Blue Green Algae?

[iffles]

Hi
I was cleaning out my tank when i noticed some bluish greenish algae on the glass which i scrubbed off, but some books on tank maintanance ive read say that some algae is beneficial to a tank , but if you see blue green algae remove it immediately I just dont see wats so bad about it thats no bad about normal spot algae or brown algae , but i thought id raise this question because i'm getting it in my tank (usually the same place ) and its getting on some plant leaves aswell.

 

[Wills]

Blue green algae is actually a bacteria rather than a plant. But its not toxic to fish i dont think not in short exposure. I recently had a bad outbreak in my small tank and its taken about 2 weeks and 2 lots of new plants to starve it I also think the lack of sun helped as well. I agree some algae can be nice it adds a natural look to rocks etc but I would get rid of blue green asap it can grip your tank in a week.

Wills

 

[iffles]

ok thanks. i tried getting it off the plant but i just damaged the leaves- any way of getting it off without pruning the leaves off or damaging them?

 

[loraxchick]

BGA should be dealt with rather quickly as it can take over a tank in no time...not pretty! it presents itself as a slimy green/blue sheet that easily peels off in one go(unlike true algae). it can quickly cover ornaments, plants, substrate and glass. the best (and easiest method) to get rid of the stuff is to pick out as much as you can by hand. do a large water change and then blackout your tank for 3 days (up to 5 if it's really bad). no peeking, no feeding the fish in this time(dont worry, they will be ok)...after the blackout, do another large waterchange and this should clear it up.
but you need to figure out why you are getting it..so you can prevent its return. have a look at this:
http/www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm
great list of algae types, casues and remedies.
cheers!

 

[iffles]

thanks! i think ive been overfeeding because there are some half grown fry in the tank which i feed extra for - silly me! i just feel sorry for them when their parents steal all the food even though i know fish can go for a week without food . also i leave the lights on for quite long.

 

[loraxchick]

thanks! i think ive been overfeeding because there are some half grown fry in the tank which i feed extra for - silly me! i just feel sorry for them when their parents steal all the food even though i know fish can go for a week without food . also i leave the lights on for quite long.

ok then i understand about the overfeeding...gotta keep those little bellies full
cut back tank lights to only a few hours-like 6 a day. whenever you mess about in the substrate, or have been pulling the algae out do a waterchange. this should help stall the stuff, but as SOON as those fry are large enough to survive a 3 day fast, do a blackout as advised above..will go away.
i had a TERRIBLE outbreak last winter when our power was out for almost 5 days because of a massive ice storm. i mean the stuff was EVERYWHERE!!! a 5 day blackout cleared it RIGHT up and it has never returned.
best of luck.
cheers

 

[iffles]

thanks for your help