Think I have Blue-Green Algae

[James7]

As the title really, can anyone help me to identify this algae and suggest how to treat it. I think it’s Cyanobacteria but how can I remove it?

It began in small areas on java moss which I removed, then it was on some of the guppy grass, which I also removed. In 2 days it has bloomed and is now covering a lot more in the tank.

It’s in a heavily planted 6G pea puffer tank. The light is on for 7 hours a day max and I do weekly water changes of 30-40% including vacuuming the gravel that I can get to.

 

[Tez_20]

As the title really, can anyone help me to identify this algae and suggest how to treat it. I think it’s Cyanobacteria but how can I remove it?

Hi James, i can't help you a great deal with this never had it myself but there's members who will be able to but in the meantime there is this link on dealing with it.

Treating Cyanobacteria in your Freshwater Aquarium (Guide) (fishtankadvisor.com)

 

[eatyourpeas]

As the title really, can anyone help me to identify this algae and suggest how to treat it. I think it’s Cyanobacteria but how can I remove it?

It began in small areas on java moss which I removed, then it was on some of the guppy grass, which I also removed. In 2 days it has bloomed and is now covering a lot more in the tank.

It’s in a heavily planted 6G pea puffer tank. The light is on for 7 hours a day max and I do weekly water changes of 30-40% including vacuuming the gravel that I can get to.

How bright is your light?

 

[Colin_T]

Yes it's blue green algae (Cyanobacter bacteria), and it's a cool colour too.

It loves nutrients, low oxygen levels, low water movement, and red light (old light globes).

If the light globe is fluorescent and more than 12 months old, replace it with a new globe that has a 6500K (K is for Kelvin) rating.

Reduce the amount of dry food going into the tank and use frozen or live foods.

Do more water changes and gravel cleans and try to physically remove as much of the bga as you can.

Increase aeration and water movement.

It can take a while to get rid of.

 

[James7]

Thanks for the replies, this is the light that I have on the tank:

Fish Tank Lights - AllPetSolutions

Explore our range of Fish Tank Lighting today, which includes small nano LED lights, Tropical Lighting. Free UK delivery on everything in store.

www.allpetsolutions.co.uk

There’s no dry food going in, just frozen bloodworm for the puffer, pest snails and some live mosquitoe larvae. As for the cleaning, I’ve removed everything that I can wiped it off any surfaces, thrown some of the coated plants away, wiped others off. It’s hard to increase circulation or aerate any further but I will try. I hate to look at it as an option, but is there anything that I can use to kill it off, I’m guessing that the flourish excel won’t help?

 

[eatyourpeas]

Your java fern looks like you may have nutrient deficiency, possibly iron. I would strongly advice against using liquid carbon.
@Colin_T mentioned 6500K and it looks like your light exceeds that value. Try cutting down on the time and see if there is improvement. Also, consider adding floating plants to shade the tank a bit, and they will also love the bright light.

 

[Utar]

I have found UV lights help with algae, when I start have algae problems I turn on the UV light and in a couple of weeks the algae clears up. You can get UV lights for tanks that small like this one.... click here. But you must be careful with the light, it can hurt your fish. You can get UV lights mounted in different types of filters or just the UV lights alone.

 

[James7]

Thanks, the Java fern wasn’t the best when I got it and I’ve struggled to keep it healthy in the past. I also dose seachem flourish.

I had salvinia but it all melted, I’ve got some frogbit floating in there now. It’s a sham because it’s a lovely tank, probably my favourite one actually, I just need to get back on top of it obviously.

Anyway I had a big clean of the BGA earlier and I’ll do a big water change tomorrow.

 

[eatyourpeas]

From your previous picture it looks like the BGA was happier closest to the light. Try cutting down the light period by one hour and see if that helps. More floating plants in that area would help, but I see the filter may be pushing them to the opposite end of the tank.

Seachem Flourish will not supplement Iron. Try API Leaf Zone and alternate with Flourish. I had very good results with those two used together.

Don't give up on the Java Fern yet, it may bounce back.

 

[Colin_T]

The light has a 10,000-12,000K rating and that has lots of blue light in. It is designed for marine tanks but shouldn't be encouraging the bga.

I would try doing big daily water changes and gravel cleans for a couple of weeks. Try to syphon out any bga and see how it goes.

Make sure the tap water/ tank water doesn't have high nitrates.

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Some people say they get rid of bga with anti-biotics, but anti-biotics should only be used on known bacterial infections in animals, birds, people, reptiles and fish. Improper use and mis-use of anti-biotics has lead to drug resistant bacteria that kill people, animals, birds, reptiles and fish.

 

[James7]

Thanks, I will definitely look into a different light, really not sure why I have ended up with a marine one.

It’s odd it’s been fine for 6-9 months, then suddenly BOOM!

I built the filter housing and waterfall into the aquarium, it houses the heater also. It creates a nice feature but means that there is not any powerful current. Oddly the BGA is in the area with the most flow.

 

[James7]

Thanks for the info on the java fern, I’ll look for some api leaf zone

 

[Essjay]

I have this light on my 23 litre tank and my plants seem to grow well.

LEDDY SMART 2 - Aquael

www.aquael-aquarium.co.uk