|  |  | 
March 28th, 2009
|
| | Fish Keeper
| Algae? Or something else?
I have started to noticed some thing like alage growing on my plants... It ends up looking like black thread is attached to the leaves. Does anyone know what this is, and how I can get rid of it? | 
| | |
March 28th, 2009
|
| | Fish Keeper
| | |
| | |
March 28th, 2009
|
| | Fish Bum
| sounds like staghorn algae to me.
it's the bane of my planted tanks.
SAE's eat is, FlourishExcel gets rid of it.. and if you can't get/don't want those then good old manual removal of the leaves is the only other way.
i have lost so many Glosso carpets as well as 3 fully planted tanks to staghorn since i can't get excel in england | |
| | |
March 28th, 2009
|
| | Fish Keeper
| Hmm, yeah the thing is, it doesn't look as dark as what I have... but that is the closest thing that I've seen on other sites...
Here are some pictures of the stuff... | |
| | |
March 28th, 2009
|
| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Fish Addict  Hmm, yeah the thing is, it doesn't look as dark as what I have... but that is the closest thing that I've seen on other sites.. | Staghorn can be quite dark. Look at the first picture under 'Staghorn' on this site: http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm | 
| | |
March 28th, 2009
|
| | Fish Keeper
| Oh, yep, I think that is probably it. I will make sure it is tomorrow, since the lights are already off for Earth Hour, or whatever that was called.
But, now, solutions? I already use Excel... | |
| | |
March 31st, 2009
|
| | Fish Keeper
| Does anyone know many solutions, because I am already using Excel.... and will it die and leave the leaves, or do they have to go too, b/c its on a lot of stuff.. | |
| | |
April 9th, 2009
|
| | Fish Keeper
| Hello? Can someone help? Its spreading....   | |
| | |
April 9th, 2009
|
| | Fish Keeper
| i think the best way to get rid of it is to get it off manually, get a bucket of tank water, take the plants out and scrub untill its off, this will mean you will have to replant them but atleast the algae will have gone, there may be another way but im not sure | |
| | |
April 9th, 2009
|
| | Fish Keeper
| Yeah I'd really like if therewas a different way, because it is on some things thats leaves are too fragile for me to scrub, and its also on a lot of plants, so I'd have to do that with most of the tank.. | |
| | |
April 9th, 2009
|
| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Fish Addict Yeah I'd really like if therewas a different way, because it is on some things thats leaves are too fragile for me to scrub, and its also on a lot of plants, so I'd have to do that with most of the tank.. | The link I posted a couple of weeks ago has suggested methods of removal, but you haven't mentioned what, if anything, off the list you've tried: - Check CO2 levels (if you don't use CO2, ignore this one)
- Make sure you have good water circulation
- Reduce feeding
- Vacuum the substrate and remove mulm
- Overdosing Flourish Excel usually helps
How is your water circulation? Do you overfeed? How often do you vacuum the substrate? Have you tried overdosing Excel? Have you tried a concentrated/targeted dose of Excel with a syringe?
GWAPA says the following: Quote: Causes:- Nutrient Imbalance - Strive for the following nutrient levels: N (10-20ppm), P (0.5-2ppm), K (10-20ppm), Ca (10-30ppm), Mg (2-5ppm), Fe (.1ppm).
- Low CO2 - Strive for 20-30ppm concentration of CO2, as permitted by fauna.
Cures:- Manual removal - Use toothbrush to remove as much as possible.
- water change - Maintain weekly/bi-weekly water change schedule.
- Increase CO2 - This will stimulate plant growth, which should help the plants out-compete the algae for resources.
- Bleach treatment - Dip affected items/hardy plants into a bleach/water solution using a 1:20 ratio of bleach to water. Before putting them back into the tank, make sure the item is free of any bleach odor.
- OxiClean treatment - Dip affected hardscape items in a OxiClean solution, making sure you only use the original OxiClean with no other additives.
- Maintain proper macro (NPK) dosing scheme
| You might also try doing a search for 'staghorn' at plantedtank.net and read through some of the responses to see what's worked for others. | |
| | |
April 9th, 2009
|
| | Fish Keeper
| Thanks a lot for that
I feed the fish only every other day, and I don't have CO2 just excel so I guess its just water changes...
So what would overdosing Excel be like? Twice the normal amount? And will it harm anything else?
What about SAE's? | |
| | |
April 9th, 2009
|
| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Fish Addict So what would overdosing Excel be like? Twice the normal amount? | 2-3x a normal dose, depending on which site you read. Quote:
Originally Posted by Fish Addict And will it harm anything else? | If you dose too much, or have sensitive plants (Anachris, some vals, etc.), possibly. A better way might be to hit a local drug store and buy a plastic syringe for a couple of dollars, and use it to dispense the Excel directly onto the algae. Quote:
Originally Posted by Fish Addict What about SAE's? | I've never kept them, so I don't know. Some sites say they eat staghorn algae, others say they don't. | |
| | | |
Similar Aquarium Fish Forum Threads 
