Black Algae

[topplan]

Hi there members,

I have 2 aquariums and one of them seems to grow a black fluffy algae on the plants and sometomes on the glass. Has anyone else had this problem and if so are there any ideas as to what might be the cause? Is there any cure for this? I've been breaking the leaves off the plants which have it on them but it seems to be one step ahead of me. Thanks for your assistance.

[me love fishy]

sounds like black beard algae, yes it is pretty common.

how much and what kind of algae you get totally depends on your set up, but you will always get some algae at some stage.

Hard to advise not knowing anything about your set up, but you can get fish that will eat this algae, the best one I've heard of for this type of algae is a siamese algae eater.

[Faran]

Black Beard Algae

This type of algae appears as short hairs, usually a couple of cm long closely packed together. Appears dark green, black, or dark red. It usually grows on plant leaves, and sometimes on decorations/substrate. It is usually found around the edges of plant leaves.

Causes -

A) Low CO2 levels

B) High PO4 levels

Solutions -

1) Increase the CO2 levels through a co2 system or using flourish excel (a carbon supplement)

2) Lower po4 levels, by doing a 40% water change, adjusting the po4 dosing to your tank or increasing your KNO3 levels

3) Using Flourish Excel, especially above the recommended amount.

As stated above, the most effective way of treating this algae is to increase co2 levels in the tank. It could be that you are not able to invest in a pressurised setup, so please check out DIY co2, which is effective on tanks around the 150lt mark. One successful way of getting rid of this algae is to use Seachems Flourish Excel. This contains an isomer of glutaraldehyde which is a colourless liquid with a pungent odour used to sterilize medical and dental equipment. Dosing this has been successful for many aquarists including myself, and is probably the easiest way to get rid of this algae.

There are a few fish that eat this stuff, and those that do, in my experience, once they know what bloodworms / flake is like, the algae seems less appealing for some reason.

From my algae references.

[markoshark]

Silver/Bala sharks.

My three have destroyed all the black alge and are now starting on some bright green stuff.

They seem to prefer it to the flake that i'm feeding them.

[topplan]

Thanks so much for that info, I'll get some Seachem Flourish ASAP

[smidey]

Thanks so much for that info, I'll get some Seachem Flourish ASAP

make sure its flourish excell

[jolliolli]

Has anyone had any problems with fish reacting to flourish excel? I'd like to try it, but think i remember reading reports of some people having fish die when using flourish excel and flourish iron? Has anyone else had these problems, don't want to kill my fihs

[Andrew_W]

I have done multiple double dosing of flourish excel and it still wont go away

[alanmin4304]

It is a catch 22 situation. I leave the lighting as it is and do weekly 50% water changes to strip the nutrient back. The stuff is not cheap so you don't want to be throwing it out with water changes (but you have to). I double dose after a water change and do normal doses otherwise and make sure you are not feeding too much. It takes a few weeks but it works for me. You need the lights to make the plants grow and strip nutrient and you need the water changes for the same reason.

[smidey]

i had alot of BBa in my 200L tank. dosed as directed & after two days the BBA started to go red then white on the third. I used a standard size bottle & have not had it back. that was about 6 months ago. I tried another product which didnt work, replaced all my plants & that didn't work either. it ended up costing me about $120 in the end & i originally got it from plants that i bought at the LFS in the first place.