Black Hairs?

[wesley]

hi all,

just wondering if anyone can help me, ive got a mature tank and ive recently noticed that theres small black hairs growing off all my plants even the small fake ones that are stuck on one of the rocks.
Ive been told a few ways of getting rid of this "hair" such as turning the light off for a few days & rubbing the plants with my fingers to clean it.
I have a plec in the tank but he doesnt seem interested in it so does that mean its a bad bacteria??

Thanks for any help
wesley

nitrite 0
nitrate 0
ammonia 0
ph 7.6

 

[Glenn UK]

Could be BBA (Black brush algae) - i had it for ages and treated with flourish excel.

 

[Amunet]

Just some kind of algae.
Great website that lists various algae. Should help you determine which you have
http/theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm

You say you have a mature tank but you have 0 nitrates? How long has the tank been set up for? It is pretty rare to have a mature cycled tank with 0 nitrates.

 

[Scvpirates]

its black hair algae i got some in my tank too. i gently brushed the leaves with my fingers on the live plants and soaked the fake plants in bleach/water mix to remove it. the more you can remove the better. it will start growing everywhere if not maintained. i dont believe its bad for the tank though. its just another algae problem.

 

[Ben M]

i had that, but i rubbed most of it off and my sae's kept it down after that