Xander393 Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 Hello, my planted tank is starting to get taken over by this stringy algae that's starting to grow off everything in my tank. I'm not sure how I can kill or control this algae from growing. Any information would be greatly appreciate. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 You might find this article helpful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepsnana Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 That page didn't offer a lot of help: 1. Get better water conditions. We're all working on that. Change to feeding live foods. Not an option for everyone. 2. Add more plants. 3. Get a suitable algae eater, but did not specify which one. 4. Reduce light, but this may not be enough. 5. Take it out yourself with a toothbrush. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 Freshwater shrimp love that stuff, Otos tend to knock it off so it doesnt attach to anything plus keeping up with the water changes. could try a blackout as well but to be honest you cant go past shrimp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander393 Posted September 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 Freshwater shrimp love that stuff, Otos tend to knock it off so it doesnt attach to anything plus keeping up with the water changes. could try a blackout as well but to be honest you cant go past shrimp Haven't been able to find much about freshwater shrimp for the fish tank in Auckland. Is there any? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discusguru Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 Mollies seems to do a good job of getting rid of them in my discus tank. Algea fix does the job for me too. Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 Haven't been able to find much about freshwater shrimp for the fish tank in Auckland. Is there any? http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=60555 look for any slower moving stream that connects to the sea and has plants growing on the edge, scoop the net through the plants during the day time, or take a torch at night (their eyes are reflective) p.s. mollies rock as well, just be warned if they are happy they can get rather big Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted September 29, 2012 Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 That page didn't offer a lot of help: What do you mean it didn't offer any help? Improving water quality, reducing light, adding more plants and manual removal are four things that can help. Personally I got this type of algae growing on my dying red plants under too much light when there wasn't enough other plants in the tank. So I manually removed it, reduced the lighting hours and added more plants. Problem solved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xander393 Posted September 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2012 Mollies seems to do a good job of getting rid of them in my discus tank. Algea fix does the job for me too. Ron Thanks. Looking at getting some fish so will take a look at some mollies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishplants Posted October 9, 2012 Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 Persistence is the key with any algae. I have rarely found any ‘easy’ option works, ie just add 20mls of chemical X and all the problems will be solved. There is one notable exception to this, and that is Flourish Excel, which I have used successfully on BBA as many others have. I have also (partially) successfully used Flourish Excel to control the same string algae you are currently fighting. Not as the direct chemical contact that kills BBA, but by essentially ‘starving’ the algae of nutrients. Excel is an organic carbon, and dumping lots of it into your tank will encourage the proliferation of bacteria, hence the water goes cloudy. These bacteria consume a lot of nutrients (and O2 BTW), effectively starving the algae that gains it’s nutrients from the water. The reason I said ‘partially’ is that, while the visible algae disappeared within a day or two, it came back a few weeks later, but not as vigorous. It was then a matter of fertilising the root structure of my plants, keeping up with water changes, removing excess waste etc. The small amount of string algae slowly declined and has not been visible for the last two months, and my plants are growing stronger. Complete blackouts (no lights and tank covered in a duvet for 3-5 days) can knock this algae back, but I have tried this several times, and have found the string algae comes back just as strong. I believe this is caused by weakening of my plants each time a blackout occurs, and when the lights come back on the algae is able to respond first to the relative abundance of light and nutrients. So, as with most algae, it is a combined approach that works, there is very rarely a ‘one shot fix’ for algae. Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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