# What Are These Green Tufts?



## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Growing in one of my tanks in tiers,on the driftwood.


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## Church (Sep 14, 2004)

Clado?


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## ColeMan (Mar 9, 2008)

I've never seen clado grow like that before - looks like...hmm....let me think...


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## Church (Sep 14, 2004)

Oh the 2nd picture finally loaded for me and that looks like some kind of wort maybe?


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## nugzboltz (May 20, 2008)

Looks like BBA to me, although it's not black. But it also looks a lot like the clado on this page:

http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

You have Clado Carole


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

Yup, Clado. This link might help:

http://aquariumalgae.blogspot.com/2007/06/cladophora-algae.html


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## Natty (Apr 2, 2008)

If it branches out sort of the like a tree...then its clado.

Waterfaller, my condolences to you. That is one of the most nightmarish algae ever.

Me and epic nicknamed it: Algae from Hell. :hihi: 
It grows with the same condition as your plants and they're probably even tougher.


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

I got some on a rock in my 20L. Finally decided to bleach it to death. But I still can't get it off! Maybe it'll eventually come off when it decomposes?

I've had a small patch on a piece of wood in my 20L for 6 months or more. It doesn't really spread so I don't mind it much. I think I get it in that tank because I ignore it so much. No CO2, no ferts and I skip water changes too much.


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## ColeMan (Mar 9, 2008)

that's a really interesting growth pattern - I've never seen clado grow in those sort of tufts...I've usually seen it grow in little 'clumps' or loose 'wads,' but never like that. Very interesting...it's almost attractive. I have a spot on a piece of driftwood and the growth is very one dimensional, and it doesn't really spread...almost no vertical growth at all...yours look like little christmas trees!


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

I had a feeling you were going to say it was clado. Now, did this grow in that tank because the cladophora ball{marimo} is in that tank? I am actually ok with it in that tank believe it or not. I wouldn't want it in any of my other tanks, but in that tank it's pretty the way it's growing.It pulls out with a tweezer very easily.{Orlando, get me two more tweezers ready!:wink: } As long as it just keeps on the way it is, I am not going to worry about it. It is in the RCS tank{the second cube, next to Thai's tank} and it looks just like a plant the way it is growing.:biggrin: 
While I have your attention, one more plant question please. Has anyone had a plant stay miniature? That is to say, I have a bronze crypt in that tank. It has never grown, and I've had it since oct. 07. It had a couple meltdowns, but now it has about 5-6 leaves, they are just very small...and so is the plant. I have a bonsai crypt.:icon_lol:


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

I have read that having a cladophora/marino ball will cause clado in the tank. As long as you like it and it's not becoming a pest, then enjoy!

The only thing I can think of regarding your crypt is maybe it's not getting enough ferts? Do you dose CO2 and ferts in that tank? How often do you do water changes?


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

I dose some excel, but not alot. Occasionally a bit of flourish. It seems like the more I dose iron in those two tanks, the more thread algae I get. So lately I kind of upped the excel, and backed off on the rest. The plants have actually gotten prettier, and once again are showing nice colors like they used to. I must remember that those two tanks have a potting soil base, so it's possible some of the plants are still getting nutrition from that.


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Water changes in all tanks 50% once a week, plus extra is added throughout the week through food syphoning and top off. 100% RO water is used.


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## Ryzilla (Oct 29, 2005)

the thing is clado the pest clado does not grow in tufts like that. It is possible that there is many different species of FW clado and that one grows in a pattern much like BBA.

The branching in that clado is much more compact than the pest clado everyone is afraid of. I bet you have a form of clado that stays tight and compact. The clado that is a pest, even in low tech conditions grows long and branches different then that.


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

I have that exact same algae in my tank. It's been there for about 3 or 4 months now and stays compact as well. I can't seem to get rid of it, so I just thin it out when it comes to water change time.

And as for miniture plants, I have a lotus tiger lily that has been mini for a while now. It started out growing like crazy, then sent up a whole pile of pads to the surface. I trimmed off all the surface pads and the plant then grew 2 small leaves that stay about 3 inches up from the sub. It hasn't grown or shown signs of dying for about 3 months either.


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

The clado in my 20L is also tight and compact. There must be different forms of clado that spontaneously grow in some tanks.

Here are just a couple I found that have that tight, tree look:

http://www2.uca.es/grup-invest/microbentos/PAGES/fcladophora.htm

http://www.vattenkikaren.gu.se/Fakta/arter/algae/chloroph/cladrupe/cladrue.html


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## plakat (Mar 2, 2008)

I always though that marimo balls would keep caldo in check since its the same thing basically.

I know I got it in my tank when I removed the marimo. When I put them in I saw no more growth granted I was still messing around with ferts at the time fine tuning stuff so that might have been the cause too.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

i have some of them on my driftwood and on my outdoor tank. i suspect that they like very bright light like the sun. it's not that invasive IMO. it's very easy to pull them from objects, so i wouldn't be too worry about it.


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## Natty (Apr 2, 2008)

The only issue with clado IMO is when they:

1. Stick to a specific driftwood while ur trying to grow moss in there.

2. Entwines itself in your moss.

3. Starts growing from the substrate beneath your hc or similar plants. I wouldn't even want to imagine this with dwarf hairgrass . 

So if you don't have moss or small plants that it can entwine itself easily into, than you shouldn't have a problem with clado.


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

I am aggressive when it comes to algae. I have kept sw reef tanks since 03', and algae can get to epidemic proportions in a sw tank. I am not one to sit back and suddenly realize one day my tank is overrun, I notice subtle changes. Yesterday I took a magnifying glass and looked at all the plants in that tank. I did find a couple out of place stragglers, and removed them. Manual removal, and adjustment to the cause, is what controls algae for me.


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## Indignation (Mar 9, 2008)

I just spent most of the morning picking clado out of my HC foreground. I ended up giving up on the foreground, and tore most of it out. Sad, as it was a years worth of (nice!) growth. Needless to say, by now I've learned the lesson of being very aggressive early on. 
Carole - at least in my tank, spot treating with excel was very effective. While not enough to save the HC, it was enough to stop any spreading to other plants.
I turn off my pump, draw up a 2 or 3X normal dose of excel, and using a plastic I.V. cath on a 10 ml syringe, carefully apply all of it directly to any clado I can see. Leave for 10 minutes, then turn pump back on. 3 days of this has always been enough to nuke the clado, without any surrounding plant damage. 
Good Luck!


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## prototyp3 (Dec 5, 2007)

Uh oh, I just got this on some plants I received. I pulled off all the visible tufts I could find.. Fitting considering those plants went into my nightmare tank.


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## trigun808 (May 18, 2008)

http://www.blueaquarium.org/2007/12/2004-aga-3rd-place-under-the-pale-moonlight-by-tony-gomez/
seems nice in this tank lol


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

Yes, that's what it looks like. Only there are tiers of the clado, and tiers of moss.


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