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Brown/purple Hair Like Algae


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#1 TJ__74

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Posted 21 October 2016 - 10:27 AM

Please fill out as much as possible below and give us a description of what is wrong with your fish.

Type of fish: African Cichlids
Symptoms:Brown/Purple Hair like algae on rocks and filter equipment. Increase in algae on the glass
Other tank mates:none
Tank size / capacity:190L
Type of Food fed:NLS Cichlid
Feeding frequency/amount: Small pinch every other day
Substrate:Sand
Type of filtration:2100 Cannister + Internal
Frequency of filter cleans: 2-3 months
Frequency and % volume of water changes: 2 weeks +- 60%
Last water change:1 week ago
PH:7.6
KH:?
GH:?
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:30
Ammonia:0
Phosphate:?
Water temp:26
Medications used recently to date:None
Any recent changes..new fish/filters/power outages etc etc:Problem seems to have started when rocks were removed for substrate cleaning, but also seems to have coincided with death of Pleco (picked on mercilessly - but not sure if this is the type of algae he would normally eat) Problem has spread significantly since photo was taken one month ago

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#2 sydad

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Posted 21 October 2016 - 10:53 AM

Hello TJ_44,

 

You have an infestation of one of the most annoying alga. Usually referred to as black brush algae. it is in fact red in colour. It is a real pain and extremely difficult to eradicate, but spot dosing with hydrogen peroxide or

 

Excel will help to minimise the problem. Some aquarists claim that reducing phosphates with suitable adsorbents also works to some extent, and of course regular partial water changes also help, but to date I know of

 

no-one who has managed to eliminate this pest without completely tearing down affected aquaria, bleaching all affected solid materials using hypochlorite (or perhaps relatvely high concentrations of hydrogen peroxide),

 

and resetting using extreme care in the process to avoid any transfer of the pest to the new set-up.

 

There are numerous discussions on this topic in aquarium forums, and it may be worthwhile researching them for up-to-date information (I gave up some time ago, and since my main emphasis is on breeding, and the

 

algae is only of cosmetic nuisance, I tend to disregard it).

 

Syd.


Edited by sydad, 21 October 2016 - 11:00 AM.


#3 sydad

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Posted 21 October 2016 - 11:20 AM

Another consideration. One of this forum's commercial sponsors (The Tech Den) sells a product called "No More Black Beard". I have not  (yet) tried it myself, but it may be worth investigating.

 

Syd.



#4 Ageofaquariums

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Posted 21 October 2016 - 12:03 PM

No more black beard is double strength glut. Lots of other brands out there, APi does Co2 booster, seachem does flourish excel, easylife does easy carbo, Aquagreen does dino spit.

 

I find double dosing glut, then adding some True siamese flying foxes, will get it down and keep it down.

Certainly far worse algae to deal with. Always interesting to see the KH in tanks with BBA.



#5 Delapool

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Posted 21 October 2016 - 01:14 PM

Wondering on why KH was of interest? Just curious.

 

For the OP was wondering what lights you are running and duration? Below is what has worked for me on algae. I'd say light period vs light intensity is important. Some thoughts below:

 

Reduce lights to 6hrs, get algae under control and then slowly increase light intensity / period back up. This has been my main control for algae. No sunlight hitting tank.

 

Algae eating fish.

 

Spot treating with H2O2 (others use glut).

 

Double dosing glut (start at half dose and work up for sensitive fish / any plants. Generally they swim through it when dosed fine but I have killed off one fish by over-dosing suddenly). Some people seem to report instant success with algae changing colour and dying off. I find it takes several months and I still watch for little tuffs to appear even at 4 times normal glut dosing. 

 

In my tank I've largely solved it and have pushed the lights back up to where I'm getting almost too much GSA (keep meaning to check phosphates).



#6 Ageofaquariums

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Posted 21 October 2016 - 02:18 PM

Wondering on why KH was of interest? Just curious.

 

Most algae bloom when there is some sort of ratio imbalance. Black beard algae is known for blooming in tanks with excess KH, in tanks with a calcium deficiency, in tanks with a CO2 deficiency and in tanks with excessive Nitrate and Phosphates.



#7 Stormfyre

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Posted 21 October 2016 - 02:24 PM

Another consideration. One of this forum's commercial sponsors (The Tech Den) sells a product called "No More Black Beard". I have not  (yet) tried it myself, but it may be worth investigating.

 

Syd.

 

This product is made by our sponsor Aqua-Pics. It works very well. I can attest to that with personal experience. A few other members here have tried it and all think it works well.



#8 Buccal

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Posted 21 October 2016 - 06:03 PM

Some buffers can be higher in phosphates and make the difference...
But lol, I do everything I can to get the algae on rocks,, to me it looks more natural and straight out better,, it's also functional as part of the ecosystem. :)

#9 TJ__74

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Posted 21 October 2016 - 06:07 PM

Thanks guys, I'll give No More Black Beard a go.  Interesting that the fish are trying to eat the algae every now and then, but look like they are struggling to dislodge it. I might also try and track down some True Siamese Flying Foxes if someone could point me in the right direction?  I run an LED light, for around 4 hours per day.  I tried turning the light off for a week, to see if that made any difference, but didn't seem to.

 

I have a GH KH test kit, I'll run that tonight, and posts the results if anyone is interested.

 

I've added some more photos too, so you can see how aggressive it has been.


Some buffers can be higher in phosphates and make the difference...
But lol, I do everything I can to get the algae on rocks,, to me it looks more natural and straight out better,, it's also functional as part of the ecosystem. :)

Yep, I'm a big fan of the green algae on the rocks, but I was always under the impression anything other than green is not so good.  I'd be happy to leave it there, as long as it didn't continue to grow and coat everything

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#10 Delapool

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Posted 21 October 2016 - 08:49 PM

Most algae bloom when there is some sort of ratio imbalance. Black beard algae is known for blooming in tanks with excess KH, in tanks with a calcium deficiency, in tanks with a CO2 deficiency and in tanks with excessive Nitrate and Phosphates.


Ah, makes sense. I ended up bleaching the really badly covered ornaments. High PAR reef/hydroponics lights and fluctuating / poor CO2 injection.

Interestingly most times I'm only really stuck with one algae type. If GSA is taking off, then usually BBA is minimal. No idea what that means :)

#11 Delapool

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Posted 21 October 2016 - 08:55 PM

Some buffers can be higher in phosphates and make the difference...
But lol, I do everything I can to get the algae on rocks,, to me it looks more natural and straight out better,, it's also functional as part of the ecosystem. :)


Yes, I think I'd like that better as well. I've never really done a main tank without plants but on small ones have let the algae grow in places and thought it softened the tank.

#12 Delapool

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Posted 21 October 2016 - 09:12 PM

Thanks guys, I'll give No More Black Beard a go.  Interesting that the fish are trying to eat the algae every now and then, but look like they are struggling to dislodge it. I might also try and track down some True Siamese Flying Foxes if someone could point me in the right direction?  I run an LED light, for around 4 hours per day.  I tried turning the light off for a week, to see if that made any difference, but didn't seem to.
 
I have a GH KH test kit, I'll run that tonight, and posts the results if anyone is interested.
 
I've added some more photos too, so you can see how aggressive it has been.

Yep, I'm a big fan of the green algae on the rocks, but I was always under the impression anything other than green is not so good.  I'd be happy to leave it there, as long as it didn't continue to grow and coat everything


Lol - algae :(

Would be interested in results but I'm out. 4hrs a day isn't much, guess there isn't much competition for the algae.

#13 chocky

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Posted 21 October 2016 - 10:03 PM

i got my algae eaters at Aqotixs :)

#14 Buccal

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Posted 22 October 2016 - 07:26 AM

See I even like the brown purple stuff to hah ha, but thats me.
You can try 40% weekly water changes,,, this will decrease nitrate exposure a little also.

I have 130 parent breeder tanks in my breed room,, my tanks never have clean glass but I never clean them and most stay pretty good considering,,,,,, but where the sun comes through the sky lights is where those few tanks get more algae.
But the point im getting to is that a hand full of medium bristle noses are best soldiers, but you must ensure they don't take to feeding on the fish food or you'll make them lazy.
Better still 1x medium goldspot or sail fin pleco,,, these work real well, but ensure the belly on the beast is full when you buy it as they sometimes are infected with bad bacteria in the gut, and have a very caved in appearance to the underside,,, also, albinos look better but they aren't as hardy as the standard common morph.
These can eat your fish food and still pig out on algae.

Make sure water surface is churning and try to find a clean food that doesn't produce as much waiste as nls and feed half and half together at one feeding.
Make sure also your not over feeding that contributes to higher nitrate levels,, so miss one day a week for no feeding at all that day.
And simply only turn the light on when you need to view or just display it.
Sometimes it takes many little procedures to just make it a little better. :)
And I also have heard from a few people now, that the no more black beard works a treat also.

#15 bigjohnnofish

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Posted 23 October 2016 - 12:04 AM

i find a lot of algaes come and go in my tanks at different times of the year... makes me think they come in with the tap water - some seem to be seasonal but others no real pattern...

 

had the nasty red algae once that syd mentioned... it disappeared on its own severals months after it first appeared..... making me think water quality contributes to the algaes success or decline... 

 

i too prefer an algae look in tanks for b/n etc to graze on... 

 

best b/n i have found to eat algae are orange spots 4-6cm followed by albino b/n 3-4cm.... but both will get lazy as they get bigger..... 

royal whiptails are a better option - one whiptail is equivalent to approx 20 b/n IMO anyway.... 

and top of the heap are the big plecs - common , goldspot , gibbi and albino gibbi plecos......



#16 Ageofaquariums

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Posted 23 October 2016 - 11:11 AM

All the cool kids do true aufwuch biotypes in their rift lake tanks.



#17 Buccal

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Posted 23 October 2016 - 02:12 PM

Ah, a specialty within itself.... :)

#18 TJ__74

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Posted 12 November 2016 - 10:52 AM

Thanks for your help everyone.  I went with 5ml of CO2 booster every day for a week, and no more BBA.  A couple of BN's helped speed the process up.

 

Now all the BBA has gone, the nice green stuff can flourish on the rocks






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