Hair Like Algae in my Tank..

G

Grymatta

Large Fish
#1
May 16, 2005
439
0
0
#1
I noticed that my planted tank seems to be infested with some sort of hair-like algae. At first I thought it was Beard Algae but after looking at pics, I dont think it is.

The algae isnt clumped together but appear as fine short hairs growing on the leaves of my plants. The leaves will have this brown patch where the hairs grow out of.

Does anyone know what this is? Is it related to Beard Algae? I've also noticed a surge of green and brown algae on my tank walls.

I was thinking about dosing with Flourish Excel and getting an Oto or Siamese Algae Eater as a last resort.

Does anyone have any other suggestions?
Thanks in advance!
 

G

Grymatta

Large Fish
#3
May 16, 2005
439
0
0
#3
the hairs are green I think. They look like individual strands of hair that got attached to my plant leaves. They havent clumped together yet.

After doing some research, I think it might be Thread Algae. I will post my water parameters as soon as I get home and run some tests..
 

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G

Grymatta

Large Fish
#6
May 16, 2005
439
0
0
#6
Ok I've examined my plants more carefully and I was wrong about the hair color. Its actually BROWN. They are little hairs coming out from brown patches on the leaves of my anubias and java fern. My Annacharis seem to be immune to it though as does my Moss Ball.

I found a pic of what it looks like on the web and it resembles this Fuzz Algae:

http://www.aquaticscape.com/articles/algae/fuzz.jpg


I've dropped in an Otto and it seems to eating it. Will provide updates tomorrow...

BTW..I found an excellent guide complete with pics for identifying Algae:

Aquarium Algae
 

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VirgoWolf

VirgoWolf

Superstar Fish
#9
Feb 16, 2006
1,933
4
0
Michigan
#9
yep, I have the same thing in my GBR fry tank on the walls, makes it even harder to try to get a pic of them and it is difficult to scrub off, expecially being on acrylic.
 

Grumpy_Marine

Grumpy_Marine

Large Fish
#10
Oct 18, 2006
741
2
0
Oceanside California
#10
Grymatta can you get picture of it and post on this topic? i mean from your tank? If it looks like pic posted then i would agree, but it is possible to have more than one type of algae at a time in a tank. There will be profile for this type and BBA within a week as it is awaiting to be posted.
 

G

Grymatta

Large Fish
#11
May 16, 2005
439
0
0
#11
I will try. I took a dozen digital photos last night but they all come out blurry when I tried to zoom in for a detailed shot. anyone know how to take close up shots of aquariums?
 

G

Grymatta

Large Fish
#13
May 16, 2005
439
0
0
#13
hmmm no i dont have a macro. I have a Canon Elph digital camera.

I just had a horrible thought. I used to have 2 Moss Balls ( a form of algae that grows into a ball-like shape) but one of them "deflated" and fell apart. Little clumps and strands were in my tank before I vaccummed them up.

Could it be possible that the tiny hairs attached to my plants are actually a form of propogation by the deflated moss ball? Could the hairs be tiny moss ball/algae developing?
 

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G

Grymatta

Large Fish
#14
May 16, 2005
439
0
0
#14
Well..I managed to test my water and the results are :

ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 20
total Hardness: 75 ppm
total Alkalinity: 80 ppm
pH: 6.2

The parameters seem fine to me. I suppose the Alk could be higher but I dont see anything out of line.

Not sure why I'm getting algae now..but the 2 ottos I put in yesterday seem to be making a dent on the fuzzy algae.
 

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