# What kind of algae is this and what's the best way to kill it?



## SunnyNikki (Nov 7, 2014)

It seems to have come from out of nowhere. We don't even remember seeing it start after buying anything new for the tank. It started in a small spot and just spread like a wildfire. It's like a blanket on top of the substrate and has even moved to coat the glass. It also covers smaller plants like a web.

Hopefully it's something we can get rid of without having to completely redo the tank


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

It looks like blue green algae to me. 

Erythromycin will knock it out, but unless you deal with the underlying cause, it'll likely come back.


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## tamsin (Jan 12, 2011)

Yep, I agree blue-green also called cyano bacteria. Have a clean up of the substrate/filter and check the flow, it likes areas that don't get much. The good thing is it peels off plants easily so just rub it with your fingers you won't need to remove your plants. Once you've manually removed and cleaned what you can, black out the tank completely for 3 days (no lights and cover the tank to stop even ambient light from the room) - no peaking either. Then once unwrapped, keep up with the water changes and regular cleaning. Fingers crossed that will resolve it.


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## SunnyNikki (Nov 7, 2014)

Thanks everyone! We're going to give some of your ideas a try  We've had planted tanks for years, strange we have never had this problem before, so hopefully it's easy to solve


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## stussy28 (Mar 17, 2016)

In ponds and lakes it is caused by an influx of fertilizers from runoff. It smells terrible and can actually dangerous to get in your mouth.


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## natemcnutty (May 26, 2016)

Do you dose fertilizers in this tank? Try maintaining at least 5 ppm of nitrates as well. This and reducing lighting had worked for me in the past.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk


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## JusticeBeaver (Oct 28, 2017)

tamsin said:


> Yep, I agree blue-green also called cyano bacteria. Have a clean up of the substrate/filter and check the flow, it likes areas that don't get much. The good thing is it peels off plants easily so just rub it with your fingers you won't need to remove your plants. Once you've manually removed and cleaned what you can, black out the tank completely for 3 days (no lights and cover the tank to stop even ambient light from the room) - no peaking either. Then once unwrapped, keep up with the water changes and regular cleaning. Fingers crossed that will resolve it.


Don't touch cyanobacteria with your bare hands since it can be dangerous if you have a small cut.


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## ILikeRice (Jul 9, 2017)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000QSK31M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

:]


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## irishspy (Oct 22, 2007)

SunnyNikki said:


> It seems to have come from out of nowhere.


I know people who swear by this:

https://www.amazon.com/Ultralife-Green-Slime-Stain-Remover/dp/B000QSK31M


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## DLBoge (Dec 7, 2017)

As a scientist I'm always a little confused when aquarium owner's all repeat the same old wives' tales over and over. The material in the photographs is a cyanobacteria, a bacteria capable of photosynthesis. This bacteria is neither gram positive or gram negative and is decidedly unaffected by any antibiotics. The various metabolic pathways attached by antibiotics don't exist in cyanobacteria. 

Because of its photosynthesis it is able to be attacked by the same thing which attacks algae, namely copper. This includes copper sulfate, complexed copper (Cupramine) and chelated copper (Mardel CopperSafe, Kordon Copper-Aid, Copper Power). Copper does not effect beneficial bacteria.

Copper only works short term. The best way to stop cyanobacteria long term is to reduce the phosphate content of the water to below 50 ppm. Don't ever use pH lowering compounds, they are all phosphates which will causes cyanobacteria to proliferate. Also reduce the light to a minimum, cyanobacteria like intense light as they are not highly efficient photosynthesizers. Cyanobacteria also do best in warm water.


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## DLBoge (Dec 7, 2017)

Whops, 50 parts per BILLION!


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## Amy9 (Jul 4, 2012)

I’m no scientist, but I swear that I had it once in my planted 40b, treated with Erythromycin, cleaned out as much as I could, no blackout, and it was eradicated. Never came back...period. 

Btw, the outbreak was 5 years ago. 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Surf (Jun 13, 2017)

> The best way to stop cyanobacteria long term is to reduce the phosphate content of the water to below 50 ppm.
> Whops, 50 parts per BILLION!


At 50 ppb plants won't grow. Furthermore why is it people can put in 1 to 5ppm in a planted EI aquarium and not get algae? Reducing phosphate is an old algae control idea that in practice doesn't work well if at all.


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## DLBoge (Dec 7, 2017)

Interesting. In Florida the Everglades restoration project is spending billions to reduce the phosphorus level in the water to 10 parts per billion. Seems as though the sawgrass grows very well at levels below 10 ppb while the encroaching cattails grow well at anything over 10 ppb. "At 50 ppb plants can't grow"??? The horrendous blue green algae mats in Florida's Saint Lucie River in June 2016 were there because the soluble phosphorus levels had climbed to 130 ppb. "1 to 5 ppm" is 1,000 to 5,000 ppb. Interesting. 

One has to be very careful when talking about phosphorus. Higher plants use phosphorus which they extract from the soil via microscopic acid factories, typically in symbiosis with a fungi. So soils need 50 to 100 parts per million phosphorus to support lush growths of higher plants. Using insoluble phosphorus additions to aquarium soils will do wonders for higher plants with soil based roots. Adding soluble phosphorus in large quantities to the water invites blue green algae. Remember, in streams in nature the soluble phosphorous content of the water is very low (below 10 parts per billion) while the insoluble phosphorus content in the mud is measured in parts per million.

One thing I've often wondered about is that in the 1980's it was found that washing all the soil off of pine seedlings from the Carolinas which were then planted in Puerto Rico insured the death of the seedlings. It washed off the symbiotic fungi which fed phosphorus to the plant. By 2000 it became clear 90% of plants require a fungi to survive. Is the same true for aquarium plants? Does it mean death to the aquarium plant if you don't transplant it with some of the planting soil on the roots? Interesting line of thought.


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## aja31 (May 25, 2013)

A Marycn treatment will clear that right up. I had an outbreak even worse than that and it was gone within a week of doing a Marycn treatment. Active ingredient in Marycn is Erythromycin and it won't kill your BB.


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