Algae

[xxAlexxx23]

Hello!!

So i am having some trouble with my tank. I have a flowerhorn cichlid in there (i know it is small for him, moving him into a bigger home very soon) but i have this black algae that i can just not get rid of and it just comes back so quick after a water change/cleaning.

Does anyone by any chance have any insight on how i can remove this from the tank?

Thank you for helping!

 

[Lillypad101]

I have a few suggestions as I have struggled with algae in my tanks for a long time:

1. Cut down on light - light = algae
2. Add some live plants - live plants eat nutrients out of the water that harms algae growth. (probably floating plants, so that the fish won’t did them up, and they will help to block out light. You could try duckweed, but it can become invasive in time.
3. If the algae is mainly on the walls of the aquarium, you buy a magnetic algae scraper and net out any big algae pieces.

 

[sharkweek178]

I have a few suggestions as I have struggled with algae in my tanks for a long time:

1. Cut down on light - light = algae
2. Add some live plants - live plants eat nutrients out of the water that harms algae growth. (probably floating plants, so that the fish won’t did them up, and they will help to block out light. You could try duckweed, but it can become invasive in time.
3. If the algae is mainly on the walls of the aquarium, you buy a magnetic algae scraper and net out any big algae pieces.

Good advice. There are many alternatives to duckweed. Salvinia minima is my favorite. There's also Amazon frogbit, red root floaters, water lettuce. You can also float plants like hornwort, water wisteria, anacharis. Those are much easier to manage than duckweed.

 

[Byron]

Algae is normal and to be expected in any aquarium. It needs light (some needs brighter light, some very dim light) and nutrients, and these will always be present with fish being fed. You cannot prevent algae. But you can control it. @Lillypad101 mentioned how. In tanks with live plants, we aim to establish the balance of light and nutrients so the plants thrive but algae is disadvantaged. Without live plants, algae is inevitable and controlling it is not so easy.

 

[xxAlexxx23]

Appreciate the help! Thank you i will look into putting in some plants and turning down the light !

 

[Colin_T]

If you are talking about the black slimy stuff on the gravel, that is blue green algae (Cyanobacter bacteria). It loves nutrients, red light, low oxygen levels and low water movement. If you feed a lot of dry food, make sure the fish eats it all and none sinks to the bottom.

Treatment involves reducing the dry food and nutrients, doing big water changes and gravel cleaning the substrate, increasing water movement and aeration, and reducing light.

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The green stuff on the back glass could be blue green algae or normal green algae. If it wipes off in a film and smells musty, then it's blue green and should be delt with as above. If it's normal green algae, reduce the light or add some live plants. Floating plants are best because they shade the tank, use nutrients and the fish won't dig them up.