My tank is being over come by yucky blue green algea! Its starting to grow on plants, gravel and driftwood. Is it harmful to the fish? How do I get rid of it?

I've been there, it's very frustrating!

I don't think it's harmful to the fish. When it happened in my tank I bought one of those algae magnets to scrape the glass, which worked well with regular cleaning. I also took ornaments with heavy growth and put them in a bleach solution for an hour or so, then rinsed them well and placed them in the tank again, it's amazing how well that worked.

It's a frustrating problem, good luck with it!

Chrissy

Just my luck. Its everywhere but the glass and I don't think my plants would live thru the bleach

If the stuff in your tank is actually blue-green algae, it's not algae at all but cyanobacteria. The main causes of this stuff are high levels of organic waste and anaerobic conditions.

You can tell if this stuff is cyanobacteria if it's REAL slimy and it comes off the glass and plants in sheets and clumps. It's definitely not good for your tank and it's very hard to get rid of.

Ew Its probably the organic waste factor because I'm having plant and driftwood issues. When I wipe it off it comes off in clumps. It grows and spreads in a spiderwebbish fashion. What does it do to the water quality?

I just did a huge water change and wipe down. I'm going to do waterchanges 2 times a week and see if that works.