Smax Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 hey everyone. i've had an outbreak of black algae in my tank and was wondering how i get rid of it. i think it was because of too much light. i went down to the pet shop and they told me that a flyingfox is the only fish that will eat it. is there any other way of getting rid of it??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 No fish eat it in my experience. I get rid of it by doing frequent water changes to strip the nutrient from the water. Feed lightly and leave the lights on to promote the growth of your plants (they will also strip nutrient). Double dose with flourish excel as it has an algacidal effect and makes minerals easily available to your plants which strips even more nutrient as the grow. Failing that try prayer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afrikan Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 Flying Fox DO eat black algae, however the older they get the lazier they get.. young fly foxes do a great job on black algae. Once they get old they like to sit around for meals on wheels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HummingBird Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 Florida Flagfish eat it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 Correction: Failing that try prayer, a flying fox or a florida flagfish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 i used flourish excell but didnt need to double dose & i had alot of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsarmina Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 there are a couple of gold spot plecos in my lfs that strip the tanks bare of BA. just a thought Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wok Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 when you double dose with Florish exel. don't do any water changes till the algae is dead. Be warned that double dose florish will kill riccia and val. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candy Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 will single dose florish excle be ok for ricca? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 Flourish excell is a fert that has the side effect of killing algae. I had BBA bad, was recommended her to use excell so i did. on the second day the BBA turned red then white on the third day & slowly disintegrated into nothing over the next four days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wok Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 If I were to use florish again.. I would take most of the riccia out and put it back in when I have killed the BBA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candy Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 does any one have some pis of the algae. Im still trying to figger out what i have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 BBA from my tank, lucky me got it from plants that i purchased from my LFS edit by smidey, photo too large, will repost smaller one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 BBA from my tank, lucky me got it from plants that i purchased from my LFS edit by smidey, photo too large, will repost smaller one aren't you proud of me bill? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolliolli Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 I had the same sort of black algae on my plants and like smidey only used a single dose of flourish excel to treat it and it went away completely (and stayed away) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candy Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 yep thats what i have. Treated with florish.. but have not seen it die !! its horrible stuf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolliolli Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 did you use flourish or flourish excel? only flourish excel will work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidb Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 hmm yeah if you treat flourish at double dose it will prob make the hair algae worse! I had it really bad in a 2 ft tank but added more stem plants and dosed 10 ml every other day and its pretty much gone now after two weeks (touch wood) I'll prob start dosing 5 ml every second day instead now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 Flourish excel has an algacidal effect but mainly promotes plant growth so that the nutrients are stripped from the water and the algae is starved of nutrient. Cutting down on feeding and water changes adds to this I think. The plants wont grow without the lights on either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haizel Posted June 25, 2007 Report Share Posted June 25, 2007 can i use that with clown loaches in the tank, i got told they don't like the algae chems in the water? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted June 25, 2007 Report Share Posted June 25, 2007 I have double dosed with clown loaches in the tank with no aparent ill effects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wok Posted June 25, 2007 Report Share Posted June 25, 2007 my clown loaches, discus, bristlenose all came out without any side effects Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted June 25, 2007 Report Share Posted June 25, 2007 my clowns were fine to. on the side of excell killing algae, the algae dies really fast so maybe excell works like roundup, its a growth hormone that makes the algae grow so fast that it doesnt have enough nutrients to sustain life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted June 25, 2007 Report Share Posted June 25, 2007 Uaru's eat it. And then start eating the driftwood its growing on!! They do miss bits tho, so I might have to give some of that stuff a go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HummingBird Posted June 25, 2007 Report Share Posted June 25, 2007 Smidey, what excel does is convert iron into a ferrous form so it's more usable by plants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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