters, size and stocking as well as how long the tank has been running for

 

[Coyne]

The most likely culprit is algae. What kind of algae might be the better question.
I'm not a super algae expert, but it kind of looks like the start of black brush algae (BBA). In my tanks it always seems to grow along the edges of leaves first, and then grow into the dark, bushy tufts shortly afterwards.


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[Luananeko]

BBA usually doesn't grow on the glass though... I agree it's likely algae, but the exact type is hard to say from that one picture. This site is really handy at identifying algae:
Algae in the Planted Aquarium-- Guitarfish

Does yours look like any of those? Maybe the hair, brown, or fuzz types?

 

[Rivercats]

It almost looks like detritus. Often if tank flows are too low and detritus isn't pulled into the filters it will collect on plant leaves, especially broadleaves. Try seeing if it rubs off and also run your hand through the plants and see if it all comes off.

 

[trennamw]

It almost looks like detritus. Often if tank flows are too low and detritus isn't pulled into the filters it will collect on plant leaves, especially broadleaves. Try seeing if it rubs off and also run your hand through the plants and see if it all comes off.

That's what I was thinking.


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[jasondbeasley]

I had a friend look at a sample burger a microscope and it has been identified as "vorticella."

The next question is: How do I get rid of it/them?

Research in the Internet is scant and no definitive solution.

Ideas?


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[Fishfur]

So you have one of the millions of tiny water dwelling critters that exist all over the place. How nice to be able to get a an ID !

Fish should be eating these things.. what fish do you keep ?

 

[jasondbeasley]

Primarily gourami and angelfish.
I've noticed them nibbling here and there, but not enough to keep up w the amount of vorticella. I have to scrape the aquarium glass every 2 days. And I have tried to wash them off my live plants, but to no avail. If I scrub to hard, the plants disintegrate. If I don't do it hard enough, well, they are tough little buggers. I've read that they are not detrimental to the tank, but quite unsightly.

I've read that dosing the tank with hydrogen peroxide might work. Also aquarium salt aw well as using Fenbendazole. But no one has posted results....especially if the treatments didn't kill the fish and plants.


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[Fishfur]

Salt isn't good for plants. I wonder if an Ich treatment might do something ? Easy enough to find out if H2O2 works.. suck some up in a syringe and squirt it right on some of them. If it kills them, you can dip the plants briefly in H2O2 and then quickly rinse them. It's a bit hard on them but not as bad as salt can be.. much shorter duration.

Another thing you might try would be a bleach dip.. again, hard on plants but might be worth trying. About 20 parts water to one part bleach, dip for no more than a few minutes, rinse in water dosed with a lot of dechlorinator.

Alum might also be worth a try. Get it in the spice aisle.. used for pickling. A couple of Tablespoons in a bucket of water, dip overnight, then check. Has been used for a day or two, can damage some plants.

Potassium Permanganate. Jungle brand something is made mostly of this. Use enough to make the water medium to darkish pink. Dip for a few minutes, rinse thoroughly. All these are used to kill various types of hitchhikers so worth a try. I can't rememberer the name of that Jungle stuff.. but if you read labels, you'll see the main ingredient is potassium permanganate, I think. If I can find the name, I'll post it.. if anyone knows, please speak up.

 

[jasondbeasley]

Since it is on the tank glass and anything else that will stand still, any suggestions on treating the whole tank?


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[Fishfur]

Hmm. not really. but if you can get rid of the majority of them off the plants, maybe the fish will take care of the rest.

For starters, don't feed the fish. If they get hungry, they will be much more interested in finding food for themselves. I did this when I had some hydra.. after a week of not feeding, no more hydra.

They might not be keen on the sheer number you have now.. but if you can reduce the numbers, they might be able to clear up the rest.

 

[jasondbeasley]

I will give the 'no feeding' method a try.

Thx


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