Difficult algae

[New2fishfriends]

I have a very tough case of algae in my 5.5 gal betta tank. When I try to remove it, it falls apart and I have a VERY tough time getting it out. As a substrate, I'm using white sand. My betta, Steele is pouting because I removed his plants. They were dying, so I took them out. I don't really know what type of algae it is though. I have added pics of the algae for identification. I'm hoping someone can help me both figure out what types of algae this is and how to get rid of it.

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Can you check the pictures and make sure they are posted? I don't see any.

 

[New2fishfriends]

When I tried uploading the pics it said they were too large, Colin_T. I'm not sure how to fix that.

 

[New2fishfriends]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Can you check the pictures and make sure they are posted? I don't see any.

Everytime I try and upload a pic, there's a error that says the file is too large.

 

[Colin_T]

set your camera's resolution to its lowest setting and take some more pictures. The lower resolution will make the images smaller and they should fit. Remember to increase the resolution after you have taken the pics otherwise all your pictures will be small.

 

[New2fishfriends]

 

[New2fishfriends]

The water in my area is very hard, so I put an IAL in to try and combat the hardness for my betta.

 

[Colin_T]

The brown and green stuff on the sand looks like blue green algae (Cyanobacter bacteria). It can lift off in sheets/ pieces and smells musty. It is a photosynthetic bacteria that loves light, nutrients, low oxygen levels and still water. It regularly grows in aquariums that have lots of uneaten food or where dry foods are used.

Try doing a daily gravel clean and water change to suck out as much as you can. Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Reduce feeding and try to use live or frozen (but defrosted) foods instead of dry food. You can still feed dry food but only offer a small amount and remove any uneaten food after a couple of minutes.

If the tank has been running for more than 2 months, clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks.

Old light, particularly fluorescent globes can encourage this. Fluoro globes above aquariums should be replaced every 12 months. Try to use globes with a 6500K (K is for Kelvin) rating.

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It looks like you have a water pump/ power head in the tank and that should be providing sufficient water movement. I would look for a round/ cylindrical sponge to go over the intake strainer of the pump so sand doesn't get sucked in and damage it. Most pet shops sell round/ cylindrical sponges for some brands of internal power filter. Just find one that fits over the intake strainer of your pump and put it on. They get held in place by the suction of the pump.

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You should put a picture of something over the back of the tank to make the fish feel more comfortable. You can buy aquarium backings (plastic pictures) from pet shops or use a plastic bin liner, newspaper or coloured card. Dark colours are best. Just sticky tape them to the outside of the tank and the fish will feel more secure.

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Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta) is a good plant for Bettas. It floats on the surface and grows rapidly. If you get too much on the surface you can plant it in the substrate where it grows into a lovely light green shrub.

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The water in my area is very hard, so I put an IAL in to try and combat the hardness for my betta.

I'm not sure what this is.

 

[New2fishfriends]

The brown and green stuff on the sand looks like blue green algae (Cyanobacter bacteria). It can lift off in sheets/ pieces and smells musty. It is a photosynthetic bacteria that loves light, nutrients, low oxygen levels and still water. It regularly grows in aquariums that have lots of uneaten food or where dry foods are used.

Try doing a daily gravel clean and water change to suck out as much as you can. Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Reduce feeding and try to use live or frozen (but defrosted) foods instead of dry food. You can still feed dry food but only offer a small amount and remove any uneaten food after a couple of minutes.

If the tank has been running for more than 2 months, clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks.

Old light, particularly fluorescent globes can encourage this. Fluoro globes above aquariums should be replaced every 12 months. Try to use globes with a 6500K (K is for Kelvin) rating.

-------------------------
It looks like you have a water pump/ power head in the tank and that should be providing sufficient water movement. I would look for a round/ cylindrical sponge to go over the intake strainer of the pump so sand doesn't get sucked in and damage it. Most pet shops sell round/ cylindrical sponges for some brands of internal power filter. Just find one that fits over the intake strainer of your pump and put it on. They get held in place by the suction of the pump.

-------------------------
You should put a picture of something over the back of the tank to make the fish feel more comfortable. You can buy aquarium backings (plastic pictures) from pet shops or use a plastic bin liner, newspaper or coloured card. Dark colours are best. Just sticky tape them to the outside of the tank and the fish will feel more secure.

-------------------------
Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta) is a good plant for Bettas. It floats on the surface and grows rapidly. If you get too much on the surface you can plant it in the substrate where it grows into a lovely light green shrub.

-------------------------

I'm not sure what this is.

IAL is short for Indian Almond Leaf and it is supposed to help bring down pH in hard water.

 

[Colin_T]

Gotcha on Indian Almond leaf. Any plant matter that breaks down in water will produce tannins and acids that can lower the pH. However, you need quite a bit and if the GH & KH of the water is very high, the plant leaves won't make any difference.

If you want to lower the pH and GH, mix half distilled water, reverse osmosis water or rain water with the tap water and the pH and GH will come down. You will have to do this every time you do a water change otherwise the pH and GH will go back up to whatever the tap water is.