# Does algae have a preferred temperature range ?



## George Willms

if plants and fish can live in it, so will algae.


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## Doomer

Yeh but different fish have different temp tolorances. A Goldfish is perfectly happy at 50 degrees but a Discus would be dead meat at that temp.

I've also dicovered that plants don't like cold water. They tend to die around 50 degrees.


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## George Willms

Scientists have found algae living in ice and living in hydrothermal vents, so I think it's safe to assume that there is some type of algae that will live in just about any given water temperature.


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## tombsc

George is right. There are around 30,000 _described_ species of algae. This number can be multiplied many times to get the _actual_ number of species present. With this many different species, each well adapted to a specific niche to keep interspecific competition to a minimum, it becomes clear that different algal species would be adapted for optimum survival in a range of different temperatures. 

Also the life histories of algae are extremely short, allowing many generations to occur within short period of time. This means the alga can quickly mutate to enable its survival if its living conditions change - i.e. a slow rise or fall in temperature. 
A rapid temperature change that surpasses a species natural range, will stop algal growth, until the temperature returns to normal.


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## Doomer

I was curious about the specific algae that inhabits aquariums. I'm sure there are lots of different species out there but if they're not normally found in the aquarium, they don't count. 

(or can they all be found in aquariums?)


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## SCMurphy

This might be one of those times to just trust us. No matter what (reasonable) temperature you keep your tank at, if conditions are suitable for an algae bloom there is one in your tank that will.


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## GDominy

There are hundreds of species of algae that can commonly inhabit your aquarium. Many of them are similar however so you see them described using common names like "Hair Algae, or Black Brush algae" and so forth.

Its safe to assume that there is a species of algae out there that could live in your tank regardless of what temperature it is.

Algae is an oportunistic life form. It will grow any where, any way it can


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## Doomer

Oh well, thought I might have come up with a another way to beat the scurge but I guess not.

btw: I've got a 55 gal. set up on the back porch that's got a healthy case of brown algae. Temp has been hovering around the mid to high 40's. There's no sign of any green algae, this is why I asked.


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## GDominy

Algae can also out-compete other algae's for food don't forget.. so once one form takes it over.. it might actually weed out the others.

Different algaes also react differently to different water conditions, so while your tank may be ideal for brown algae, it may not be ideal for something like BBA.. or BGA


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## Nordic

Sunlight and also warmer flourecent tubes gives me brown algae in no time... luckily its one algae that can "dissapear" without you haveing to sacrifice plants and leaves...


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## tombsc

Brown algae isn't actually algae...not in freshwater anyway. It is a diatom that occurs when there are excess silicates and insufficient light.


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## Urkevitz

Some green algae is actually a bacteria. We studied it in Botany.


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## ^iMp^

I wonder what type of brown algae I have then? I have a lot of light, cooler water, and the tank has been up and running for some time...and the brown algae just keeps coming.

Actually, I've let it grow on the back of the tank and on the rocks and most other algae is having difficulty situating itself (a little green hair and some green spot, but thats about it).

I think the temperature plays a role in the TYPE of algae you get in your tank. I could (and its very probable) be wrong, but this is just my (limited) experience.

^iMp^


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## waddo

This is a very old thread but the original poster was correct, there is very little discussion on this topic, even today. And the answers were generally supercilious and dismissive.

The same question in a different form: do lower/higher temperatures effect algae growth in a planted aquarium? 

Waddo


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