HELP!!! Brown stuff?!?

[sscamatt]

ive had my aquarium up for about a month and a half now...there were a few brown spots on one of the rocks when i first got it...now it seems as if they are spreading like wild fire...not only to to other rocks...but now to plants and the gravel...i put my hand in and it rubbed off a plant. Seemed kind of dusty. Could it be the rock just like falling apart or is it some sort of bacteria or fungus??

//edit *added some images

the rock where it started

spreading to another rock

normal gravel

gravel where the brown stuff has spread

normal plant

plant with brown stuff

 

[Angel Lady]

Can you do a gravel vac and get rid of some of it or mabey was the stuff with some of your tank water.. A little at a time dont try to clean it all at once it could mess up your cycle..

 

[sscamatt]

its gotten worse since yesteryday tho...i was going to try and take a rock out and clean it off in the sink today but i didnt get around to it...but in the last 24 hours...the amount has doubled and is now on the other plants...i fear that by tommorrow morning it will be all over the entire tank.

 

[kent]

where did the rock come from? according to you, the brown stuff is coming from it ..

 

[sscamatt]

where did the rock come from?

i bought it from my lfs...it was sold by the pound near all the gravel...they order it by the boxful and they had 3 different kinds.

 

[semper fi]

first i would check the rock to make sure that it is not leaching into the tank. take a rock out and rinse it off in tank water. drop some white vinegar onto the rock, if it fizzes it is unsafe for the tank. if so, i would remove the rocks immediately. did you rinse or boil the rocks before adding them to your tank? whenever i add anything to my tanks i boil it to remove any sediment. could possibly be the outer shell of the rock is soft and breaking up.

i would try to get as much out of the tank as possible. as long as you skim over the top of the gravel bed and do not stick the syphon into it, you should not lose that much bacteria to crash your tank. the bacteria lives in the gravel bed.

 

[J_acon]

Could it be brown algae?

 

[ger87410]

That looks exactly like the brown algae I got growing absolutely wild in my community tank. Don't worry about it and get some algae eaters and it will go away.

 

[sscamatt]

tried vinegar on one of the rocks...didn't fizz. Plus im pretty sure they are fit for an aquarium since thats what they were being sold as. There seems to be some green now...so im pretty sure its algae. I'm going to the lfs after work today and picking up a pleco...I'll keep you updated.

Would a bristlenose pleco eat brown algae?

 

[ger87410]

Generally, all lecos eat algae.

 

[angel_lover]

Looks like algea to me.When I had my cons I would get it bad in their tank.Dirty little fish I'd get an algea eater just be carefull which one you go for some can get very big

 

[Underdog766]

I would get a Pleco. I am partial to the bushy-nosed pleco. I would make sure that you get one that doesn't get very big. It just so happens that my LFS has bushy-nosed and rubber-nosed plecos. Ask your fish-store dude on the max size or get the name and Google it.

 

[reg2k2]

Check your lighting...may be too weak, and/or the bulbs may need to be changed.

 

[angel_eyes0857]

looks like brown algae.
i wouldnt dare put vinegar in my water but i guess that is my own opinion. i had a really bad brown algae mess and i simply got a couple snails from my lfs... careful, they do mulitply.. but luckily mine havent yet. and you could also get stuff that is called WASTE CONTROL. its like, "cycle" and "aquaplus" stuff. it is impossible to overdose. its cheap and lasts awhile. i put that in, and noticed a difference in my algae within 24 hours!! keep adding it and then it will break down on its own!
i bought an algae eater to help out, but they only do real good in aged tanks of about 6+ months. Due to that, and due to the tank still cycling my pleco died.
try the waste control, it works wonders. i havent seen any brown algae since... and yes, it grows really fast!!! if you have bigger pieces, just put your hand in and wipe it off but let the waste control do its work k !!!
it worked for me, hope itd oes for you.