Something Has Turned My Driftwood Into A Muppet

[thrujenseyes]

I think I've identified this fuzz as staghorn algae...?
 
It's usually white but turned hot pink the other day?!
 
I tried all day yesterday to post this but couldn't for some reason.
 
I went home and cut all of my anacharis down to stubs (some of the tips had it growing on it).
 
And I boiled this piece of driftwood.
 
I seem to have gotten it all.
 
I notice that I get this right after a water change...immediately after.  And I'm thinking I cause an ammonia spike by stirring up the substrate (which I always do ...to get all the crud). 
 
I partial water change once a week and treat with "prime".
 
Am I doing the right things?  And is this staghorn aglae?! 
 

 

[gmc1]

It's turned pink because it's dead.staghorn is usually co2/flow related.

 

[thrujenseyes]

oh good lord...so I did all that cutting and boiling for nothing?!?  It was harmless?!??!

 

[gmc1]

From my personal experience I have only ever spot treated problem algae with h202.it worked where I treated but my problem was light/flow balance.ie decreased light time and increased flow.all depends on your specific tank set up.
Once I had the correct balance the algae was under control.

 

[thrujenseyes]

I usually do about 12 or more hours of light a day and the flow is good where the algae was....it was also right under the light.
 
I'll decrease light a bit.

 

[gmc1]

I would look at how much you are feeding as well.

 

[thrujenseyes]

I have 6 endlers and one assassin snail in a teeny little 6 gallon fluval edge...
I feed one flake a morning.  I crumple it up and it feeds them all for about 2 minutes.  Sound right?  Sounds too little to me but they seem happy and healthy.  I also have freeze dried shrimp that they love but when I do a piece of that there always seems to be a bit of shell left over that will get hairy.  So I stopped doing that months ago.

 

[RobRocksFishTank]

Found this:
 

I introduced a few Amano shrimps (Caridina multidentata) and I could see the algae disapearing after only a few days. I could observe the Amano shrimps sitting on the leaves and eating the Staghorn directly with their mouth
 

 
Here:
 
http/aquariumalgae.blogspot.com/2006/03/staghorn-algae.html

 

[thrujenseyes]

well that's great info!!  thanks for sharing!  although (knock wood) that I've gotten rid of any that I'd seen in my tank by chopping all the tips off the plants and also boiling the driftwood that had it.  But I know it can come back any time.  Good tip to have in my back pocket!