Growth on driftwood

[Joybutlookslikedelusion]

I don't even know if this is algae but if you guys can ID it I'd be so grateful. I just kinda noticed it a month ago but it kinda blends in till now, I only see it when I focus my sight on it, lol. I'm concerned now because I've never seen a post about this so far.

 

[CassCats]

Hmmm I'd say cyanobacteria, it's got a slime look to it that cyano has, though its normally blue-green, it can be a reddish brown slime instead.

You can remove the wood and dip it in some hydrogen peroxide to help kill it or apply some with a syringe after draining a bit of the water. Won't hurt the fish in small doses.

Increasing flow in the tank and removing excess organic matter helps limit cyanobacteria. In severe cases sometimes it's better to scrap the affected stuff and start over scapewise.

 

[fishorama]

I would take the wood out, scrub it with a clean brush & allow it to air dry out. Cyanobacteria, as Cass said, can look like that when dying. but you need to fix your tank's parameters, more flow, more water changes & more testing to see what's happening.

 

[Colin_T]

blue green algae (Cyanobacteria).
take the wood outside and hose it off then put the wood back in the tank.

 

[Joybutlookslikedelusion]

Hmmm I'd say cyanobacteria, it's got a slime look to it that cyano has, though its normally blue-green, it can be a reddish brown slime instead.

You can remove the wood and dip it in some hydrogen peroxide to help kill it or apply some with a syringe after draining a bit of the water. Won't hurt the fish in small doses.

Increasing flow in the tank and removing excess organic matter helps limit cyanobacteria. In severe cases sometimes it's better to scrap the affected stuff and start over scapewise.

Ok I'll go with the removal route, as much as possible I don't want to use chemicals in my tank heck I have crypts and vals and apparently they can be quite the drama queens.
In retrospect, I should've been more expectant of this since I saw a yt vid saying all tanks experience diff algae types as the tank matures, and mines only 6months old
Also does this spread to plants? I don't mind scraping/removing hard scape, but my plants, oh Lord!
Can I just scrub the cyanobacteria with a tooth brush in a bucket of aquarium water?

 

[Mazain]

That's a blessing in disguise. It will help to feed your molly fry once infursuria forms on it. I just let mine be as it is.

 

[Colin_T]

Ok I'll go with the removal route, as much as possible I don't want to use chemicals in my tank heck I have crypts and vals and apparently they can be quite the drama queens.
In retrospect, I should've been more expectant of this since I saw a yt vid saying all tanks experience diff algae types as the tank matures, and mines only 6months old
Also does this spread to plants? I don't mind scraping/removing hard scape, but my plants, oh Lord!
Can I just scrub the cyanobacteria with a tooth brush in a bucket of aquarium water?

Cyanobacteria can grow in any tank and at stage of the tank's life. It grows in newly set up aquariums and old aquariums and everything in between. It loves nutrients, red light, low oxygen levels and slow water movement. The most common cause in aquariums is too much dry food and lack of water changes and gravel cleaning.

It can spread to plants, across the substrate, up the glass and over anything in the aquarium.

 

[Joybutlookslikedelusion]

Cyanobacteria can grow in any tank and at stage of the tank's life. It grows in newly set up aquariums and old aquariums and everything in between. It loves nutrients, red light, low oxygen levels and slow water movement. The most common cause in aquariums is too much dry food and lack of water changes and gravel cleaning.

It can spread to plants, across the substrate, up the glass and over anything in the aquarium.

Does having only a sponge filter mean it's slow moving current? Should I add an internal filter with a power head but if this spread by spores wouldn't that help it cover more ground IDK.

That's a blessing in disguise. It will help to feed your molly fry once infursuria forms on it. I just let mine be as it is.

How did you know I keep mollies lol.

Guys, do you think it will make a difference if I tell that the driftwood is where they graze and and I keep seeing poop on it, like it accumulates there. And I don't remove it usually I just let the water sweep it when I refill the tank after a water change but I guess if it did sweep it, I wouldn't have this rn lol.
Or another possible reason is that the driftwood is rotting , the reddish growth kinda looking raised at some angles, I don't know how to say it but it looks like an egg white film-ish thing surrounding it like some slime on an eel.

 

[Mazain]

How did you know I keep mollies

IoI what are they?

 

[Joybutlookslikedelusion]

IoI what are they?

Theyre mollies ahahaha, they're part balloon molly cause their mother is one, as for the father I don't know perhaps a common molly. How am I gonna tell the fry about that when they grow up ..... They Gon be asking questions a time from now, lol

 

[Mazain]

Theyre mollies ahahaha, they're part balloon molly cause their mother is one, as for the father I don't know perhaps a common molly. How am I gonna tell the fry about that when they grow up ..... They Gon be asking questions a time from now, lol

Well then, let's get your Driftwood BBA sorted lol.

 

[Colin_T]

Does having only a sponge filter mean it's slow moving current? Should I add an internal filter with a power head but if this spread by spores wouldn't that help it cover more ground IDK.

Most sponge filters create a small amount of current so there would only be a small amount of water movement. Depending on the tank size, this might be sufficient if the aquarium is small. However, if the aquarium is large then a single sponge filter won't provide much current.

If you have active fish that like a current and a medium to large tank then you could add a power filter to improve circulation. However, in a small tank or if you have fish that don't like fast moving water, a power filter would not be beneficial.

An airstone run off an air pump can be used to circulate water as well.

Guys, do you think it will make a difference if I tell that the driftwood is where they graze and and I keep seeing poop on it, like it accumulates there. And I don't remove it usually I just let the water sweep it when I refill the tank after a water change but I guess if it did sweep it, I wouldn't have this rn lol.

If the fish are grazing on the biofilm on the driftwood, that is fine. If you gravel clean the poop off the wood each week when you do a water change, that is also fine. The poop is unlikely to cause a major blue green algae issue.

 

[Joybutlookslikedelusion]

Well then, let's get your Driftwood BBA sorted lol

Ok, I'd love that but I thought it's cyano not bba?

Guys, do you think it will make a difference if I tell that the driftwood is where they graze and and I keep seeing poop on it, like it accumulates there. And I don't remove it usually I just let the water sweep it when I refill the tank after a water change but I guess if it did sweep it, I wouldn't have this rn lol.
Or another possible reason is that the driftwood is rotting , the reddish growth kinda looking raised at some angles, I don't know how to say it but it looks like an egg white film-ish thing surrounding it like some slime on an eel.

 

[Mazain]

Ok, I'd love that but I thought it's cyano not bba?

It looked red hair algae to me and germinates by travelling in water currents. Cyano as Colin said due to food or poor maintenance or old Driftwood.

 

[Joybutlookslikedelusion]

Will it it be an effective removal method if I keep scrubbing it off every water change time starting this Friday. Will it eventually vanish or is it something I have to regularly keep in check.

It looked red hair algae to me and germinates by travelling in water currents. Cyano as Colin said due to food or poor maintenance or old Driftwood.

Yeah the only biodegradable thing in there that's not still connected to a living thing is the driftwood. The leaves that fall off I remove. They are probably feasting on it. Since cyanobacteria like light, I think it might be due to the change in my lid that exacerbated this, I changed my lid to something clearer so the intensity is light is stronger but I already diffused it back then. Hmmm