Is beard algae harmful?

[xoxsarahxox]

So I have a piece of wood in my 10 gallon that is growing quite a bit of what I think is beard algae, heres the weird part though.......I kinda like it....the algae hasn't spread to anything else besides the wood. Is the algae harmful to anything in the tank because aesthetically I don't mind the small bushes of algae growing on this driftwood. Thanks!

 

[Byron]

The only harm from algae is when it appears on live plant leaves and increases thereon; this can smother the leaf and eventually kill the plant. But algae on wood or rock is normal, and often beautiful, creating a more natural appearance. I have a lot of this algae on bits of wood in some tanks. I just keep an eye on it and if I see it spreading to live plant leaves I then consider why this may be happening (it is due always to an imbalance of light/nutrients) and take steps to adjust things.

Wood is particularly prone to algae, since the wood is organic and thus a high source of nutrients. Algae will therefore readily take hold on wood.

I just took a photo of a portion of my 40g to illustrate...you can see a thick growth of the fluffy form of brush algae in the branches but nothing on the plants. This has been like this since June.

Byron.

 

[tabitabitabi]

The only harm from algae is when it appears on live plant leaves and increases thereon; this can smother the leaf and eventually kill the plant. But algae on wood or rock is normal, and often beautiful, creating a more natural appearance. I have a lot of this algae on bits of wood in some tanks. I just keep an eye on it and if I see it spreading to live plant leaves I then consider why this may be happening (it is due always to an imbalance of light/nutrients) and take steps to adjust things.

Wood is particularly prone to algae, since the wood is organic and thus a high source of nutrients. Algae will therefore readily take hold on wood.

I just took a photo of a portion of my 40g to illustrate...you can see a thick growth of the fluffy form of brush algae in the branches but nothing on the plants. This has been like this since June.

Byron.

Lovely!


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[Munroco]

Algae looks great, almost like spanish moss. The whole tanks looks beautiful.

 

[xoxsarahxox]

Thanks guys I'm glad its not harmful. I will keep an eye on it in case it spreads. I think its pretty though!