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Algae, its causes, prevention
and remedy
A big turn down in a beautiful aquarium
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The greatest obstruction to a beautiful tank is algae growth.
It is the second biggest headache to Discus lovers, besides
the number-one stress creator, diseases. Algae come in many
different species and are hard to eradicate. Some of the most
common are brown algae, hair algae and beard algae. We will describe to you how the varies
algae look like and discuss more about them. So let's get to know more about the various common algae. |
Getting to know the common algae
Brown algae
The brown algae appears when the aquarium is relatively new.
It's brown colour covers everything from walls to leaves of
plants. Luckily, it's easily dealt with by adding an algae eater.
There are many of these algae sucking machines in aquariums.
You may choose the Chinese algae eater or Plecos.
Hair algae
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This is a Yamoto Shrimp ready to
ingest algae. It readily eats Hair algae.
The hair algae appears as long, thin hairs attached to driftwood,
rocks, filter tubes, and old leaves. It may be green, gray or
black, but is usually green in well-lit places. This nuisance
can be prevented by keeping the Yamato numa-ebi shrimp and bee
shrimp in the aquarium from the start.
Beard algae
Beard algae is longer and thicker than string algae, but grows
as a result of the same imbalances. It appears in relatively
older tanks, growing on hard leaves like that of Anubias and
Kurinam. Yamato numa-ebi won't eat it once it grows to a large
size, so the shrimp should be kept in the tank from the beginning
as a preventive measure. It doesn't grow profusely, but it is
very unattractive. When changing water, it can be scraped off
with your fingernails or sucked up with a vacuum. The red scat
will clean an infested tank, but certain preparations need to
be made for it. The pH level should be pushed up to around 7.5
or higher by stopping CO2 doses and, if necessary, adding potassium
carbonate. Of course, the specimen must be one that has been
acclimated to fresh water.
Nori jou
Nori jou algae is a bright green, mold-like algae that grows
on the bottom sand and leaves. It produces a strong, moldy odor.
It will break out in tanks with new filters and alkaline water,
or as a result of too much light. Vacuuming is only a temporary
measure because it grows back very quickly. A good quality filter
is the best measure, and special herbicides or malachite green
can also wipe out nori.
Aomidoro
Aomidoro usually grows around the surfaces of plants, entangling
in the dense growth of Riccia or willow moss, when this happens,
it may be quite difficult to remove them. This type of algae
thrives under the same conditions as aquarium plants, so it
is not easily taken care of with water change method. Freshwater
shrimps like the Otamajackshi and fishes such as black mollies,
dwarf cichlids feed on it so it is relatively easy to deal with.
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