"dirty" looking leaves

John N. said:
How's the flow in your aquarium? Is there enough circulation for the detritus (brown stuff) to get picked up by the filter?

Perhaps get some Otocinclus fish as an extra clean-up crew.

So you have

* Reduce photoperiod 7 hrs
* Clean Filter
* Waterchanges
* Add Otocinclus for extra help

-John N.
Click to expand...

Hi John. Funny you should mention the oto's. Up until 3 days ago, I had 3 otos in my tank, been there for 6 months. Whether they ate the diatoms off the leaves or not I don't know because I hardly ever saw them (being nocturnal). then for some reason, within 2 days, 2 of them died, possibly all three. I found two of them dead, don't know if the 3rd is still alive or not. I have no idea why they died. Nothing changed in my tank. I tested my water and it was perfect. I always supplemented their diet. Could have been old age I guess.
As far as the flow in the tank goes, I keep my water level high so the filter output doesn't create much current, but I can see the leaves of my plants gently moving back and forth so I know there is some water flow in the tank.
 
Bn plecs only grow to ~4 inches, well long finned have those enormous fins so body length. Depending on your stock your tank is big enough for 1. I do give him zucchini or romaine a couple times a week, other fish like them too.
 
i doubt it is diatoms and to suggest someone to add fish to cure a problem is not helping. they then have another fish to feed that might not do well with their stock and will eventually have a problem of needing to feed this new fish once they realize the otto wont eat that particular algae.

a picture is worth a 1000 words in this situation to help us diagnose the algae.

also this site is very helpful: http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_algae.htm

enjoy
 
i had a massive diatom outbreak in my 55 gallon. i dropped in 3 bushynose plec one afternoon and the next morning it was gone. coach z as much as i respect your opinions , on this i have to disagree.
 
Well I have 1 tank that has been up for almost a year and only has 2 real plants, gravel substrate, and always has diatom. I don't think light affects it that much, it feeds off of silica. Some water has higher levels of silicic acid.
 
Anyone else notice excessive diatoms with eco? 1 BN has been enough in my 75g & he's not full grown yet, 2+ inches plus tail. I see him much more than my other plecs too.
 
ok, here's some pictures of "it".

here is pictures of the brown icky stuff on my leaves. Also some stats:
Tank has been set up for 6 months
Eco-complete substrate
Planted for 5 months
Nitrate 0-.20
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
PH 7.6
Flourish Excel every other day
Flourish fertilizer once a week
Water changes @ 30% once a week and filter cleaning

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