Algae in the aquarium – a guide to the causes and methods of control

In an aquarium, algae can have both benefits and drawbacks. An overgrowth can quickly become an annoyance, but a small amount can actually be helpful by feeding certain fish and enhancing the ecosystem in the tank. Algal blooms can be detrimental to your fish and plants’ health in addition to being unsightly. Maintaining a healthy aquarium requires knowing what triggers these blooms and how to manage them.

Excessive algal growth can be caused by a number of factors. Frequently, the cause is a mix of excessive light, elevated nutrient levels, or an ecological imbalance within the aquarium. Algae feed on nutrients from decomposing plants, uneaten food, and fish waste. You may have an algae problem if the tank is receiving excessive light or if the filtration system isn’t operating at optimal efficiency.

Fortunately, controlling and preventing the growth of algae is possible. It is essential to perform routine maintenance. This include making sure your aquarium is properly filtered, changing the water on a regular basis, and regulating how much light it gets. To help keep things in check, you can also introduce fish and plants that eat algae. You can maintain the clarity and health of your aquarium by taking care of the underlying issues and keeping up with maintenance.

Choose the most similar algae

Diatoms or brown algae (Bacillariophyta)

Diatoms cover every visible surface in the aquarium and resemble a thin brown thread or a slippery brown plaque. Grows vigorously in aquariums with shade and vanishes quickly with proper lighting. typically show up in newly established aquariums or when fresh dirt, stones, or plastic décor are added.

Difficulty of getting rid of

Add cleaners to the aquarium, such as otocinclus, ancistrus, neretine snails, amano shrimp, or other

Aquariums that are young will always have diatoms. The algae will naturally disappear after 1-2 months, when the nitrogen cycle is established. Don’t worry; just clean them off all surfaces once a week during maintenance.

Cladophora

The branching and stiff structure of this filamentous alga are its defining features. expands from a single attachment point into a large group. spreads swiftly in the stagnant zone and close to the bottom. adores light, feeds similarly to many higher plants, and actively takes in CO2, macroelements, and microelements.

Difficulty of getting rid of

Treat the foci of cladophora with saydex at a rate of 10 ml per 100 liters of aquarium using a syringe with the longest needle feasible;

Combating cladophora is a routine, boring, and everyday task. Every day, you must use tweezers to extract it from the plants and from the moss between the stones. If you let the shoots proliferate throughout the aquarium, they will devour other surfaces and grow very quickly.

Spirogyra (Spirogyra)

Generally speaking, this is mud. The algae grows into a thick colony of many tiny, slick-feeling threads. They are not particularly loved by algae, and they will only eat them if the aquarium is devoid of other kinds of algae. Due to its resemblance in requirements to plants, spirogyra is a challenging organism to combat.

Difficulty of getting rid of

While algae in an aquarium can be an annoyance as well as an indication of an imbalance, you can maintain the health and appeal of your aquatic environment by learning the causes of algae growth and how to manage it. This guide examines the typical causes of algae growth in tanks, such as too much nutrient intake and insufficient lighting, and provides workable strategies for controlling and stopping it. You can guarantee a healthy environment for your fish and plants as well as a cleaner, clearer aquarium by taking care of these issues.

Oedogonium

The light green fluff that covers the edges of the plants is called edogonium, a threaded algae. expands swiftly. It gradually covers the entire plant and wears it down. Most frequently occurs in newly constructed aquariums where the plants have not had time to acclimate, as well as in older, crowded ones. The algae weakens and eventually vanishes once the equilibrium is restored and the plants begin to take root.

Difficulty of getting rid of

Kindly take note! The aquarium’s oxygen is bound by sidex. This medication should be taken with vigorous aeration.

Green spot algae and xenococcus

The presence of a green coating on the aquarium glass indicates the presence of a Green Spot Algae colony. Green dust algae, Choleochaete orbicularis, and Protococcus are the colony’s most prevalent representatives. In well-lit areas, algae colonies resemble groups of tiny green dots. The dots enlarge and eventually form a continuous layer of green.

Difficulty of getting rid of

Green Dust Algae – GDA

These algae create a green, dust-like layer on hard surfaces like glass, soil, decorations, and, less frequently, plants. New aquariums are where they most frequently appear. Since the removed cells that fall into the water will eventually reattach to the hard surfaces of the aquarium, scraping the coating off won’t work.

Difficulty of getting rid of

Cleaning every surface (so that the spores are suspended in the water) and using an ultraviolet sterilizer at night are two great ways to eradicate GDA. In two to three days, the greenery will vanish.

Rhizoclonium, filamentous algae

Soft green threads make up the alga, which grows into lush thickets. The threads fall after being taken out of the water because they can’t maintain their shape. The favorite delicacy of pecilia, shrimp, and algae eaters is rhizoclonium. Once the nitrogen balance in the aquarium returns to normal, the algae ceases to feed and vanishes completely.

Difficulty of getting rid of

Black beard (Audouinella) and Vietnamese

Algae resemble little bushes in that they resemble bundles of soft threads. The formations are colored in a spectrum from gray-green to black. Individual bundles of threads initially show up on the leaf blade’s edge, then they surround it entirely before spreading out to cover the whole leaf. quickly expands.

Difficulty of getting rid of

Apply sidex pointwise, using a syringe with a long needle (10 ml per 100 l of aquarium), to the areas where black beard gathers;

You can add Seachem Purigen, a synthetic resin that absorbs organic matter, to the filter to remove organic matter.

The substrate and hard surfaces of the aquarium are also taken up by the algae in addition to the plants. Prefers areas where currents are strong.

Desire to shave off your beard? After two weeks of 80% water changes, the beard will disappear in a few months. It’s critical to remove impacted leaves and set up effective biological filtration.

Blue-green algae (bacteria)

These algae cover the hard surfaces of the aquarium with a sticky, dark green coating that smells bad. They multiply quickly, are incredibly tenacious, and grow on any substrate. It is very difficult to eradicate these bacteria from the aquarium because cleaners do not like them.

Difficulty of getting rid of

Euglenophyta

The "blooming" or green turbidity of the water in the aquarium indicates the presence of euglenophyta algae. Such algae’s quick growth is a sign that something is off in the aquarium. If action is not taken right away, the situation will get harder and harder to fix over time. Trachylomonas, or green euglena, are the department’s principal representatives.

Difficulty of getting rid of

See this article for more details: Why does the aquarium’s water become green?

Deer horn (Compsopogon) and staghorn (Staghorn)

It’s a tangle of threads that resembles antlers on a deer. The algae ranges in color from bluish to gray-green. surrounds a plant’s leaf blade. It adheres tenaciously to the leaf’s surface, making mechanical cleaning challenging. The entire afflicted leaf blade must be removed.

Difficulty of getting rid of

Green turf algae (Turf Algae)

Compared to filamentous algae, green turf algae have coarser, harder threads that are wider and thicker. At times, it appears as though they emerge straight from the stones. Green turf algae can only be removed from damaged stones outside of the aquarium.

Difficulty of getting rid of

Chondria

This genus of multicellular red algae belongs to the family Rhodomelaceae. comprises over seventy species. Representatives of the genus typically have unevenly developed cylindrical processes and a red translucent color. Can be branching, like Chondria minutula, or cover corals and stones, like Chondria repens.

Difficulty of getting rid of

Chondria thickets can be managed by large hermit crabs, sea urchins, turbo snails, sea hares, emerald crabs, and other cleaner species.

Bryopsis (Bryopsis)

Single threads gathered in dense bundles ranging in height from 2 to 40 cm make up the algae. The thallus is soft, bushy, and green to dark green in color with a bluish tint. The roots create a kind of mat as they entwine on the stones. Bryopsis enters the aquarium containing live stones and corals. prefers areas that are shaded and rich in nutrients. targets corals and stones.

Difficulty of getting rid of

Lobophora (Lobophora)

Semi-rigid brown, dark brown, or yellowish-brown algae that are arranged in concentric lines or are strewn across the ground. Depending on the type, lobophoras can have a variety of shapes, including round ones that resemble saucers or elongated, corrugated ones. The algae can reach a maximum length of 20 cm. They move slowly from stone to stone and prefer rocky soil.

Difficulty of getting rid of

Limpets, chitons, some turbo snails, and emerald crabs can all drastically diminish Lobophora plantations.

Callithamnion

Up to 10 centimeter-tall little bushes are formed by this sea red algae. The bushes range in color from pale red to reddish-brown and are made up of extremely thin, highly branched shoots. When they are not submerged in water, they resemble cotton candy or fluff. Although they are extremely uncommon, these algae can grow rapidly from fragments.

Difficulty of getting rid of

Ask the cleaners—hermit crabs, sea hares, sea urchins, big turbo snails, and emerald crabs—for assistance.

Dinoflagellata (Dinoflagellata)

Under ideal circumstances, dinoflagellates cover the sand, stones, and other surfaces in the aquarium with a brown mucous membrane. In the marine aquarium, glue dinoflagellates have the ability to "strangle" corals, transforming the blooming reef into a cemetery of dead coral. Furthermore, these algae release harmful compounds that pose a risk to certain aquarium occupants.

The complexity of deliverance

Add 5 ml of water and 5 ml of Qfi Dinoxal medication every day after the lights are turned off until the algae is gone.

Fish are unaffected by the medication QFL DinoXal, but corals may be harmed, as well as numerous snails, hedgehogs, brittle stars, and other organisms.

Calothrix (Calohtrix)

Villi, which make up the calorix, are distinguished by either weak branching or nonexistent branching. The ground is covered in dense turf, which is made up of individual or grouping villi. Because air bubbles rise and become trapped in the tiny threads of calothrix, this blue-green algae resembles dinoflagellates.

Difficulty of getting rid of

Increase the number of live rocks in the aquarium, perform more water changes, and add microalgae to address the nitrate issue.

Valonia

This spherical, single-celled algae has a diameter of 10 cm. It is known by the names "bubble algae," "cursed grape," and "sailor’s eye" due to its peculiar shape. Belongs to the family Valoniaceae. first appears on stones, then moves to corals as the colony expands.

Difficulty of getting rid of

Add Liquid Vibrant to the water once a week until the algae completely vanish, at a rate of 2.5 ml per 100 l of water.

Live assistants in the fight against algae

Members of these species make great helpers when it comes to maintaining the cleanliness of the aquarium. They consume algae and sanitize glass, stones, and machinery.

General advice from aquascaping stars

Trying to fight algae is pointless! The most important thing is to identify and remove the reason behind their appearance. This entails establishing an equilibrium in the aquarium so that algae can’t grow there.

Weekly aquarium maintenance should never be skipped. Inconsistent care is the cause of all issues, including algae and poor plant growth.

Put an end to carelessly adding liquid fertilizers to an aquarium with plants. Add more soil fertilizers (tablets, sticks, and balls) and reduce their dosages by three to four times. This will provide all the nutrients to the plants and lessen the amount available for algae to eat in the water.

Keep an eye on the biological filtration process. Every six to eight months, replace the filter filler because it tends to clog and stop working. Liquid bacteria are the primary allies in the battle against algae; add them once a week while doing aquarium maintenance.

Cause	Control Method
Excess Nutrients	Reduce feeding, perform regular water changes, and use a good filtration system.
Too Much Light	Limit light exposure to 6-8 hours a day and consider using a timer.
Poor Water Circulation	Improve water flow with additional filters or water pumps.
Imbalanced pH Levels	Regularly test and adjust pH levels as needed.
Neglecting Maintenance	Clean the aquarium regularly, including removing algae manually.

While controlling algae in your aquarium may appear to be an endless struggle, knowing the underlying causes can really help. Algae love light, poor water circulation, and an abundance of nutrients. You can keep algae growth in check and foster a healthier environment for your plants and fish by taking care of these factors.

Algae control requires routine maintenance. This include not overfeeding your fish, keeping an eye on the quality of the water, and adhering to a regular cleaning schedule. Use high-quality water conditioners, and think about adding plants or algae-eating species to your aquarium. They can lessen the growth of algae and aid in the ecosystem’s natural balance.

In the end, keeping an attractive and well-balanced aquarium will be easier with a proactive approach. You can minimize algae problems and enjoy a vibrant, healthy aquatic setup with a little thought and care. Keep in mind that a happy tank contributes to the well-being of your aquatic inhabitants as well as yourself.

Video on the topic

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