Please Help (hair Algae)

[davaxtc1]

Hi all,

Fairly new to fish keeping! Ive had my tank set up for around 3 months now, it is a planted tank (plants still being added), but have suddenly noticed alot of long dark, horse hair like algae growing from my vallice and java ferns, mainly the vallis. What is it and why is it growing? any way to get rid of it?

I am fertilizing my tank with tetra plant (plantamin) liquid fertilizer, before the liquid fert i added tetra plant fert tabs under gravel around the roots.

I use RO water and perform i weekly water change of around 20%.
Water readings are PH 6.6-7.0 ammonia 0 nitrite -0.3 and nitrates 12.5-20 ppm.
Tank inhabitants as follows

6 neon tetra (used to cycle!)
2 c julii
1 c trillineteaus
3 otos
2 khuli loach
2 amano shrimp
and my beloved betta lol!
lots of malaysian trumpet snails, never seen always under the gravel!

This algae is really spoiling my plants i would love some advice so i can keep it under control.

One last thing.... Regarding my betta, He is a really great fish an now so so tame, whenever i put my fingers in tank wether it be feeding or removing decaying leaves etc, he's straight by my fingers swimming around, he lets me stroke his side and fins!
its so adorable but what im wondering is, could me stroking the lil guy interfere with the protective slime on his body that helps him fight off disease? i wouldnt want to harm him in any way? ya get me?

Sorry for long post, any answers much appreciated Dave ps tank is roughly 25 uk gallons

 

[waterdrop]

Here's the link to James' Planted Tank: Algae Guide that Aaron uses in his nice "Back to Basics" Article in the TFF Planted Tank section (thanks again Aaron for that wonderful resource!)

Algae basically comes down to Ammonia + Light, the ammonia being trace bits found in dead spots where perhaps the water is not moving enough and not an amount measurable by our test kits. Light of course is tricky because you need enough for your plants but not too much! Algae sometimes spread via spores so water changes can be a good thing, but on the other hand those can also cause CO2 to fluctuate in tanks that aren't getting it artificially (just one among a number of ways water changes might have an impact on an algae situation I suppose.)

Anyway, from a practical standpoint, once you've got algae then you have to correctly identify it and deal with it according to which type it is I believe and that's why I've posted up the link above to help get you started. The members in the planted section are among our best resources once you really get into an all-out fight with the algae.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[davaxtc1]

Excellent site, cheers for the link mate. proberly down to low co2 and new tank syndrome.

Any advice on the touching the betta lol?

thanks very much for your help

 

[katfish85]

I had loads of hair algae on my bogwood so I rinsed it with tap water and the chlorine killed the hair algae but not sure what that would happen if you rinsed the plants under tap water.

with regards to touching your betta - I've heard a lot of mixed answers - some say yes it will harm the slime coat and some think it's fine and have been doing so for years without any issues. If you can, rather let your betta come and nibble on your finger as mine does. If you can't help yourself, you should invest in some slime coat protector - i think there's a good one called 'stress coat' or 'stress zyme coat' or something like that. should be available in any of your local pet stores. This will help in any case as it replenishes the fishes slime coats and gives added protection just incase

 

[davaxtc1]

pics of the algae

 

[katfish85]

By the way, I meant to tell you before that the hair algae is not necessarily a bad thing.

Some aquarists actually like the look of it and it's not harming anything so dont fret too much

 

[keenonfish]

My algae troubles disappeared once I got CO2. Still have BBA on the 3d background especially near the upper levels but tbh I don't mind the stuff at all and IMO can only be good for any fry or shrimp.

 

[davaxtc1]

yeah im going to add co2 see what happens, would you recommend buying a proper kit? or making a diy set up, ive read alot on making your own co2 setup?

 

[waterdrop]

Nice looking tank! You look like you're primed for the planted tank hobby (you know we've got a forum for that right?) and if that's true I'd recommend not fooling around with DIY but just biting the bullet and researching a good pressurized setup. About the only negative is the high initial expense and the size and technical nature of it, but the results are definately superior to DIY or liquid carbon.

As far as I know the jury is out all 'round on the slimecoat questions. I don't think its really known how much a few brushes up against a human finger would be and I don't think anyone really knows whether the irritants in stresscoat or similar products (aloe and such) really do anything. The fact that fish do have slime coats and that they are important is very real of course. Recently it was shown that something like slime coat on porpoise was responsible for their high speed in the water (fortunately or unfortunately for humans, the world swimming organizations have now banned the technical swimsuits that were like slimecoats that garnered so many gold medals! )

~~waterdrop~~

 

[keenonfish]

yeah im going to add co2 see what happens, would you recommend buying a proper kit? or making a diy set up, ive read alot on making your own co2 setup?

I got a complete second hand jbl system off ebay came with ph controller, two valves and a full cylinder for about £100. Ph controller completely unnecessary (I wasn't after one and now needs a new probe ) but I think I got a real good deal tbh! At least I know I will be able to make my money back if times get a little tough