Is this algae? - Yes, it is BGA

[wasabi8888]

BGA also appeared on my hairgrass... on my tonina that has grown to the top of the tank.. (the BGA was at the stem)....

I tore away the hG and am trying EI method of KNO3 and KH2PO4...
also increasing the flow....i feel O2 deprivation could also be the reason. cos my CO2 very very high (PH is 6 and KH is 3)...

Any thoughts?

[PeterGwee]

Your issue has nothing to do with low DO or else your critters/fish would be dead or gasping for air. It is low NO3 from plant uptake if you did not dose any source of NO3 before the EI regime.

Regards,
Peter Gwee

[wasabi8888]

Hey Peter..

I think it may be a combination of all factors....

that is why I am trying the EI now.... just dosed today.... let's see whether it reoccurs... the BGA was at my hairgrass.... a little bit by the glass... mostly clumped at mid to tip of hairgrass... that's why i feel circulation shold not be the issue (bottom of grass not that much).... my CO2 is very high.. so also not because of CO2.. then leaves it with nitrate and O2 deprivation as the last 2 reasons.... i have to forgo all my denn ferts from A1 to V30 to go EI... let's see whether it works out...

[bossteck]

Hi all,

Thanks for the advise.
So it seemed like there's no easy way out, I got to vacumn the substrate, I am a little embarass to say, but the tank had been set up for 1.5 years and I have not done any substrate vacumning before. By the way, how often should vacumning be done?

I have malayan trumpet snails in my tank, understand these little fella will help to keep the subtrate from turning anaerobic. Am I right to assume that?

I am curious, how can I maintain good water flow in the area that's under the gravel line? Wouldn't any water flow cause a mess and expose the base fert?

Thanks again for sharing your experience here!

[PeterGwee]

Hi all,

Thanks for the advise.
So it seemed like there's no easy way out, I got to vacumn the substrate, I am a little embarass to say, but the tank had been set up for 1.5 years and I have not done any substrate vacumning before. By the way, how often should vacumning be done?

I have malayan trumpet snails in my tank, understand these little fella will help to keep the subtrate from turning anaerobic. Am I right to assume that?

I am curious, how can I maintain good water flow in the area that's under the gravel line? Wouldn't any water flow cause a mess and expose the base fert?

Thanks again for sharing your experience here!

Once a year or so should be fine if you often uproot plants and replant them instead of topping them off. This pulls up quite a bit of "mulm" and then you export them out with water changes.

The snails might help a bit but don't expect too much. Good plant growth would pump loads of O2 down the roots and prevent the area from getting anaerobic.

There is no easy way out other than regular maintenance and good plant growth. Mulm will always buildup over time.

Regards,
Peter Gwee

[StanChung]

Bosstek,

I think many hobbyist go crazy about BBA and BGA most forget[including myself] to service their filter and do a little housekeeping.

Had a little outbreak of BGA the other day. Was given a friendly reminder by friend. 'Have you cleaned your filter?'
Er...

So when I opened the filter-the mulm is 1 cm thick.
Caught 5 cherry shrimp wading in the muck.

So... have you cleaned your filter?

Yes!

[jljx]

Will a low PH like 4-5 have any effect on the BGA?!

[bossteck]

Bosstek,

I think many hobbyist go crazy about BBA and BGA most forget[including myself] to service their filter and do a little housekeeping.

Had a little outbreak of BGA the other day. Was given a friendly reminder by friend. 'Have you cleaned your filter?'
Er...

So when I opened the filter-the mulm is 1 cm thick.
Caught 5 cherry shrimp wading in the muck.

So... have you cleaned your filter?

Yes!

Hi Standoyo,

Very embarassed to say this, but no, I have not cleaned my filter for more 1 year already!!! Perhaps it high time I do it! Mine's a sump system by the way.

Thanks for the reminder!

Cheers!

[bossteck]

Hi folks,

Time to revive this old thread.

Today, I finally could not take it. I used a paint scrapper to scrap the algae.

To my surprise, it came out pretty easily and more surprisingly it came out as a solid, leather-liked piece which made the clean up quite easy.

After cleaning up most of the 'algae pieces' there were still some smaller pieces left in my tank, but I don't think it will be a problem as I see my SAE and Rosy Barb taking bite at them.

Here're some pics.

[StanChung]

Hi, I thought BGA is slimy? Could be dried version or GDA?

[bossteck]

I am quite confused as well.

All I can say is, the pieces are not slimy, although they are shiny.
GDA = Green Dust Algae? Are they known to infest tank walls below the gravel line?

Hope others can shed some light here.

[StanChung]

Hmmm, normally the smell of rotten eggs is a dead giveaway. I've not had GDA before so I do not know if the smell is the same.

[bossteck]

Nope... no rotten eggs smell when I dug up the algae.

[StanChung]

Then it's probably not BGA. FWIW, I haven't seen any of the few hundred types of fishes I've ever kept eat BGA. *shrug*

A thorough clean up is probably in order to keep it away.

[bossteck]

Hi Stan,

Thanks for sharing your knowledge on BGA.
The 'algae pieces' I dug up today seemed really interesting.

Here're more information, hopefully, others or yourself can shed some light.

The algae piece as you can see from the pics are black. The side that is sticking to the tank glass is smooth, black and shiny, it sort of reminded me of those 'black fungus' which are used in cooking, except that is isn't curly like those fungus. The back of the 'algae pieces' has lots of gravel stuck to it and the gravel is not easily dislodged.

My SAE enjoyed it, in fact, as I am writing this post, all the smaller pieces which I have dug out but were unable to removed from the tank (due to my short arms) had been consumed.

[StanChung]

Cool, it's food then! Something even cichlids[tropheus...] or CRS would like as a delicacy perhaps!

[wasabi8888]

The giveaway of BGA is the smell.. if it does not smell, then it's not BGA

[freezze]

i dont think is BGA..
because no fish eat BGA.. if you manage to find one .. u be rich..

[bossteck]

Heh! I wish!

Now that we gather it is not BGA, can anyone shed some light on the identity of this strange growth in my tank