How to clean algae off plants?

Hello

My plants in my 20-gallon tank are doing well, with the strong lighting, CO2 injection and fertilizer. But I accidentally put too much fertilizer and so a strong algae breakout occurred. I was worried about the hairy algae growing on the plants, and it is suffocating their leaves. Is there a way to remove them? I heard algae eaters like Otto Cats are great in cleaning algae off plants, but none of them are available here in our place. I have fed my Pleco too much sinking pellets and veggies that he became lazy. Should I use elbow grease, or is there no other way?

Thanks in advance!

 

what kind of fish do you have in your tank?

if you have a common pleco your tank is way over crowded a common pleco should have 75+ galons.

 

I have 5 Siamensis, they're working away at my algae. (55gal) In fact they don't stop, they seem to be the only fish that really eat the hair or black/red beard algae. But if you're already stocked it won't work for you.

 

Can you remove the plants, clean them and then put them back? That's what I'd do.

 

I've done that too.
But think its a real pain, also not great for the plants

 

Aquarium Info

Hello

My plants in my 20-gallon tank are doing well, with the strong lighting, CO2 injection and fertilizer. But I accidentally put too much fertilizer and so a strong algae breakout occurred. I was worried about the hairy algae growing on the plants, and it is suffocating their leaves. Is there a way to remove them? I heard algae eaters like Otto Cats are great in cleaning algae off plants, but none of them are available here in our place. I have fed my Pleco too much sinking pellets and veggies that he became lazy. Should I use elbow grease, or is there no other way?

Thanks in advance!

Post Aquarium Info. Turn off light more often. Quit feeding Pleco. Cut down on all food.

 

Thank you for the replies!

The pleco I have is an albino one, a strain from the bristlenose. I also read that removing algae from plants by hand can be difficult. My daily light output is 16 hours - I'll reduce it to 12. I'll give less food to the pleco. Thanks for the advice!

How can I remove algae from the plants? The algae-covered part of the plant body is starting to brown because of the algae(the growing part is not yet covered with algae, so they're a healthy green). I saw this Tetra chemical product that removes algae(Algaemini, I believe). Should I use it, or is there another safer way?

Thanks in advance!

 

You could, as a last resort, throw a bunch of pond snails in there until they clear all the algae, then try the lettuce trick to catch them again. They have a very small bioload and have always helped me out in an algae outbreak.

 

You could, as a last resort, throw a bunch of pond snails in there until they clear all the algae, then try the lettuce trick to catch them again. They have a very small bioload and have always helped me out in an algae outbreak.

I go along the Snails for algae control. If you place a few Apple Snails juveniles and cut your lighting to 8 hours for a few weeks.

I have a brown/hair algae problem in a CO2 injected tank under control. I decided against removing my plants. This is what I did:
a) increased WPG just above the area where the brown/hair algae was growing (over Black Amazon Swords),
b) cut the lighting time from 12 to 6 hours for a couple of weeks,
c) added Apple Snails,
d) cut the use of fertilizers,
e) avoid over-feeding
f) performed 50% water changes twice a week for two weeks.

In my case, 6 Apple Snails -there was a lone adult male in there- took care of it in a matter of four weeks. So it's not an immediate solution but it works. Older leaves of the Black Amazon Sword still show the damage done by this nasty algae but all of the new leaves are now algae free.

I recently added 8 Bronze Corydoras juveniles (it's a 45gal tank) and I see them nibbling the leaves, but I can't tell if they actually make that much difference or not. No LFS have otocynclus for sale down here either.

If this fails, consider using UV sterilization with a pump flow of 40-50 times the wattage of the UV lamp. It won't kill algae attached to any surface but will aid your filtration system to collect the free floating ones so it won't spread.

Pepe
Santo Domingo

 

Thanks, pepetj.

We have Apple Snails in the LFS here, but only the ones sold in the market as food. They carry disease that can kill fish. The other snails we have here in the Philippines are the pest ones(I had some one time after buying plants and the leaves got holes on them!). I'll follow the instructions you mentioned. Thanks!

But there's this product that caught my interest - AlgaeControl from Tetra. I found it in a LFS I'm planning to visit tomorrow. I read its descritiption and it says that it gets rid of algae and prevents it from coming back for a certain period of time. Well, I feel kinda bad using chemicals in the water, but if it's going to help my plants, then ok.

Thanks again! Anymore methods are appreciated!

Oh, and I have had the pond snails before but I have never got luck having them to consume the algae. Thanks for the advice, though!

 

lyndatu, I have used that product successfully in my molly tank. I had a weird white algae that made the water foggy, like an algae bloom in the water, and it was gone immediately. This had been going on for quite some time and no matter how many times I changed the water it clouded up. Just to note this tank was fully cycled. So you can give it a try. (it was like magic)

pepetj advice I have used in the past on my 55. Cutting down the light and fertalizers and more frequent water changes helped quite bit.

 

Thank you Jess! It gives me more confindence on buying the product. I hope the LFS that I will visit have some otto cats!

Still, I'll try to follow the water changes and decrease on light and fertilizers.

Thanks again!

Updated: Just went from the LFS and unfortunately their Tetra AlgaeControl were sold out. But I got this other product from Ocean Free(a chinese pet company) - it's called Super Green Away. I'm worried that it might not get rid of the algae, but here's what is written on the box:

"Aquarium/pond water always turn greenish due to high nutrient content & excessive light. There is also a chance that algae will bloom and water will turn bad. This may cause shortage of oxygen in the water & affects the PH. 'Super Green Away' is able to remove green suspented particles by clumping them together. Hence, they will sink down or get trapped in the filter. It usually takes a few days to see the result. Does not colour the aquarium water. Harmless to all fishes, filter bacteria and plants."

Will this product help my algae problem? I already used it in my tank. Your opinion would be appreciated!

I just thought that the dirty stuff on my plants are not algae - they're the dirt from the gravel that accumulated in the water when I redecorated the aquarium. I redecorated the tank just now and the Anacharis and Cabomba is coated in dirt(I think I heard it's called cyanobacteria?) after I reshaped the gravel. My other plants with large, smooth leaves are not covered in filth. The Anacharis and Cabomba's leaves are probably too fine to let the dirt slide down. That's why only the anacharis and cabomba is covered in what I thought was algae. Is my theory correct?

Thanks in advance!

 

There's a brown algae that can coat the sides of the tank as well as your plants. It wipes away very easily. Is it like that?

 

One word of caution regarding algae control chemicals: many of them contain copper, which is generally very toxic to plants and inverts (there is often little difference between algae control and snail control chemicals). If dosed properly, the algae should be more susceptible to the toxin than the larger plants. I'm not sure about inverts.

Jess could very well be right about the brown algae (diatoms). It brushes off of plants, substrate, anything, and looks like dirt when you do so. It's unsightly, but rarely harmful.

 

If they can be easily removed, a good dip in hydrogen peroxide(like you put on cuts) will take care of it. Give them a good rinse but if you get a little in the tank don't worry. I have even squirted a drop or two on plants in the tank. It won't hurt any thing.
Carol