I'm new at all this and am so upset. A rust colored stain has appeared on the gravel and in the fliter pad of our 10 gallon aquarium. Any thoughts on what is causing this? Thanks in advance! 
Rust colored stains on gravel and in filter. HELP!
- Thread starter basketmommy
- Start date
It's algae. Get used to it.
I scrub the same brown colored stuff off of decorations and the glass every week.
P.S. It's not harmful to fish. Just bad looking.
I scrub the same brown colored stuff off of decorations and the glass every week.
P.S. It's not harmful to fish. Just bad looking.
Is there any way to prevent it?
Are there fish that eat algae? Something you can add to the water? Do you have any thoughts on why this would suddenly appear. I"ve had the tank for about 6 months and we've never seen this before. Thanks!
Are there fish that eat algae? Something you can add to the water? Do you have any thoughts on why this would suddenly appear. I"ve had the tank for about 6 months and we've never seen this before. Thanks!
brown or rust?
Is this the normal brown bacteria that is in the filter? Have you been cleaning the filter out? Using tap water or water you took from the tank?
Is this the normal brown bacteria that is in the filter? Have you been cleaning the filter out? Using tap water or water you took from the tank?
Possible solutions
Yes, there are fish that eat algea that could help you. Some of the small bottom feeding fish(Not common plecos, they'll get too big) like cory cats, gold nugget, zebra, and other smaller plecos. I've also heard amano shrimp are helpful, but you'll need alot of them. I have 30 ghost shrimp in my 55g, fun to watch. Good luck with everything! Just so happens I'm dealing with the same issue, but it's not outta hand yet.
Yes, there are fish that eat algea that could help you. Some of the small bottom feeding fish(Not common plecos, they'll get too big) like cory cats, gold nugget, zebra, and other smaller plecos. I've also heard amano shrimp are helpful, but you'll need alot of them. I have 30 ghost shrimp in my 55g, fun to watch. Good luck with everything! Just so happens I'm dealing with the same issue, but it's not outta hand yet.
Riso-chan said:
AFAIK, Corys don't eat algae, whereas Otos do a great job on soft algae (such as diatom)
I don't know if this helps or not, but I went through a similar situation where instead of having red/brown algae all over, I had unicellular green algae suddenly explode overnight (called "greenwater"). I tried several things, and finally got a HOT Magnum canister filter by Marineland. I used the optional water polishing cartridge that they sell for removing microscopic particles in water. Not only did it suck the algae spores from the water, it never came back.basketmommy said:
Don't know if it work like that for the algae that actually grows on things. My bristlenose plecos keep that pretty much non-existent.
Ditto on the OTO's. They thrive on brown algae, if that's what you got. What other fish do have in the tank? And how big is the tank?Darkblade48 said:
I was also getting the brownish-red algae on the tops of my fake plants, near the gravel and on some decorations. I discovered that I was overfeeding my fish! I was feeding them 2 good meals each day, once in the am and once in the pm, with one fasting day a week. I have since cut down to one good meal a day, in the evening, monitoring their intake, and sprinkling in bits more until everyone slows down... and still with one fasting day a week.
Since doing this, I have seen no more algea develop. My weekly tank maintenance and my rubbernoses are slowly but surely taking care of what did grow.
Be careful with the food! It's very easy to overfeed!
Since doing this, I have seen no more algea develop. My weekly tank maintenance and my rubbernoses are slowly but surely taking care of what did grow.
Be careful with the food! It's very easy to overfeed!