What kind of algae is this?

[BrianNY]

Anyone have any ideas? It seems to develope very quickly. I don't think it's BGA because there is no foul smell. Just got my Phosphate test kit and it measures between ..5 and 1 ppm

 

[Guest]

Its BGA, also called cyanobacteria. My tanks have had it to varying degrees before, it only smelled when it got bad. In my expereince, noting else covers plants and substrate in sheets like that.

 

[Fruitbat]

Agreed....it looks a lot like Oscillatoria, a blue-green algae (Cyanobacteria).

 

[jubei]

yes, I would have say the same thing. To get rid of it just do a black-out for 3-5 days. Remember no peeking!!

good luck

 

[Sati]

Doesn't it hurt the fish to be in pitch black for an extended period of time?

 

[Guest]

Doesn't it hurt the fish to be in pitch black for an extended period of time?

Nope, personal experience, have done 2 blackouts, 5 days each. Black plastic/blankets, pitch-black conditions in the tank, all fish and plants lived.

yes, I would have say the same thing. To get rid of it just do a black-out for 3-5 days. Remember no peeking!!

Worth a try, though it never worked for me. I've always ended up using erythromycin to kill cyano, even though I hate medicating.

 

[Sati]

I might blackout my Oranda tank. I have some orange/brown algae that's been in the tank for months. It's getting better very slowly, but maybe no lights would take care of it for good.

 

[BrianNY]

8O You mean pitch black for 5 days?

 

[Sati]

I thought I'd try something like 2 days, Brian. Do you think that's bad? :? I'm sick of this dang algae!

 

[Guest]

5 days, pitch black, no peeking. some people will feed the fish, I didn't.

A black-out is an all-or-nothing strategy. it's whole point is to starve the algae to death. 2 days may weaken it, but won't kiill it, it'll come back.

I beat green water with a blackout, but never cyano, though it has worked for other people. It's upside is no chemicals, downside it's 5 looooooong days! 'Bout drove me nuts.

Other people say you can beat cyano, by acheiving the proper nutient balance, and starving it of one of the nutrients to kill it. Good luck with that one, I can't do it!

I have also heard of folks using Hyrogen peroxide, but I don't know how to do that either.

Me, Erythromycin, follow directions on the bottle for a five-day treatment. has worked for me, but may well kill your good bacteria in filter and gravel, neccesitating re-cycling your tank.

Maybe, after ery. treatment, and a couple large water changes to get all the ery. out of the tank, you could recycle with Bio-Spira, I still haven't tried it.

 

[BrianNY]

Is the med safe for the fish corvu? I think I'll try the black out method first.

And Holly, I don't know what bad is on this one. I'm a total newbie

 

[Guest]

Yeah, trade name Maracyn. Safe for fishies Brian.

Try the blackout, I really hope it works. Plants may get kinda leggy, stretching for light, maybe lose afew leaves, but they will live.

 

[shawmutt]

Worth a try, though it never worked for me. I've always ended up using erythromycin to kill cyano, even though I hate medicating.

same here

 

[BrianNY]

Thanks guys. I pulled the plugs on my 330 watt retina burners this morning and threw a comforter over the 125. I'm thinking to eradicate this plant menace I'll have to kill every single cell. Diatoming didn't help, so maybe I'll just bite the bullet and medicate.

I've never seen this algae in any of my previous tanks. Anybody know how I may have introduced it? Possibly with plants or fish purchases?

Even more curious about once gone, how not to have it return.

 

[Guest]

One more tip. I have found that it will lurk up against the glass, beneath the substrate, even after medicating, if you dont stir up that portion of the substrate while medicating, to let the meds penetrate that area of the substrate.

I hope that description is clear enough.

 

[krap101]

what the heck?? erythromycin is a acne medicine isnt it because my sis and bro use it for their acne or is it another version?? or same thing but different affect??

 

[BrianNY]

Removed the blanket from the tank last night and there is NO BGA left. Some hair algae is still around though. Plants and fish all seem well.

Thanks for the tips everyone.

Brian

 

[madasafish]

WOW! I'll have to do that. I have it, too, and it's buggin me! And, as Corvus said, it lurks right up at the glass (of course, only at the front of my tank). Like Brian, I also have Narrow Chainlink Swords (I assume the plants in the pic are those, not dwarf sags etc), which are getting totally knocked by algae short-hair algae.

 

[BrianNY]

Exactly madasafish. Micro chain swords. Anyway, I'll leave the lights on for less hours and pray this stuff doesn't come back

 

[Guest]

Good luck with the microswords guys. Those things were the biggest pita I ever tried to grow. they would grow great, but came unplanted so incredibly easy, it wasn't even funny. Look at them the wrong way and they were uprooted.

Anyway, back on topic, glad your cyano is gone, Brian. Hope it doesn't come back.