Blue Algae!

[catfishblues]

i have a three foot long horn wort that is near my filter and things that come in the filter get stuck in its needles. now i have blue algae growing on it! i have never had it but i have heard nothing good about it. i heard ramshorn snails will eat it so i put it in my pond and covered it in ramshorns. there doesnt appear to be any more algae right now but i dont want it to spread. what can be done to eliminate it?

 

[snowflake311]

It's a bacteria that can use the sun or light kind of like Photosynthesis. It's one of the oldest living organisms on our plant.

I have a little bit in my tank. It can be brought on by low O2 that was my problem. I have read filter problems can cause it. If you kill off some of your good bacteria it could cause it to grow. I think low O2 is the main reason it happens in my still water then fast moving water. I got it in my betta tank years ago. I also read low nitrates can cause it to grow.

Hydrogen peroxide can kill it so will excel if you use them as spot treatments. I try and remove as much as I can my self then add more water movement so you get more o2 in the water. Then clean your filter with tank water. Keep the tank clean if you have plants add more ferts.

For me doing a good cleaning and adding more ferts to my tank with extra co2 help my plants grow faster and there for added more o2 to the water. I dose nitrogen now because I Don't have many fish my nitrates were pretty much 0. The nitrogen help my plants and slowed my blue green algae Down a lot. I also add excel as a spot treatmention .

It's a pain to get rid of but not too hard to control.

 

[aaronnorth]

It's a bacteria that can use the sun or light kind of like Photosynthesis

It is photosynthesis

We need some more details on your setup
tank size, lighting, fertilisation/ CO2 injection, is there much sunlight or natural light on the tank?, filtration & powerheads, how long has it been setup?

To get rid of it;

remove as much as possible
50-80% water change
3 day black out (cover tank so no light enters, no fedding or peeking either)
uncover tank, if it is still there then cover for a further 2 days
50-80% water change

That will get rid of it, but depending on other factors in your setup it could return

Thanks, Aaron

 

[frankbarnes]

Its very common and annoying problem of having algae in the tank. There are many way to prevent them, you can use some good chemicals available in the market or you can have some algae eater fishes in your tank.

 

[aaronnorth]

Its very common and annoying problem of having algae in the tank. There are many way to prevent them, you can use some good chemicals available in the market or you can have some algae eater fishes in your tank.

It depends if the tank is already fully stocked though, and fish dont eat BGA.

Thanks, Aaron

 

[RadaR]

Agreed. Fish dont eat BGA. Prevention better than cure.

BGA will crop up due to a few reasons.

Dirty filter
Dirty substrate
Small concentrations of ammonia
Low circulation
Low nitrates

I do not promote the use of anti-biotics. It's lazy and unnecessary. Neither does it address the underlying cause.

 

[catfishblues]

ok well its gone now. it was on that one plant and the ramshorn snails happily ate it

 

[snowflake311]

ok well its gone now. it was on that one plant and the ramshorn snails happily ate it

If the snails eat it then I don't know if it was really BGA. Bt good to hear it is gone.