possible algea problem

aar4545

The only thing i have dun to the fish tank that may be responsible for little brown spots on the inside part of the tank is i have aded 2 live plants 1 of them is called javafern the other i cant remember the name to (it is smaller than java fern}, i have also put in a new medium bio bag cartridge , last i put in a flouresent hood to the 10 gallon tank. Should i dael with this problem? is it normal and can it hurt my fish. Also wat can i put in the water to stop it from growing?

Striped Bass

First how long have you had this tank set up? 2nd, How many and what types of fish are in it?
Brown spots sounds like a few different things. It could be some sort of algae, but generally algae is green. Without actually seeing it I would say it sounds more like a bacteria getting ready to plume. Do a 20% water change and do all your tests. Ammonia, nitrite and PH & make sure they are all in the correct range. If not keep doing 10% water changes every day for at least a week until they are ready Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, as for PH its safest for almost anytropical fish around 7.0 to 7.5 IME.

My first live aquarium plant ever was a Javafern it lasted a few months but never rooted. It ended up dying. I will never bother with those again. You'll need at least a 20 watt Florissant lamp on there if its a 10GL tank. You should be able to find on of those easily.
In any case JUST clean the brown spots off the FRONT of the tanks inner with an algae brush of magnet algae cleaner. LEAVE the sides and back alone for now. If everything is OK in a month then you can clean the sides as well as the front inner they same way. TRY AND LEAVE THE BACK of the tank ALONE if its algae or if there is algae. As much as people say they hate algae, it can be a great benefit especially in a smaller tank. Good lck and write me back with answer to the top questions.

Striped Bass

Jay

I agree with striped bass, we need to post tank parameters when trying to determine if there is a problem with the tank or not.

Sounds like diatoms (not an algae), perfectly normal in a healthy clean tank.
Do some reading on them. They will not harm anything.

You can scrape them off prior to a water change and siphon/filter them out.
They will keep coming back, but eventually will be replaced by the softer green algae.

Do not use chemicals to kill things in your tank! Algaecides kill fish!!

FYI Java Fern will not root and you should not try grow it in the gravel.
This plant attaches itself to rocks, driftwood, decorations etc. by tiny hairs on its rhizome. It will then spread along the stones, or driftwood by extending its rhizome. Sometimes you have to tie it to a rock or driftwood with a bit of thread until it attaches itself.

Jay

aar4545

alot of the brown spots were on the rock more than anytthing else in the tank
. the fish i have are in my signature. how do i get all the algea or bacteria of the rock. ihave already taken the rock out do i need to do something to the rock to get the spots of. and can i put the java fern on the rock after it has been cleaned?

Jay

A (19 to 1) solution of water to household bleach will kill it and then it will be easy to scrub off. Be sure to rinse it well, and a dip in a water bath containing two time the required amount of declorinator would not hurt.

Be careful with the bleach

Jay

aar4545

now the brown spots r turning green. all this probably started when i put in the flourecent light and javafern an i just relised that the javafern is already atached to the rock so i guess i cant clean it without disturbing the javafern

ps. i do not curently have a test kit so which one would u recomend
and i need an answer quick cause im going to the fish store tomarrow.oh and it must be under 20bucks

Jay

Originally posted by Jay:

Now you are seeing the softer green algae.

If the green algae on the decorations bother you:

1. carefully dislodge your Java Fern and dip the rocks as directed in the post above.
2. Buy some snails or Ammano shrimp they love soft green algae.
3. Buy several "Otto" Otocinclus Sucker Mouth Catfish. They are very small and love soft green algae.

There are lots of other solutions you can choose.

Regards,
Jay

aar4545

Can u think of a fish that could posibly eat the diatoms maybe a laoch? how big do loachs get? If i do get a loach ill probably picka clown loach i have had my eye on those fish in the pet store. let me know wat you think of loachs eating algea in a comunity tank.

Tommy Gun

Loaches arent going to solve an algea problem and clown loaches will get too big for most tanks, but it takes them so long to grow that you would have years and years before you had to get them into a bigger tank.

I was thinking more along the lines of a snail, maybe ONE apple snail. Mine takes care of anything and everything algea.

From everything I have ever read, planted tanks are usually last to grow algea since the algea and the plants are competing for nutrients. I would think that when you get your plants established, the algea is going to be slower growing. Algea is definetly not going to be a super big problem if it is growing, but I agree that it is annoying. I would really take Jay's advice and keep things chemical and addative free minus the dechlor and natural things like salt and plant fert. I am not the plant expert though so I am just puking up the info I have read on them and have no experience at all with a planted tank....yet.

Jay

Do you read the posts folks send to you?


Jay