Black Algae

[maniac]

I have black algae growing on some silk plants and driftwood in my aquarium and I am wondering what might be causing it and how I can get rid of it?

Thanks,

 

[fish_tank0311]

Is it the slimy type of algae or is it rather like a small tuft of grassy looking algae.

 

[maniac]

It's like a tuft of grass, certainly not slimy. I've been doing some looking and the pictures are closer to BBA.

I should also add that I have two small java ferns that are not showing signs of having it.

 

[fish_tank0311]

Well soon it will probably take over your tank. Well kind of not really. Its not a bad algae, and to most people they want that algae, as it makes the tank look more natural. If theres too much on rocks or wood etc, u can just take out the object and scrub it with a oven cleaner type cloth. As far as a cause. Dont know. There is also products that you will be able to buy from pet shops that might help get rid of it. Hope that helps.

 

[Ian H]

Low CO2 levels cause bba i think? i used easy carbo to get rid of it before

 

[fish_tank0311]

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaa! I love your profile picture Ian. HAHAHAHAH!!!!!

 

[BryceHockey]

Its not a bad algae, and to most people they want that algae, as it makes the tank look more natural. If theres too much on rocks or wood etc, u can just take out the object and scrub it with a oven cleaner type cloth.

I don't think you are speaking from experience, because believe me it is NOT nice looking and is NOT easy to get rid of! My 10 gallon at one point had black brush algae, the otos won't eat it and it spread fairly quickly. It looks horrible and killed some of the plants, probably robbed them from nutrients. In the end I just got rid of all 3 plants (luckily it wasn't a heavily planted tank) and did a very thorough tank cleaning, kept fake plants in there for a month, then started over with live plants again when I was sure it was gone.

People on here have recommended Flourish Excel, so it's worth a shot. It isn't algae killer but it will give your plants more nutrients and carbon to hopefully out-compete the algae. Just act fast because the more there is, the harder it is to get rid of. Scrubbing does no good, you can get some off of rocks and the like but if it's on plants, you've got a problem.

 

[maniac]

Thanks for the input. so far it's only on the driftwood/rock/silk plant. I'm going to try and scrub some off tonight and look for more permanent solution/replacements down the road.

 

[Lacuna]

I have noticed a bit of this growing on one of my java ferns recently. I read some info about it here. It seems likely if you have a low tech set up that it's due to fluctuating CO2 levels, or low CO2 levels if you have high tech set up. If you have been doing large or frequent water changes recently that may have caused the CO2 levels to fluctuate. This site also recommends overdoaing Flourish Excel so that seems like the best thing to try, I'm going to try and get hold of some of that myself.

 

[fish_tank0311]

My opinion is that i think it looks cool on driftwood and rocks, because it makes it look more natural, but i also do agree, that when it gets on plants, well that annoys me. I spose if it gets that out of hand, something needs to be done about it.

And thanks a lot for that website lacuna, will definitly use it again.