# Mystery algae problem



## alym (Apr 21, 2010)

Well, it looks like a spider web, and is devastating my aquarium. I've posted some photos on my photostream on flickr:

Flickr: tankspiration's Photostream










Any idea what the heck this algae might be? I thought diatom for a while, but the tank has been up for months now; then I thought maybe hair algae?

I have no clue ;(

Full scape posted as well for those curious


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## user_error (Aug 15, 2010)

Nice tank. Maybe too much nutrients and light? How long is it one for?

I would get a few otocinclus as well if you don't mine work wonders on stuff like that


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## jkcichlid (Apr 21, 2010)

Looks like an aquatic spider set up house in your tank.

That I have never seen before. Hope you find a cure soon


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

Looks like some fine long stringy hair algae I had before. In my tank they get long with higher currentt. May be in your tank, the flow is low and they just clump together. I used to have to pulled them out by hand.

I move my tanks around and keep only the plant without them. They did not resurface - not yet. The lighting in one tank is much lower and may be the reason they did not come back. I am no expert just my experience.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

I don't think I've seen that sort of algae before either. Are you dosing Excel to deal with it?


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## alym (Apr 21, 2010)

I've tried a number of things, from spraying excel, to dosing excel in the water column, to managing light, light hours, co2, nutrients, and I can't seem to get to the source of the issue.

I'd like to add some shrimp, because I'm sure it'll solve the problem, but my large angel fish would make a quick meal of some amanos.

This guy:


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Yes, I have the same problem in my 15. I have a bit of thread algae, which has always been cleaned up by Amanos in the past, but the Emperor tetras like to play with them until they are dead (don't eat them). So now I just manually remove.


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## alym (Apr 21, 2010)

Here is a reply from a guy on plantedtank


"I think is Cladophora, Blanket Weed. The cause of it is low Co2 and low nutrient levels.

Can be very stubborn and difficult to eradicate. Make sure your dosing is good and keep your CO2 levels high. Manually pull out every bit you can see until it stops growing. May take a while but should work eventually. Make sure water circulation is good. Overdosing Flourish Excel may clear it. Amano shrimp sometimes eat it."

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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Oh does it have little dots like bulbs in it? If it does, then indeed it's clado. I got a bit of it for a while and had to manually remove it, just like this guy suggested and I overdosed my Excel (since I am not using CO2 in that tank). The Amanos didn't eat it.


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## alym (Apr 21, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> Oh does it have little dots like bulbs in it? If it does, then indeed it's clado. I got a bit of it for a while and had to manually remove it, just like this guy suggested and I overdosed my Excel (since I am not using CO2 in that tank). The Amanos didn't eat it.


When it thickens, it kinda looks like beard algae, just fuzzier. It's such a pain in the butt!


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## cpool (Apr 30, 2010)

I think it is clado as well and Ammano's do eat it, but not very quickly. Otherwise good luck, Clado is a nightmare to get rid of.


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## alym (Apr 21, 2010)

I'm having a VERY hard time with it; just when I thought I had dealt with most issues, I now face this...argh.

What a pain. I can't even spray some of the plants with metricide b/c they are sensitive to it. Hopefully a lower photoperiod, better dosing, and more co2, will be enough to keep it at bay. I'm going to put the angel in another tank, and add an army of amanos.


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

I hope that it goes away quickly, but while it's here, it is pretty in its own way. Kind of like tinsel on Christmas trees.


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## alym (Apr 21, 2010)

Yeah, but it kills the tree...


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