Dealing with Blue Green Algae (BGA)

[FishFan]

Hi all,

Sorry to intrude on your NO3 discussion. So is BB safe from the effects of erythromycin?

[Justikanz]

Using antibiotics is not a right way to get rid of the BGA and it is somewhat an abuse of the anti-biotics and should not be encouraged.

[SmallFish]

UPDATE
Its been almost 2.5 weeks now since my last blackout (blackout for 3.5 days).

Some BGA re-surfaced after 1.5 weeks but after manual removal, have not seen any since. Reason/s why they came back imo :
(1) i was toying with the CO2 output, circulation, reactor (diy) .... most likely the instability of CO2 supply;
(2) long lighting hours (8am to 7pm) .... long lighting hours without 'non-limiting' nutrients supplement could be a possible cause;
(3) temperature of 28~29C (least likely cause) .... AC fan running parallel with the lighting hours.

What I had done:
(1) added a powerhead with CO2 supplying to it via a diffuser thereby chopping up the Co2 into fine bubbles. Placed the filter outlet to fan out these tiny bubbles. Co2 at 3bps.
(2) maintained the same nutrients supplement but lowered the lighting hours to 7 hours (10am to 5pm). Lighting at 3wpg. Nutrients : KNO3 (1/4 teaspoon a week), Phosphorus (1ml a week), Tropica (trace elements, 1ml every 2 weeks).
(3) switch my fan to 24x7. temp now 26~28C.

Last but not least, cross my fingers, observe n observe.... till next update, cheers.

[freezze]

Yesterday nite just unwrap my tank.. can still seen some leftover of BGA on Echinodorus tenellus n Rotala Wallichii.

started to vacuum the substrate and manually remove the dead , cut some of the affected plants..some of Blyxa japonicas dead off due to the 4 days of blackout..

change 50% of the water n dose 1teaspn of KNO3...

lighting schedule
2x39w from 3pm to 10pm
4x39w from 8pm to 11pm

CO2 at 3bps..

hope BGA will not resurface..

[Shiv]

have you tried rainbow sharks / red tail sharks? i dont know what they are called in Singapore.

[SmallFish]

I do not think any critters would be interested in such stinky pungent slimy ... BACTERIA.

You've heard some XXXX sharks will eat it ?? "it" = BGA = Blue-Green Algae ?

[Justikanz]

Small Fish, please don't be rude... Shiv is just trying to make a suggestion...

[SmallFish]

Ermmmm, i think u misconstrued my intention.
The "#$%Q" im my reply was referring to "rainbow" / "red tail" / "what they are called"
NOT, i repeat, NOT, meant as vulgarity

Apology to Shiv if i offended ya

[Justikanz]

A suggestion: Use 'xxx' instead... The '#$%Q' is usually 'reserved' for vulgarites...

[SmallFish]

________________
Just chill out, will ya.

[freezze]

pls dont flame here..

need more info on how to deal with bga.. bga is the worst kind of "algae" that one can grow in a planted tank.. it stink n kill plants..

[SmallFish]

have you tried rainbow sharks / red tail sharks? i dont know what they are called in Singapore.

Shiv,

Care to share a pic of this fish. If it can be found here, i m sure many hobbyist in this forum will not hesitate to grab one of these to kill BGA ! me included.

Cheers

[freezze]

if there is a fish that eat BGA i will buy alot n sell it to earn money...

alot of ppl would wann to buy it..

[PeterGwee]

Just do a simple 3 day blackout should kill it. Why go with the trouble of getting this or that when a blackout is free? Just make sure you do not bottom out on the NO3 again by dosing enough for the plants.

Regards
Peter Gwee

[SmallFish]

Why? Because if a fish can solve the problem, i do not need to worry about NO3, or expend effort on blackout, these are more troublesome.

Frankly, I don't think there is such a fish. Neither does Freezze
I am all for the BLACKOUT though. Tried it, tested, and it works !
So it is maintenance and TLC for now.

[Plantbrain]

There are no fish that eat healthy active growing BGA.
I've heard this claim going back 20 years, it's a myth.
And with good reason.
BGA is fairly toxic, snails will not even eat it unless it's dead and snails eat anything.

Not addressing the poor plant growth issue(maintaining good NO3 dosing) is the wrong way to deal with algae. You need to add NO3, not a another fish that will not be effective in the first place.

Take care of the plant's needs and you do not have algae issues, it's that simple. This hobby is about growing plants, not killing algae.

I don't know why so many hobbyists, especially new ones or those with algae issues simply do not believe me.

I am not lying to you all.

There is no silver bullet that will make everything perfect.
That is a myth.
might work for a few days, a month perhaps. Still does not grow the plants.

It takes a little work, it takes growing the plants well and providing them with good nutrients, CO2 etc. You do that, then the algae is not an issue, instead you have aquatic weeds growing out your ears.

Problem is, many folks assume they have good conditions when they don't, I tell them, they don't want to believe me, assuring themselves and other they are infalliable and that their testing etc and maybe a few months, sometimes years after, they finally see the light.

You will not do much except chase one alga to the next and not be able to use Antiobitoics, blackout well on it that next time.

Lulls in plant growth, poor plant growth are the first signs, algae is a sign something is significantly messed up. Each alga has a speficic environmental cause, I know what they are because I can induce each species.
I spent a lot of time figuring out each algae and what caused it.

That allows me to side step the cheap test kits or the aquarist that enjoys claiming everything is "perfect in their tank" when we all know darn well it's not.

I'm not ragging on anyone specifically here, these are generalizations and I certainly don't balme anyone that's frustrated and I know it can seem wrong at times, but you need to keep going back and getting the nutrients and CO2 correct, until, you do, the algae of one sort or another will keep coming back and you will keep killing it and having the plants look poorly.

Break that vicious cycle and learn to grow the plants better, it's much easier and takes less work.

I'm not like, lying to you to lead you all astray or something


Regards,
Tom Barr

[StanChung]

Just to add, I've done quite a few of that magic in a bottle thing and they are very short term and good for quick fix before the in-laws visit but doesn't address the core issues that Tom's explained many times.

[MECH]

Mech

After you drop in the tablet, the existing BGA dies off? do you still have to manually remove it? does it change color ?

sorry for the questions...

BGA will disappear within a few days......don't need to remove manually

[wasabi8888]

Hi Tom

I cant speak for others but i definitely agree that bad plant growth is the basis of algae insurgence. You did mention that in order for good plant growth, there needs to be sufficient nutrients, CO2 and etc.

The issue that I have esp in this BGA attack is not that i dont believe what you say, rather I am unsure what is missing on the tank.

One indication of sufficient nutrients is the growth of the plants. however since i do not know what is missing, i will not dose those nutrients and thus bad plant growth. I have bought test kits (in this case, nitrate test kit which reads 20ppm), but these kits as mentioned in the forum could be inaccurate. So how would i know what i should add? You did mentioned adding NO3, but i dun even know whether i have a surplus in the tank. Presently i keep apistos in the tank and they are rather sensitive to NO3. Do I add blindly then?

That's my opinion of this issue. Of course i want to learn as much as I can. As what benny told me, sometimes it's hard to seek advice over the net cos there are so many parameters and issues that's hidden. In my case, i realised I may not even have enough plants in the first place, and thus BGA could have occured.

I have read many of your posts and know you are a guru and experienced in this field. But it's just that I dun know what to do rather than I dun want to do it.

[SmallFish]

The guru has clarified glad Tom put a stop to this fishy thingy about BGA-eating fish

Wasabi, understand ya frustration, especially if it affects ya pricey apistos.
Nonetheless, do or do not, there is no try. Its part of the pain, but also the pleasure (as old adage goes: *no pain no gain*, or, *suffer first, enjoy later* )
I say, Just Do IT !! It's what I m doing now, after gathering all the expert and experienced advice in this forum.
Did the blackout, supply ample CO2, added pwerhead to improve CO2 circulation, dosing nutrients .... and I m still experimenting watching every other day on the growth. If need be, will tweak 1 or 2 parameters.
Really, its a HOBBY, so I will be in it for the long haul. I am sure I will find the right combi for my tank.
Good luck, and dont forget to have FUN while doing it !

p/s. you could perhaps invest in a small tank to house your precious apistos in the meantime?