How Do I Clean Live Plants?

I have a moderately planted 45 gallon tank. It has recently been attacked by cyano bacteria (Blue-green algae) I haven't been able to find the info. I'm looking for on other threads. Almost all the info. I have gotten says to scrub rocks, decorations etc and plants to get the algae off. How do I 'scrub' live plants without killing them or a least taking off most of the leaves. And for the plants with small leaves I would guess that it would be almost impossible to clean them enough to help significantly get rid of the stuff. I'm so frustrated I feel like getting rid of my fish, tearing the tank down and starting over. However, I have a beautiful Angel that I have had for 4 years and I don't want him to go.

 

Blue-green algae is actually a gram-positive bacterial colony and you should treat it with Erythromycin.

 

Not sure how you could "clean plants". There are a number of different plant dips, but these are more focused on killing snails and their eggs. One of the methods for dipping the plants is with bleach. While this is pretty harsh, and some more sensitive plants it will kill, bleach seems like it would kill any bacteria, blue green algae, or any other problematic funky stuff. Just be sure to research your specific plants and their sensitivity to bleach. Here is a link to an article about various plant dips...

 

Blue-green algae is actually a gram-positive bacterial colony and you should treat it with Erythromycin.

Can you get Erythromycin at a fish store?

 

Can you get Erythromycin at a fish store?

I would suggest buying most of your stuff online, you will find a much better selection and way cheaper prices, with things shipped straight to your front door. I personally like bigalspets.com and kensfish.com, 2 of the best and cheapest around. Here is a link from bigalspets.com for the API version...

API E.M. Erythromycin Powder

Just noticed you live in Canada, so you may be able to go to bigals in person, even better, I wish we had a local store like that. Our local shops are not the greatest for anything other than live fish. All of their equipment, chemicals, etc are 2-3 times the price of online vendors. Often I see old / expired chemicals, so be sure to check for that.

 

I would suggest buying most of your stuff online, you will find a much better selection and way cheaper prices, with things shipped straight to your front door. I personally like bigalspets.com and kensfish.com, 2 of the best and cheapest around. Here is a link from bigalspets.com for the API version...

API E.M. Erythromycin Powder

Just noticed you live in Canada, so you may be able to go to bigals in person, even better, I wish we had a local store like that. Our local shops are not the greatest for anything other than live fish. All of their equipment, chemicals, etc are 2-3 times the price of online vendors. Often I see old / expired chemicals, so be sure to check for that.

Thanks. I have a Big Al's 10 minutes from me so I could go there as well.

 

When my sturdy leafed plants get gunky I gently use a soft toothbrush on them.

 

How do I 'scrub' live plants without killing them or a least taking off most of the leaves. And for the plants with small leaves I would guess that it would be almost impossible to clean them enough to help significantly get rid of the stuff. I'm so frustrated I feel like getting rid of my fish, tearing the tank down and starting over. However, I have a beautiful Angel that I have had for 4 years and I don't want him to go.

No need to scrub, Cyano will usually brush right off with your fingers. The smaller plants might be a bit harder.

Just does with Erythromycin as suggested above. If you're in the US it sounds like there are all kinds of meds available at pet shops that contain it.

 

I had some growing on my plants so I did a "modified" lights out to get rid of that nasty stuff! I kept my tank lights off and still fed my fish. I just covered up the bottom of the tank, since that is where all the cyanobacteria was growing, with envelopes. Let me find a picture....

cyanobacteria blackout cheat!

• RedLoredAmazon
• Apr 5, 2017

That's what my tank looked like with the envelopes! I had the cyanobacteria really, really bad! The whole bottom of my tank was green! It covered all of my sand and my little plants. My issue with it started when I was gone from the house for a bit and left on the lights for 12 hours or more! But I got a timer so that seems to have fixed it!