# Help to identify this algae and ways to get rid if it



## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

Maybe this picture will get you a better idea. Thank you!


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## karce87 (Dec 6, 2012)

It's blue green algae. I think the problem is that Finnex Ray light seems to be overkilled with your tank. How long do you have it on? I assume you do not have Co2 injected. Some info about your tank might help.


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

We got the light last week and have it on for approx 12 hours a day and will turn it off for the night. We do have co2 for 12 hours too, i just happened to turn it off when i took the picture. The tank is the front bow tank and approx 15 gallons. I am attaching a picture with co2 on.
We also got some plants as you see but fish is eating everything unfortunately.


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

Attached is one more picture. Thanks.


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## karce87 (Dec 6, 2012)

Svitlana said:


> Attached is one more picture. Thanks.


12 hours is too long. Try 8 hours. Are the bubbles coming from the air pump or those are Co2 bubbles?


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

As mentioned, you have blue green algae (cyanobacteria).

Your photoperiod can be reduced to 8 hours.

You seem to have a lot of CO2 being injected (the bubbles seem very large), so I would check (i.e. with a drop checker containing 4 dkH reference solution) to see how much dissolution of CO2 you are actually getting.

Are you dosing any fertilizers? BGA can be caused by low nitrates.


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

Thanks for your replies. We are using air bar (not sure if that is the right name). I used fertilizers before only once. A week ago but algae was already there. Also before Finnex we had regular fluorescent 15 w light. No plant has ever lived in this tank for more than 2 weeks: it was either eaten by fish or will just die.... As you also see we have some plastic artificial plants, should i get rid of those and get some real ones? If yes, please let me know which ones will survive in my tank and will not die b/c of algae,fish, etc. Thanks again.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Svitlana said:


> Thanks for your replies. We are using air bar (not sure if that is the right name). I used fertilizers before only once. A week ago but algae was already there. Also before Finnex we had regular fluorescent 15 w light. No plant has ever lived in this tank for more than 2 weeks: it was either eaten by fish or will just die.... As you also see we have some plastic artificial plants, should i get rid of those and get some real ones? If yes, please let me know which ones will survive in my tank and will not die b/c of algae,fish, etc. Thanks again.


So you are not injecting CO2? I am confused now.

What kind of fish do you have in your aquarium? Some fish will naturally eat live plants, making it impossible to keep them.


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

We are using an air pump connected to the bar on the floor of the fish tank and the bubbles are coming out of that bar. I thought it was co2....As for fish we have neons, a silver dollar (looks like he is eating most of my plants), a clown loach, 2 columbian. Thanks for your help!


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## Ashnic05 (Jan 7, 2013)

I think the OP is saying they are injecting CO2 through an air stone strip (correct me if I'm wrong). It will be quite difficult for plants to survive if you have herbivorous fish. It's what they eat naturally and will continue to do so. You will have healthy fish, just no plants (or not very long, anyway). You have two choices: A) Rehome the fish eating the plants, or B) Don't keep live plants. 

I agree that you seem to be injecting A LOT of CO2 in your tank, and depending on your bpm, could be unhealthy for your fish. I would reduce your photoperiod and be sure to not overfeed. How are your water parameters? What's your maintenance schedule?


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## Tetrameck (Mar 1, 2013)

Cut back on our lighting period. Also look into adding a DiY Co2 system or perhaps a paintball Co2 system. Your plants will be much happier. "Maracyn" (aka..erethomyacin) will also kill BGA (cyan). Dont forget regular water changes.


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

Just to clear up the confusion, this tank does not have CO2. The air stone is connected to an air pump.

There is CO2 in air, and that may be what Svitlana is referring to. But it's too little to make any difference in an aquarium. It's also possible she confused CO2 (carbon dioxide) with O2 (oxygen).

About that large plant on the left with white-trimmed leaves. If it's real (and not one of the plastic ones), it's not an aquatic plant and will eventually die, regardless of what you do. Some fish stores are bad about misrepresenting plants this way, and some of the others plants you've had might have died for the same reason. Write down plant names at the store, then check them out online before making purchases.

Blue Green Algae (BGA) isn't algae at all, but bacteria that uses light to grow, as if it were a plant or algae. So antibiotics, like the Maracyn (erythromycin) Tetrameck mentioned, will kill it. That's the easiest and most reliable way to get rid of it, though it's not the only way, nor is it the cheapest. Should you try it, remove as much as possible of the BGA before adding the Maracyn. A lot of BGA dying off at once can be toxic. Once eliminated, it normally won't come back unless reintroduced from another aquarium. That can be one of yours (if you have more than one), or even from the fish store. Checking their tanks to see if they have BGA before you buy will help to avoid it in the future.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

DarkCobra said:


> Just to clear up the confusion, this tank does not have CO2. The air stone is connected to an air pump.
> 
> There is CO2 in air, and that may be what Svitlana is referring to. But it's too little to make any difference in an aquarium. It's also possible she confused CO2 (carbon dioxide) with O2 (oxygen).


That is also what I suspected, but I wanted to be certain.

In any case, try to remove as much of the cyanobacteria as possible, and then possibly use erythromycin to eliminate the remaining cyanobacteria. Once this is done, you will need to address the root cause of the BGA in order to prevent it from coming back in the future.


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## Hardstuff (Oct 13, 2012)

The bulbs need to be in the 6500k -6700k spectrum or you will never get rid of that stuff. I had it festering in my tank for 3 months & I almost gave up!
What got rid of it was making sure the bulb spectrum was in that range & a host of other things, like increasing filtration, adding carbon to lower DOC's, increasing flow, increased CO2 , EI dosing, Flagil antbiotic, 24 hour black out, switching to 100% remineralized R/O water was huge as well. 
I feel it took many things not just 1 thing killed it off. 
Im still waiting to see if it comes back this summer when my tank overheats at 80 degrees. But I feel I have it beat down as long as I continue on stated road.
Not to over state it but BGA cannot use 6500k-6700k as well as plants so if you increase your bio mass & run proper bulbs + add carbon during this period only & do all stated above you should be able to beat it , but BGA is not to be taken lightly , it can kill everything in your tank & make you very sick as well so try to wash hands carefully after being in the tank! INCREASE FLOW & FILTRATION!, Use medication at the end when all other improvements are in place. What Anthony said is very important, KEEP NITRATES ABOVE 10PPM OR HIGHER! Go ahead & do a 24 hour black out on the tank when all improvements are done & add the antibiotic of choice. The R/O watre is very important because your distribution like mine has spores in it so it could come back again so the R/O should filter out the spores, R/O's are not expensive but the water needs tp be remineralized. Hope that helps!


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

the plant is not real, should I remove it?
Please let me know what CO2 is and where can I get it and also parameters, I will check online, i am relly confused about it and now after reading all of your replies I realised that we have air (O2) and not CO2 in the tank.


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

hi, where can I get antibiotic? Also how do I increase plant mass? Please advise what will be the best plants to get? Your response is highly appreciated. As for the light I have Finnex Ray 24", got it on Amazon, should I keep it? Not sure what spectrum it has


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## karce87 (Dec 6, 2012)

Svitlana said:


> hi, where can I get antibiotic? Also how do I increase plant mass? Please advise what will be the best plants to get? Your response is highly appreciated. As for the light I have Finnex Ray 24", got it on Amazon, should I keep it? Not sure what spectrum it has


If you are willing to invest in a Co2 system, that would be the best. Don't worry about the spectrum of light. I think you have enough.

You can get the antibiotic at any fish store. 

To increase plant mass, simply buy more plants. You have the finnex ray so you can pretty much grow everything in your tank, of course with Co2 and ferts.

Hope that will have


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Couple of thoughts... excuse me if they are way off.

I think there are no real aquatic plants in this tank. So the whole discussion about light color, CO2, fertilizers and such is interesting, but doesn't really apply to this specific situation.

A clown loach in a 15gal tank does not work. Please return it to where you bought it from. Clown loaches grow easily over 10 inches, and really need a well filtered 100+ gallon tank, along with some like friends.

Silver Dollars need bigger tanks too, and will eat all your plants. Keeping "one of each" community fish makes them lonely and angry.

You could do some reading here at the website to learn about the basics. Somewhere you have to decide if you want live plants, then learn about their needs. Otherwise you will be wasting a lot of money.

There is no need to worry about the "spectrum" of your bulbs. There is no need to worry about CO2 in this aquarium. No need to increase plant mass at this time.

If you want a planted tank, first get rid of your over-sized fish. Then wash the whole tank incl substrate to get rid of most of the cyanobacteria. Buy a lot of aquatic plants (look for beginners package, hard to kill etc).

Before you do all of that, read up about substrates and fertilization. With lots of light plants will grow fast and need lots of fertilizer. Now "lots" can be very specific quantities, so don't ever think more is better.

Before you do that, decide if you want a high-tech tank (your light fixture points that way) which requires CO2 injection and NPK and micro dosing. Or sell the fixture and go with a less intense one for a lower tech tank.

Anyway, excuse the lecture.  You have come to the right place, but keep in mind to take all advice with a grain of salt or two. Listen to all opinions, but draw your own conclusions.


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

Thanks for your thoughts and advise. We wanted to keep the fish and plants if possible, we had the fish for a while now and my daughter likes it (might sound selfish) but I also want to have a healthy tank.
So taking all of the above, should I get CO2 and plants or just forget it.


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## Sajacobs (Aug 24, 2012)

I lived in the next town over. Avoid animal kingdom. Their plants carry all sorts of stuff and since you are a beginner avoid that. Go to petco in dabury and buy the plants found in tubes. Try swords first. They are hardy and easy to grow.

I encourage you to read about co2. It's expensive to start up and it's not something you set up in an hour. It's complicated. There's a sticky under equipment threads on the topic. Unless you have specific questions, the topic is too extensive to put in your thread. So you won't get much answers on that topic. You can buy liquid co2. The only place I found it was petco - API co2 boost. Follow the directions on the bottle for plant growth. 

The biggest problem....you fish are not appropriate for plants. Unless you change your fish, plants will not make it in the tank. Please be aware as your fish grow they will die from not being in an appropriate sized tank/environment. Try guppies....your daughter will love them. 

So if you keep your fish...plants are out. Then co2 is not nessecary. Co2 will not cure your algae problem. You can find the meds at pet land by traders joe. 

If you want to grow plants, please do a lot of reading. It's not something where you plant a plant and that's it.


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

thank you Sajacobs, unfortunately I got my plants from Animal Kingdom and I also got neons from Petco in Danbury, and a plant from Petco that was eaten that very night( So now I think I will try to get rid of bacteria, I am going to clean the thing, turn off the lights for 24 hours (I hope fish will be ok) and use antibiotics (probably will go to AK in Brewster again after work), I will hold off buying plants now unless I can get something that fish will not touch


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## Sajacobs (Aug 24, 2012)

Yeah our local pet stores are the pits. Every fish I bought from animal kingdom either dies or needs medications. I've started driving to Mohegan lake to petsmart. They have an outstanding snail and fish selection. Not many plants, but 3 isles of fish stuff. They have everything.


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## In.a.Box (Dec 8, 2011)

Fake plant, no co2, to much light, overstock.
Do a lot water change, go back to using the t8.

Or hang the light 4ft up.


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

Ok here is the update, i have cleaned the algae with a sponge, added T. C. Tetracycline to the water today, turned off the air pump and i want to turn off the lights for 24 hours as recommended. My concern is fish-will they be fine without light for 24 hours? Also i noticed that some of them got ick, i have bought ick guard (Jungle brand) and i am wondering if i should add it to the water now or should i do the antibiotics first and do ick guard after? As always all of your comments are highly appreciated. Thank you.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Svitlana said:


> Ok here is the update, i have cleaned the algae with a sponge, added T. C. Tetracycline to the water today, turned off the air pump and i want to turn off the lights for 24 hours as recommended. My concern is fish-will they be fine without light for 24 hours? Also i noticed that some of them got ick, i have bought ick guard (Jungle brand) and i am wondering if i should add it to the water now or should i do the antibiotics first and do ick guard after? As always all of your comments are highly appreciated. Thank you.


I am not sure why you added tetracycline, as it will likely cause your aquarium to cycle again.

Your fish will be fine for 24 hours without light.

I believe Jungle Ick Guard uses Victoria Green - this will likely stain everything in your aquarium, so I would use it with caution. Rather than using medication however, it may be wiser to increase the temperature (ensure that there is sufficient surface agitation) to combat the parasite.


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

I have used the antibiotic to fight blue green algae bacteria.


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

+1. Not all antibiotics are the same, or have the same effects. From the same manufacturer, EM Erythromycin would be the proper choice.

You're literally getting bombarded at this point with advice, ranging from beginner level to very advanced. Some of this advice is useless by itself - for example, upgrading the light without also upgrading fertilization, and possibly adding CO2, can easily cause more problems than it solves. And even if you did _all_ of that, it may be massive overkill for what you're trying to achieve.

So my advice to you is - for the most part, stop listening to our advice.  Tolerate the BGA for now and plant problems for now. Deal only with the most immediate threats to your fish, one being the ick. The other is possible damage to your biofilter/cycle from the tetracycline, so test for ammonia levels daily over the next few days. If you detect any, and aren't sure what to do about it, let us know - because it needs to be dealt with quickly.

And while you're doing that, read everything you can about planted tanks. With the info you gain, you'll be able to better sort out advice in the future.


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

Thanks Dark Cobra! Can i add ick guard now? At the same tome i have used antibiotic?


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

I have used a similar ick medication along with antibiotics, no problem. But never that _particular_ antibiotic.

And since the tetracycline is really the wrong antibiotic anyway, it's probably best to remove some of it. Do you perform regular water changes on that tank? If so, I'd go ahead and do a normal water change, including the water conditioner. If not, or you don't have a water conditioner, or anything else seems wrong or questionable - stop and let us know what the situation is.

As Darkblade said, the ick guard can cause some minor staining, nothing that's ever been enough to bug me though. And there are other ways to treat ick too. But let's keep it simple and go with the medication you've already got for now.


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

Ok i will add ick guard tomorrow and wil urn the lights off or 24 hours, should i leave the filter on or off?


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

Leave the filter on. I'll be checking this thread regularly for any updates.


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

I have added ick solution, did 24 hours black out and was going to add temperature, but how high can I go, not to kill the fish?
thank you


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

Temperature increase isn't required for this kind of ick medication. Heat is usually used alone (86°F), or in conjunction with aquarium salt, as an alternative to chemical medication.


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

I have added a second dose of ick guard but some of the fish still have it, i guess i should repeat in 24 hours. I have also noticed that my neons disappeared, never seen this before, completely gone. My husband is telling me that they must have died and other fish ate them. Is anything like that possible?


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

Someone advised me to get rid of finnex ray and go back o my 15 w lights,plant some low light plants that fish would not touch and the plants will be fine with that type of light. Now i am really confused... Please help


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

Ick treatments take a few days to work, usually around day #2 you'll see improvement.

It's possible with the neons that they were eaten. But conduct a thorough search and make sure they're not hiding. Or if you find any corpses, remove them immediately; a common place for them to end up is stuck to the filter intake.

Do you have an ammonia test? If so, have you checked for ammonia? Especially now that there's been a loss of fish, we need to make sure the tetracycline didn't harm your biofilter enough that it's allowing ammonia to build up. It's very toxic and can kill all your fish.


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

Svitlana said:


> Someone advised me to get rid of finnex ray and go back o my 15 w lights,plant some low light plants that fish would not touch and the plants will be fine with that type of light. Now i am really confused... Please help


Ok. A little primer on this.

Light provides energy for plants to grow. The more light, the faster they try to grow.

Of course, plants can't grow on energy alone. They need food as well. Just like we need a healthy balance of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, plus vitamins and minerals, plants also need a variety of things.

If you were asked to work hard, day after day, while not eating enough or properly nutritious food, you would eventually weaken, get sick, and possibly die. If a plant is driven to grow fast by light, and there isn't enough of what it needs in the water, the same happens to them.

The more light there is, the more likely that something plants need in the tank will be consumed until it runs out. With low light, there's usually enough around from tapwater and fish food that it's not a problem. But with more light, you have to be familiar with all the plants' requirements, and add them as needed. So unless you're ready to start learning about those requirements and how to satisfy them, best to stay with low light.

I'm not familiar with the Finnex Ray, but someone else already suggested it was probably overkill - meaning it's more than low light. And although photos can be deceiving, it looks bright enough that I believe they're right.


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

I did the test, everything is fine and safe except for water is hard.
I have also added more Ick Guarad because loach still has it.
I am trying to get rig of bacteria manually and by turning off the lights.
Later, after it is all clean I would like to get some plants (someone advised sword as these are hard to "chew" for fish), do I have to change what I have on the bottom?


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## gSTiTcH (Feb 21, 2013)

Svitlana,

Could we oblige you to post the readings you got? Also, how often are you testing? Right now, with your tank in a state of flux, I would advise you to test (and log) your daily readings of Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate to start. I suspect your biological filter (the good bacteria that convert highly toxic ammonia and nitrIte to a less toxic plant food called nitrAte) is suffering at best. It seems like you may be doing far too much to your tank at one time. It's an easy mistake for even seasoned enthusiasts to make because we want our tanks looking good and healthy, and we want it yesterday. Any aquarium process is just that: a process. Processes take time.

Do you understand the nitrogen cycle? If not, I would start there before you dive too deeply into planted tanks. There is no reason why fish REQUIRE planted tanks. Start with the basics and incorporate more factors from there.


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

Thanks for checking ammonia. Finding none is good news.

Gravel isn't the best substrate for plants, but many plants will do fine in it. So no need to change it just yet.

Swords are one of those that don't do so well in gravel, in my opinion. However, most fish stores will carry at least one variety of "root tab", which is a little fertilizer pellet made to be aquarium-safe. Push one into the gravel, right underneath the sword's roots, and it will grow much better; typically for a couple of months until the tab is depleted. I did this early on when I started keeping plants, and a sword that just sat there for months, suddenly filled half the tank. 

One other plant I'll suggest, because I can think of none harder for a fish to destroy, are anubias. Their leaves are like leather. They normally grow slowly, and are undemanding except for one thing - they have a thick stem, almost like a tuber (called a rhizome) which must _not_ be buried in the gravel. Some of the fine roots should be buried if possible, otherwise don't worry about them, they'll extend into the gravel on their own after time. If it's not possible to secure it in place without burying the rhizome, tie it loosely to a rock or other decoration.


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

Can I get these from the members here? and most important when should I start planting?


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

I've seen those plants sold in the Swap 'n Shop from time to time. If you post a Want To Buy (WTB), someone may be able to help you faster.

But I'd finish off treating the ick, switch back to the old light, and deal with the BGA before adding more plants.

gSTiTcH has an excellent point. Understanding the nitrogen cycle (what happens to fish waste and how to keep your fish from being poisoned by it) is necessary knowledge for keeping fish, much less plants. That was the very first thing I learned, and learned well, before I set up my first aquarium.


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

I am back again. I have been changing the water, scraping the walls and checking the water. I have also been using the light for 8 hours. I have decided to keep finnex for the time when i will be able to add some plants. I got rid of ick and unfortunately lost 2 fishies after the treatment. Now i have noticed that there are some new green spots on the glass. What is it this time? Attaching a picture.


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

Another one.


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

That's green spot algae (GSA). A bit of this, slowly accumulating over time, is often considered normal for an unplanted tank; and you simply scrub it away.

If it accumulates quickly, then it's a sign you have too much light, or that it's on for too long (not the case at 8 hours). The Finnex is probably too much for an unplanted tank. If you still have the old light, it would be easier to switch back to it for now - until you actually get plants.

Once you have plants, as long as the light isn't still excessive for that setup, it can be reduced by adding an aquatic fertilizer that contains phosphate.


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

I just did the test: 
Nitrate NO3-80
Nitrate NO2-0
Hardness-300
Alkalinity 80
PH 7.2
At this point can i start the plants? Swords and annubias as recommended?
Thank you.


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

Do a water change to remove some of the nitrates. It really shouldn't be that high, at some point it can start to affect fish health. I prefer to keep it at 60 or lower.

Then, if you still have the BGA, I'd go about treating that first, this time using the proper antibiotic (erythromycin). Otherwise it may just cover any plants you add.

And then you'll be ready to add the swords and anubias.


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

I am going to get erythromycin tomorrow. Thanks for your help!


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

I have added erythromycin yesterday, I have to add it for 4 times, hopefully this will work, I am also changing water.


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

Hi, i amback again. I have received two plants today, anubias and java fern. Fern was attached to a stone, so i slightly burried it in the gravel, anubias i just burried the roots under the stone. Going to get root tabs tomorrow, where do i put those? Also how do i take care of these two plants? Thank you


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## Psycofc1 (Feb 28, 2013)

Taking care of them is pretty easy just sit back and watch. They dont really need much of anything


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

No roottabs?


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## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

can we now destroy another myth about low nitrate is a cause of cynobacteria ?


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

happi said:


> can we now destroy another myth about low nitrate is a cause of cynobacteria ?


please


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## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

OVT said:


> please



please what?

i have heard many people say that it is caused by low nitrate and this was not the solution to their problem. it turned out that it can exist in both conditions, low or high nitrate.


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

Please put that misconception to rest.

via Droid DNA Tapatalk 2


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## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

OVT said:


> Please put that misconception to rest.
> 
> via Droid DNA Tapatalk 2



its all good bro, i still get cyno even with my EI dosing and even after killing it with antibiotic, all i was saying is that in my tank it was present in low or high nitrate, i was reading some where that there are few type of cyno bacteria which die in high nitrate and phosphate and there are some that prefer these two nutrients to grow. this is my experience and am sure we all have different experiences. 

we are good, no worries. :smile:


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## ua hua (Oct 30, 2009)

happi said:


> can we now destroy another myth about low nitrate is a cause of cynobacteria ?


I think that the low nitrates is more of an effect of the cynobacteria than the cause as the cynobacteria uses up the nitrates as it spreads. The few times that I got cynobacteria (it almost always seems to be in the late spring to early summer) my tank maintenance and dosing routine never changed so the nitrate readings where never low until after I noticed the outbreak. I'm sure the bacteria is always present as I can see it down under the substrate along the front edge of the tank but what causes it to start growing on top of the substrate is beyond me. Maybe something in the tap water that changes at a certain time of year but the times I have had an outbreak are almost always the same time of year. One capsule of erythromycin dosed on top of the bga and within a day or two it's gone.


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## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

ua hua said:


> I think that the low nitrates is more of an effect of the cynobacteria than the cause as the cynobacteria uses up the nitrates as it spreads. The few times that I got cynobacteria (it almost always seems to be in the late spring to early summer) my tank maintenance and dosing routine never changed so the nitrate readings where never low until after I noticed the outbreak. I'm sure the bacteria is always present as I can see it down under the substrate along the front edge of the tank but what causes it to start growing on top of the substrate is beyond me. Maybe something in the tap water that changes at a certain time of year but the times I have had an outbreak are almost always the same time of year. One capsule of erythromycin dosed on top of the bga and within a day or two it's gone.


agreed about cyno eating up lot of nitrate, but the real question is how does it begin when we have plenty of nitrate in the water, when we have cyno, plant will suffer from nitrates and when we dose more nitrate we are feeding them both, but i think cyno have upper hand getting more nitrates than the plants. adding more nitrate isn't the complete cure IMO, antibiotic will get rid of it and it could come back again, i myself find it on the front glass between aqua soil, this is where there is no light or very low light.


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

Hi, I still have green algae everywhere, but bga is gone.
As for plants jafa fern is ok so far, but my fish started to eat anubias
I thought they will not because the leaves are hard, but no, that did not stop them
Can anyone suggest any other plants? or should I just stick to java fern


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

Also please advise what ferts do I need of any
Thank you


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

Hi, i have had java fern for about a month now, thankfully fish does not touch it and it was doing fine, but i have noticed that it is covered with some type of "hair" or moss now.
Please help me get rid of it and save my fern.
Thank you


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## latchdan (Sep 7, 2007)

Looks like BBA to me. Hydrogen Peroxide/excel spot treatments can kill it, but you have to figure out what caused it.


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

I have no idea what has caused this, I just got rid of BGA and now I have this


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## Jahn (Apr 26, 2013)

Well I actually think we still have the original problem, which is that you have the wrong fish for a planted tank, especially that Silver Dollar. That fish is well known to eat plants. Plus, when you first got it from the store it was probably 2 inches long. However, its adult size is 6 inches! It really should be in a 30 gallon tank, not a 15 gallon tank.

And your clown loach? It can get up to SIXTEEN INCHES. Thus, a 75 gallon tank is recommended, definitely not a 15 gallon tank. I'd have a talk with your kids and return the fish to the store - I had to have a similar talk with my kids and they agreed 3 jumbo platy had to go back since they were too aggressive in our tank - kids bounce back quickly from that kind of thing, but a clown loach won't ever bounce back from being in a 15 gallon tank.

Your columbian and neon tetra are fine though.

Before thinking plants, I'd definitely re-think the fish. Once that's all done and cycled, then you can think about what's best for the plants and how to beat back algae issues and such.


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

Thanks for your reply, at this point I have only 1 silver dollar, 3 neons, and 2 columbians, the rest have died after BGA
I noticed they don't touch fern, and it even has some new leaves, so hopefully this will work
I just need to do sth about algae


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## Jahn (Apr 26, 2013)

Well I hate to say it, but the silver dollar probably hasn't eaten the fern yet only because black beard algae tastes the worst out of all the algae, apparently. It's kind of a standoff, haha.

And definitely do a water change and put a charcoal filter pad in your filter for a day to get all the algae-killing medicine out of the water once you're done with it.


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## MamaFish (Mar 6, 2013)

You should really lose that Silver Dollar. It will eat your plants and it needs a much larger tank. It's cruel keeping it in a 15 gallon. Seriously.
I've had some success treating BBA on my Java ferns by directly applying Seachem Excell (API CO2Booster will also work, that's what the chains where I live carry) with a syringe to the ferns.


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## Beerzelberg (Jun 14, 2013)

what also can help, it might seem strange:
- do 1/3th water change
- remove as much algae as possible
- cut the light completely
- wrap alluminiumfoil (is this english?) around your aquarium for 3 days

(fish and all invertebrates can survive, no problem)

after 3 days repeat.

important: absolutely no ligt, that will kill these algae


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

I had the silver dollar for while now feel bad to give it away, this is why i want to try everything first, tank is probably 20-25 gal, will try to measure it too, is there any chemical that can kill algae? What about algae eating shrimp? Thank you


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## Svitlana (Mar 1, 2013)

Please help, I am using Algaefix (API) once a week, the BBA is almost gone but now Java Fern has black spots on the leaves and is not doing that well
Is this normal?


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## Flear (Jul 10, 2013)

might be cladphora, might be staghorn

if what you've now got is cladophora algae, ... it's brittle, ... pulling it out of the tank, it stinks 

haven't heard of anything reliable that gets rid of it.

if what you've got is staghorn, it's got more of a blue hint to it than the green of cladophora, it's also tougher, ... i haven't looked into it that seriously, but from what i remember it's easier to manage.


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