Blue green algae- help battling the beast

  • Get the NEW AquariaCentral iOS app --> http://itunes.apple.com/app/id1227181058 // Android version will be out soon!
F

fwiffo

AC Members
Dec 5, 2007
442
1
18
hey-
in my fish tank, i have 3 plants: 2 amazon swords and an anubias barteri attached to lava rock. the filter is my own. fish are: 2 mated jewels (about 3" apiece).
lighting is a 15 watt sun glow flurescent lamp.

i read that the algae could happen due to oxygen deficeincy so i attached the oxygen line to the powerhead and have it going full blast. the water did not smell normal before the hookup.
now the after the oxygen line has been running it does smell cleaner. why is that?

also, what other tips can you guys give for fending off the algae? the algae is like only on the anubias plant and then only on a few leaves with very small amounts of growth on the edges of the leaves. i really done want to move the plant for cleaning.

thanks.
 
NorCalFish

NorCalFish

AC Members
Sep 4, 2008
128
0
0
Oxygenating water can help with gas exchange in your water while is probably why the tank smells "cleaner". this is also why eliminating dead spots with good water circulation helps too btw, how big is your tank? 15 watts seems a bit low for amazon swords.
 
The Zigman

The Zigman

Here fishy fishy fishy!!!
Oct 5, 2007
5,249
7
62
Near Chicago, Il.
www.uglymuggs.com
BGA is a cyano bactarial infection. Although it is considered an algea, it wont always respond well to lighting and such.

The only way I know to truely get rid of it is with antibiotics...

I treated my 125 with 1/2 dose of Maracyn. it was gone in 3 days, and I had it pretty bad.

Are you SURE its BGA?

BGA is a filmlike covering that spreads pretty fast, covering plants, substrate, and anything else in its path.
It is usually easy to peel off, but comes back thenext day. To me , BGA Smells like uncooked sweetcorn (corn on the cob)
 
P

plantbrain

AC Members
Apr 27, 2001
1,988
2
0
Davis, CA
www.BarrReport.com
Search here on a 3 day blackout for BGA, it'll kill it.
However, EM pills or BO's do not stop the root cause, address that or you will see again and again.


Regards,
Tom Barr
 
F

fwiffo

AC Members
Dec 5, 2007
442
1
18
ok thanks guys!

the tank is a 15 gallon tall. 20"long by 10" wide by 16" high. its a college tank.

the anubias barteri has the most of the algae on 3 leaves, but it does not seem to affect the plant at all. it still sends up a new leaf every week now that its established itself onto the rock.

plantbrain, you mentioned em pills...what are those?
 
shawnhu

shawnhu

AC Members
Oct 31, 2008
698
0
0
44
New York City
EM pills are antibiotic pills, used to control this type of algae. I'm going to have to disagree with Tom on this one. I had a case of BGA brought in from a plant, and it spread all over. I hit the entire tank with a treatment of PP, and cleaned off the driftwood, plants, and tank with it. BGA never returned, and the set-up was identicle to how it was before the treatment.

In my case, eliminating it with a treatment helped, since it was brought in from another plant. In general, finding the root cause is the best way to eliminate this pest from coming back, but not true all the time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store
Top Bottom