Hi all. I was wondering about this.
Several months ago I had green algae, it covered the tank walls. It was not long or hair like at all. (hard to describe), everything just looked like it was turning green.
Then I dealt with brown algae same thing, everything turned brown.
Now I have a very thick green colored algae, only this time it looks like green hair. My plants (fake) all look like they are covered in this green fur!!
This fuzz is so hard to get off the tank walls. The other green algae just wiped off. I am having to scrub and scrub with this new green algae and I still can't get it all.

Anyone have any clues as to why the 2 green algaes are different?
Thanks

hello, "o-great-namer-of-my-little-betta, grimace",


wich one of these best describes your algae (i got a feeling its beard algae but, then again....):

Fuzz algae
Grows mostly on plant leaves as separate, short (2-3mm) strands. Considered normal. It might be a less "virulent" form of "beard" algae. Easily controlled with algae eaters such as black mollies, Otocinclus, Peckoltia and siamese algae eaters.

Beard algae
Grows on plant leaves and is bright green. Individual strands have a very fine texture but it grows in thick patches and looks just like a green beard. It grows up to 4 cm. It cannot be removed mechanically. This does not indicate bad water quality but grows very fast and overtakes the tank, making it a "bad" alga. Can be eliminated with Simazine (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals "Algae-Destroyer").

Hair algae
Grows in bright green clumps in the gravel, around the base of plants like Echinodorus and around mechanical objects. It has a coarser texture than "beard algae". Beard algae will ripple in the water current, hair algae tends to form matted clumps. Individual strands can get to 5 cm or more. This is easy to remove mechanically by twirling a toothbrush in it. Can be troublesome if left unchecked. This is a popular food supplement for fish among European aquarists.

Thread algae
Grows in long, thin strands up to 30 cm or more. Tends toward a dull green color (hard to tell because it is so thin). Usually indicates an excess of iron (> 0.15 ppm). Easily removed with a toothbrush like hair algae.


paul

Paul you crack me up.

Okay, I think it may be beard algae. It is very thick and moves with the water current. It definetly has taking over one of my plants and my rock.
It is also along the gravel line and even taking over some of my white gravel (I have brown, gray and white).
The fish have been eating it off the plants and their poop was bright green, I know it was from the algae, I hadn't given them peas in a couple weeks. (i know bad mommy).

I have a rubbernose in there, he doesn't seem to be cleaning this stuff as well as he used to. He has a ~7 inch diameter around where he stays clean and that is it. I don't even see him come to clean the other parts of the tank.

Do you think I should get the Simazine? Will it hurt the fish? Or Mick (rubbernose)?
And do you think this is going to be an on going problem?

Thanks Paul!!!!

I have used the Algae Destroyer for beard algae for a long time, on and off as necessary. It has never hurt my goldies. I do not have any other fish in with the goldies, though. I do not think it would hurt them either....... the bottle says:

Controls the growth of many algae in larger aquariums, koi and goldfish ponds and fountains containing fish."

One treatment works for several weeks. I mix it into 10 gallons of the water to be added back after a change - and add that 10 gallons last, so it is as diluted as possible. You would not want to use this in a tank that has a lot of real plants, though. It says:

"Treatment may injure water hycinths and water lilies. Not recommentded for use in water gardens"

It is a herbacide.

Herbacide, that word scares me.

What about the rubbernose, if it takes care of all the algae will he starve?

I have some moss balls coming from Germany, hopefully I can get this cleared up before they arrive, if not will the algae affect them, or even the Simazine?

well, i certainly wouldnt try the algae destroyer (simazine) while youve got the moss balls in the tank. instead, you might want to try some chemical filtration. removing excess sylicates and phosphorous will hinder algae growth greatly. you might get a small amount of brown algae as a result but, the rubbernose will take care of it very easily.

as long as you keep algae wafers onhand, killing off all the algae in the tank wont starve your plec to death. to make sure that he gets them, push them over to his favorite hiding place so that he can have easy access to them.

man, id kill for a nice thick coat of beard algae all over the place. id let it grow on everything except the plants. id scrub those off with a bleach solutiuon once or twice a month. at one point, i did have it everywhere and i absolutely loooved it. so did lurch. he constantly had green poop! when i moved, and found out that high nitrates were bad and started doing regular water changes. then of course, brown algae set in and i decided to get a plec. they havent been back since.

whatever you decide to do, good luck! and keep us posted!

paul

Ok, will not use the simazine when the moss balls get here.

You mentioned that you loved having this beard algae in your tank, so it is ok to have in there, even if it growing like crazy?
My thinking was it was taking over and that is bad. Should I just try and clean off the tank walls and leave it at that?

When I do get the moss balls will the algae do anything to them?

The chemical filtration you were referring to is that a protein skimmer? If so that is not in the budget.
So if this stuff isn't bad maybe I'll leave it?????

Thanks for you advice Paul, I appreciate it.

Daryl, thanks for your advice as well.

i think it grows slow enough to keep it pretty well at bay on certain things. what you decide to leave it on is up to you. it will definitely help combat nitrates.

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as for the chemical filtration that i spoke of, heres what i meant: http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/produc...id1=1965;pcid2=

it removes phosphates and sylicates. both, in abundance, are responsible for algae growth that gets out of hand. aaand, i dont think that it will hurt any real plants or the moss balls.

it comes in a pouch that your suppose to put into a high waterflow area, like a filtercartridge or in a cannister filter. if im not mistaken, i think that koko uses it in some or all of her aquariums.
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should you decide to keep some of the algae around, it wont hurt the moss-balls in any way but, it will most definitely compete for any available nutrients in the water. all should go well, though. maybe you could start a thread about this in the plants forum. im sure that youll get some very informative answers there.

good luck!

Paul, if I understand you right the algae will help to lower the nitrates? That I could use, those nitrates are climbing lately. Last week they were between 40 and 80.
That is why I decided to go with the moss balls.

I will probably leave some of the algae in there. I will try and scrape as much off the walls as possible and leave it on the plants.

Thanks for your help.