Vacation Algae

[B0B]

Thank you, I will try to explain as best I can, since you seem genuine, and I will take the time.

Many aquarists do not understand how a fish "lives." The relationship between the environment and the fish is quite unlike any other in the animal world. Fish live in water, but unlike animals that live in air, there is a very involved and complex connection. The air is much the same across the world, just as the seas (salt water) are basically the same. But freshwater is as different as night and day. Each species of freshwater fish has evolved to function in a very specific environment, which involves the water parameters, light, flow, habitat hardscape, other fish species. For example, the cichlids in the African rift lakes need hard water because they extract the calcium and magnesium from the water in order to "live." The rift lakes water contains considerable (for freshwater) levels of common salt, sodium chloride, but this is so minimal in all other freshwaters (in the tropics) that it is considered zero. This background must be understood in order to fathom the effect on a fish of any substance added to the water.

Fish "drink" by taking in water via osmosis through the cells. Substances in the water that can diffuse across the cell membranes enter the bloodstream and internal organs. It does not matter what the chemical compound may be; these substances are foreign to the fish, and they will affect the biological processes to some degree. The fish has to work harder to rid its blood of these substances. This adds stress at the very least, which means the fish are less resistant to other negatives like disease, pathogens, etc. Rarely are there any external signs, until it is too late.

Turning to the algae issue itself...the only way to effectively combat algae is using nature. Additives only bandaid the problem, and the problem (the cause) is still there, or it is somehow artificially dealt with that makes it a serious risk for the forms of life in the tank from fish to plants to bacteria. The issue in this thread was green water, which is very easily handled. Reduce the organics, possibly reduce the light (duration can be critical here), and you will not have green water. In 30 years of fish keeping I never encountered green water because I did not have more light (intensity and duration) than the plants required, and I kept the biological system balanced with a suitable fish load, not overfeeding, doing water changes, keeping the filter clean. These are all fish-safe measures, and not one "additive" is needed. I have dealt with black brush algae the same way, and I cleaned up cyanobacteria twice in one tank with the same "treatment." When the natural balance is out, re-set it.

its very interesting, i knew some of the basics for example how fish breath but wasnt to sure about osmosis, i knew there where some natural ways as my friend is really into plants, although the reason why i have never tried any o these natural ways is normally because if i add some algae fix after a water change so there is a really low level of algae in the tank, the algae fix gets rid of the other 50 percent that can take weeks to mounths to get rid of naturally, i honestly never really liked the algae fix and looked into a more permanent option and brought a uv pump and never had green water again but uv pumps are expensive so i would never sudgest it. im only like 2 around 2 years into the hobby and have had ups and downs, i once even had a nano reef tank, and that was doing really well but then when my dad painted , some of the oils got into the tank and everything was dead by the time i could do anything. thanks for the tip although i must say, it kinda depends on alot of things weather algae fix actually is bad, for example if you have a pond filled with alot of koi, and you add 10ml of algae fix, most likely to these massive fish this wont make much of a difference and cause little to no stress on these fish due to there shere size. i think its gonna be a agree to disagree, although i do respect your knowledge, i have only been properly in the hobby for around 2 years, im 18 but thats only because my perants havnt let me until i spent days studying and made a detailed 60 page powerpoint to show my family so i can have a fish tank, a full mounth of convincing so i always like to learn something new. ive loved ish since i was a kid just like you and its good to learn a bit more about how the fish survive so i can use it to create ways o my own to help the fish. thanks

 

[Kyshiara]

Woah, that is cool!