Is this Fuzz Algae? Ref pg w/algae photos enclosed

[daisymac]

This stuff has turned up on my plants. I wasn't worried about it, but seeing as I am having some trouble with the ICH, I thought I should find out if this can contribute to the problems. It is only on the plants. If you look at the Val you can see it's a little long, but on the anacharis it just looks like dust. I also have some ludwigia that looks like the anacharis but not as much.

Should I use some Plant tabs fertilizer or will that make it worse? What about the peroxide, or will that hurt the loaches?

[Mzungu]

Re: Is this Fuzz Algae?

Hmm, I'm not all too sure what "fuzz algae" is, but I've got a couple of ideas on what you might want to do. First, have you swished around the anacharis, for lack of a better word? Is the stuff that's deposited loose, or is it stuck on the leaves pretty well? Sometimes if a plant is sitting in a location in the tank that doesn't recieve a lot of filtration, or water flow, all sorts of debris can settle there (especially after water changes, when everything's all churned up, which I know you've done recently  :)  ). Are all of the stems affected? If it's just a few, I would try moving them around and see if the stuff dislodges, and if not, you can just remove them and see if the problem comes back. That's the best thing to do with algae sometimes, remove the objects affected (if it's a minimal amount). As for the val, that particular leaf doesn't look so hot, I would just pluck it out from the bottom. Algae also takes advantage of old, dead, or dying leaves that can't compensate with growth.

A couple more things...I wouldn't put anything else into the tank right now. Unfortunately, that tank's been through a lot lately  :( and in my opinion, if you add anything else and something else happens, it'll be harder to pinpoint the cause. I'd just let everything cool down for now (your husband will probably appreciate it, too!  :) ). Luckily, the algae isn't taking over the entire tank, so I would stick with the ich treatment for now, get through that, and then when everybody's back to normal, focus on the algae if it's still a problem.

I hope that helps a little. [/i]

[daisymac]

Re: Is this Fuzz Algae?

MB - this is where is got the term "fuzz" algae -

http://www.plantgeek.net/article_viewer.php?id=9

It looks like it would just fall off, but it is on the plants. It is mostly on the denser anacharis, which is closest to the water filter. The anacharis I have on the right side of the tank is very tall but very leggy and it isn't affected. But the ludwigia has the litttle hair looking things on them. No as much as the Val - but it is only on that one piece - but just a bit.

[PhishPhreek]

Re: Is this Fuzz Algae?

If you try hydrogen peroxide to get rid of it, please post your results

[daisymac]

Re: Is this Fuzz Algae?

I'm not trying anything until I get the ich under control. But if I do I will let you know.  :wink:

[Tiapan]

Re: Is this Fuzz Algae? Ref pg w/algae photos enclosed

hope ur alge problems go away soon, i know how frustrating it is to fight all kinds of alge. its kinda funny to think about the amount of time and energy we spend fighing an organism that has been around since well the begining or organisms.

[daisymac]

Re: Is this Fuzz Algae? Ref pg w/algae photos enclosed

Tiapan - I don't think it's a real problem yet, but I am hoping that I can nip in in the bud.

I'm more concerned about the ich!