What is black stringy stuff on my fake plants?
- Thread starter pettygil
- Start date
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I read in yahoo that its black Algae.
It's probably black algae. The stuff grows when the aquarium is getting too much light and/or when phosphates are too high. The excessive light could be from a nearby window, and the phosphates could be caused by using a pH adjuster formula or similar chemicals. You should probably remove the plastic plant that has the algae, because it can spread.
I do keep the lights on A-lot. Do I need to remove the fake plant? I can turn off the lights off and night, see if that helps.
It's probably black algae. The stuff grows when the aquarium is getting too much light and/or when phosphates are too high. The excessive light could be from a nearby window, and the phosphates could be caused by using a pH adjuster formula or similar chemicals. You should probably remove the plastic plant that has the algae, because it can spread.
I do keep the lights on A-lot. Do I need to remove the fake plant? I can turn off the lights off and night, see if that helps.
Andy Sager
Aquarium Advice Addict
Your fish should have a day and night cycle just like you do. If you are getting light from a nearby window, you can reduce the hours you have your lights on. Even at the equator, it's only light for 12 hours in a day.
With no live plants, there is no reason to have the lights on for a set amount of time. If you get enough light from the window to see your fish, there's no reason to put your light on during the day. When it get's dark, you can turn your light on until you go to bed. Your fish goes to sleep as well. If you see an increase in green algae, you will need to cut back on the amount of time you keep your light on. On average, 6-8 total hours of light hours is more than enough for the fish. If you are getting that from the window, you might need to add a blackout background so the tank is darker during the day.
