Algae Issues And Salt

[Clarousel]

Hi all,

I've recently been using salt to treat my betta for fin rot (7.5 tspn in 5 gal tank). I have a small amazon sword, java fern and bacopa monnieri in my tank. Does the salt kill them? I've noticed more brown algae forming at the edges of the gravel and on the sword and bacopa monnieri. Just took a look at my tank and there's a little blue-green algae on the gravel! I've always had a little brown algae on the edges of the gravel but it wasn't a problem.

My WC is due today and I'll test the water for ammonia, nitrate and nitrite. Should I remove the plants? Would really appreciate some advice!

 

[wroberson]

If you have a propagation tank or clone room, moving the plants out of the main tank is a solid idea.

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Sorry I missed this, best bet to begin with would have been to move the Betta to a separate tank but now I suggest you move the plants as they're clearly not happy, I thought the recommended dose was 1 TBSP per 5 Gal, any more than that can cause plant problems. Where any of the plants like swords may melt due to the major change in their environment, that maybe the cause of the algae as you may have an ammonia spike.

 

[Clarousel]

Thank you for your advice. I removed the salt in the water shortly after and my sword looks much better now.

 

[StandbySetting]

What salt are you adding? Sodium Chloride or Magnesium Sulphate?