'Rust'?

[RedStarFishy]

Recently, i've noticed a rust colored hue on some of my plants and decorations. it first appeared on my red plant, so i thought nothing of it, like a by product of the plant or something. but since then, its 'spread' to basically everything else in the tank besides the fish. is it some time of algae? i took out one of my caves and was able to wash off most of this stuff, so its not a stain. its a rusty, copperish colored slimely stuff. should i be algae-be-gone stuff in? i'm afraid to hurt my live plants in there tho, what is a good algae killer with no harm to plants? thanks.

 

[plateletboy]

welcome to the world of brown algae!!

everyone will tell you that it goes away by itself in time - and it does!!
but Ottos love to eat the stuff......

PB

 

[RedStarFishy]

welcome to the world of brown algae!!

I always knew getting fish would be quite an adventure....

I'm guessing its not harmful to fish?

And how the heck did i get it in the first place? How can i prevent it?

 

[bunjiweb]

Once you get it its hard to prevent, and something like ottos and japonica shrimp do a great job to eat it all away which does alot to get you on the long road to algae combat.

Ben

 

[ad_smith]

its caused by high phosphates and increased water changes will stop it / help prevent it...

i got this information fromhere

hope that helps

Ad

 

[RedStarFishy]

oh thank you. its good to know its something that's not too bad... i was afraid it was something miserable. might be annoying now, but at least its controlable.

another question tho.... the tank it is in, its my "african cichlid" tank. is there a compatible algae eater that can go with them besides a pleco? i'm looking into the ottos and the siamese algae eater, and its saying they're more peaceful and don't mix with aggressive fish. any suggestions?