Copper colour algae

[Airecl]

hi

I’ve got some weird copper coloured algae growing in my tank.

Never had algae that’s not been green before.

Seemed to appear from my daphnia tank when I added some in from a while ago.

Cut down on feeding. Has anyone seen it before and knows if it’s safe?

I can add a pic when it grows back a bit as I cleaned most of it off yesterday.

 

[Colin_T]

How quickly does the algae grow?
Does it lift off in a film or sheet?
Does it smell musty/ mouldy?

If the answer to the above is yes, then it is probably blue green algae (aka Cyanobacter bacteria). This is a photosynthetic bacteria that grows in fresh, brackish or salt water and loves nutrients, low oxygen levels and red light.

If you can post pics asap it will help with a positive ID.

 

[FishGuest5123]

How new is your tank? Brown algae is known to plague new tanks. It evtually goes away. Until then, you have to scrape it off glass and rub it off plants.

 

[Airecl]

Sorry for the late reply peeps! Been waiting for it to grow back to a decent amount.
Hard to get the colour correct using my camera but I’ve tried!
Please see pics

 

[Airecl]

How new is your tank? Brown algae is known to plague new tanks. It evtually goes away. Until then, you have to scrape it off glass and rub it off plants.

It’s weird because the tank has been up and running for over 6 months. About 3 months I had a pH crash but I’m monitoring the pH closely now and all is fine. A couple months ago it started appearing around when I was feeding live food. Do you think it’s just been a delayed reaction perhaps? Because the tank had to cycle again?

 

[FishGuest5123]

Brown algae can affect any tank. It’s just common in newer ones. Elevated nitrates contribute to it also.