"Brown Alge"

[tha cichlid man]

Brown Algae need help!

I have brown algae on top of my rocks and was wondering is that normal or what. I know that malawi eat on algae but does it matter if green or brown?

 

[tha cichlid man]

need help

 

[bigstorm]

From my experience and what ive read, brown algae is the first type to grown in a new tank. I put a common pleco in that tank and the brown stuff was gone in 2 hours. I think the green type will start to grow in a few months.

 

[tha cichlid man]

OK Cool Thank for the info.

 

[mooman]

I think they eat more of the green filimentous algea, but not sure if they eat the kind that grows in our tanks. I would go with a rubber pleco for algea control, since they don't get real big (4-5in) and have been told they tolerate the water chem of African Cichlid tanks better than some other species. Best way to keep the algea down is to do lots of water changes and only turn lights on for a few hours if you have no live plants.

ps Rocks can also be removed and bleached periodically if needed.