Weird Slime/moss/algae? What Is It??

HI everyone,

I have two planted tanks. Both do get natural sunlight. Thus, they also get a good amount of algae.

That being said, I recently started seeing this very odd looking bright, dark green slime/moss/algae in both of them. It’s hard to get a picture of because it only grows on top of my plants and moss, but I hope it’s visible in this one.

Does anyone have any idea what it is?

If so, does anyone know if it is harmful and/or how I can get rid of it?

 

Cyanobacteria. It is harmful in that it can cover the leaves of your plants and compete for nutrients. Several ways to get rid of it. I used H2O2 to great effect.

 

Cyanobacteria. It is harmful in that it can cover the leaves of your plants and compete for nutrients. Several ways to get rid of it. I used H2O2 to great effect.

Hydrogen peroxide? How much?

 

Agreed - cyanobacteria.

There are several ways to treat it but it's important to identify and fix the root cause or it will probably just come back.

How to identify and kill blue-green algae (In just days!)

 

The most important thing with H2O2 is to turn off your filter during treatment. Only for about an hour or 2. And don't dose much above 2ml per gallon as higher doses can harm your fish. If you have a dropper you can directly apply it to your problem areas. I dose at night as plants use oxeygen at night and it helps them out as well as dealing with the issue.(it breaks down into oxeygen and water which is why I use it)
Some ways to treat causes are to control your nitrate levels, not letting them get too high or too low. 20ppm is pretty ideal. And clean your substrate regularly. Increase surface agitation. Maybe add some plant ferts as plants will out compete it if they have the right care.