how do i treat algea

ffffrf

i have brown algea how do i get rid of it i dont want it to spread

Jay

Brown algae or "Diatoms" is a very common occurrence in newer aquariums...up to three months old and will occur in older aquariums if water conditions change.

Current thinking is that the silicate/phosphate ratio is high and will promote diatom growth. I have no idea what your substrate is or what else in your tank would increase silicates...phosphate is readily available thru your fish food check the labels.

A phosphate scavenging filter insert will remove silicates from the water.

Scraping the glass, cleaning the filters, and then doing water changes will help.

Moderate your light to a reasonable 7-8 hours.

Otto catfish love "diatoms"

Regards,
Jay

ffffrf

ok thanks but wont you have to empy the aquarium to scrub the walls and is this algea really harmful

and one of my fish seems to be losing her scales is this dropsy or something else

ffffrf

and last question can i put live plants in brackish water

tropical1

i know one thing, dont use a API product called algeafix. i use it last week and damn near killed all my neons. and it says plain as day on the label will not affecct fish or any live organism. even the people at the lfs said the same thing.

Tommy Gun

In general, other than frustrating us from time to time,algae is not exactly harmful to your livestock per say; although, in some cases, the root cause of algae growth can be problematic. In fact, I believe it is generally accepted that an algae bloom (green water) isn't harmful to fish either.

IMHO, there is a pretty large difference between finding algae in an aquarium, and having an algae problem. In short, it is nearly impossible to have a completely algae-free aquarium, but that does not mean we cannot keep it to a minimum. The algae that is growing on your glass can be removed by scraping or rubbing it off without having to empty the tank....just like my good friend Jay also points out.

To be honest, I am not sure why your fish is losing her scales and cannot really rule out dropsy because I don't know if scales would fall off because the fish is very swollen. Once again though, I am still pretty impressed at how many problems you are having as far as illness/disease and strongly suggest looking to improving your approach to the tank. For example, your fish should be able to 'fight off' problems....but only when they are healthy and have a healthy immune system. So this might suggest that you are not doing your part to its fullest. Make sense?

I would double check this for sure because I don't know if there are any FW plants that can handle brackish conditions or not, but I do know that there are some brackish plants (as opposed to FW plants)

ffffrf

well i mistaken it seems the fish has lost the skin and now it is regrowing

Jay

What do you mean by brackish?

ffffrf

i mean like you add 1 tsp of aquarium salt per gallon that kind of brackish

RustyNut

That's Freshwater, not brackish.... Brackish tanks have a LOT of salt in them.....and usually they use Potassium Chloride instead of Aquarium Salt (Sodium Chloride) they are different salts for brackish water.