What Kind Of Algae Is This And Do I Need To Do Anything With This?

[Akasha72]

well you asked for it. This was my tank at it's worst
 

 
As you can see - it covered everything even the growing on the glass.
 
Then I got 3 of these
 

 
 
And now it looks like this
 

 
 
 
I'd not recommend SAE's though. You need to have a major problem and a tank 4ft or larger to house these fish. They grow incredibly big ... and in my tank with that amount of BBA to graze on they grew big and very very fat very quickly 

 

[hudsona85]

A couple of comments quickly on the fish...tiger barbs should not be in the same tank as gourami or cichlids.  And the Denison barbs must have a larger group, at least five though eight would be better.
 
To the plants and ferts, with soft water the sword and bacopa may have some issues so I would look into one of the ferts I mentioned last post.

I had at least 5 of them at one point until I did a water change and unfortunately forgot to add dechlorinator and lost half the fish in there. I felt really really stupid then. Learn from your mistakes, right? When I move the Roseline barbs, I plan to add more. I wasn't aware of tiger barbs potentially being an issue with the gouramis. I've had them for for at least 6 months and never see them go after them or any other fish for that matter. Im not saying they will.
 
I ordered the SeaChem Flourish it should arrive today. I cut down my lighting time so I shall wait and see what happens.  Thank you Byron!
 

well you asked for it. This was my tank at it's worst
 
 

 
I'd not recommend SAE's though. You need to have a major problem and a tank 4ft or larger to house these fish. They grow incredibly big ... and in my tank with that amount of BBA to graze on they grew big and very very fat very quickly 

 
Man that just made my toe curl! I hate that you went through that! Main things is you pulled through it! I have 2 4ft tanks but don't plan on getting the SAE. If it gets worse I could at least try putting on of my Oto's in there and see if that works. For now I am decreasing my light times and will start using the Flourish when I get it. Thank you for showing me and advise!

 

[Akasha72]

Oto's won't eat BBA. I have 3 oto's and they've never touched it, nor have my snails. I understand live bearers will have a nibble on it - mollies in particular from what I've read. The best thing is to try and stop it spreading. As you can see, a tiny bit soon becomes a LOT! This is because it omits spores into the water and this is how it spreads. Even though I have the SAE's eating it I still remove any leaf that I see with even the tiniest bit. I can't go back to how it was. It would destroy me to see my tank like that again

 

[Byron]

Yes, fish that are commonly referred to as "algae eating" are, at best, limited to one or two types.  There are only two fish species that will eat brush/beard algae to any noticeable degree, and one is the SAE and the other name escapes me at the moment.  But both have specific requirements and behaviours so they cannot just be put into this or that tank without consequences, as Akasha has said.  Otos will voraciously eat common green algae and diatoms, as will Bristlenose plecos.  Farlowella the same.  Whiptails somewhat.  But none of these will touch the more "advanced" or troublesome species of algae, at least not to any noticeable degree.
 
As with most problems, the solution is always to find the cause and rectify it.  Regular maintenance such as water changes will help, as will balanced stocking.
 
On the fish issue, when things are settled, a few more Denison may work fine.  As for the Tiger Barb, this is a species that is notorious for fin nipping sedate fish such as gourami, cichlids, etc.  So the basic advice is not to combine these.  However, not all fish will follow the rules for the species, and be "normal" in their behaviours, for whatever reason.  But it is always wisest to assume normality, rather than hope for the exception.
 
Byron.

 

[hudsona85]

Oto's won't eat BBA. I have 3 oto's and they've never touched it, nor have my snails. I understand live bearers will have a nibble on it - mollies in particular from what I've read. The best thing is to try and stop it spreading. As you can see, a tiny bit soon becomes a LOT! This is because it omits spores into the water and this is how it spreads. Even though I have the SAE's eating it I still remove any leaf that I see with even the tiniest bit. I can't go back to how it was. It would destroy me to see my tank like that again

Hmm... Well that answers that...  I just added the SeaChem Flourish yesterday and cut my light times down. Hopefully it will help. I only said Oto in hopes of not having to buy another fish to solve a problem. Maybe fish keeping is just not not my thing...

 

[Akasha72]

don't get disheartened. If fish keeping wern't your thing you wouldn't be here asking for help to fix what is, at the moment, a minor problem. The fact that you've seen it and caught it in the early stages means it's fixable

 

[hobby5]

Hi all!
 
Just a quick comment on Akasha72's experience: I bet, directly the disappearance of the algae in your tank had absolutely nothing to do with the SAE but with a change of the conditions in your tank due to increased plant and fish mass, and for sure many other unnoticed slight changes in for example: feeding, amount and timing of water changes, lighting times, used ferts etc. etc. Moreover, SAE never get fat on an algae diet! Bet there were feasting on some other food.

 

[Akasha72]

sorry Hobby5 but you are wrong. I personally sat and watched the SAE's eating the BBA with such gusto you'd think it was a gourmet dinner. They still continue to go around the tank to this day nibbling anything they can find growing anywhere. I watch them daily nibbling along the edge of leaves and along my wood and rocks.
 
My phosphate problem has not gone away. I run a remover but it still climbs to an excessive level as I'm often lazy in my water testing.
 
If you need to see proof here's a video of one of my young SAE's tucking in
 
http/vid1127.photobucket.com/albums/l634/akasha3472/006_zps3d6d5a70.mp4

 

[alexge]

Other fish eat BBA, I've seen my Gourami and Molly munch on it, but catching an outbreak?
TBH, I don;t think that you have an outbreak, but some slight imbalance.
 
If you don't want to use liquid co2 (I use it every day to keep things in check due to high light intensity)
then my opinion would be to try and figure out which part of the equation causes that imbalance: too much light, too little co2, or no nutrients in the water column?
 
But, all this is speculation, dealing with algae is a trial and error until you find what works best for your tank.
If it doesn't bother you too much, and isn't annoying you (the sight of BBA that is) you may as well ignore it.