# Black "hairy" algae/bacteria stuff in my tank. What is it??



## Kyriako (Feb 21, 2007)

Hey all.









My water parameters are fine, except I'm getting some hairy looking black-grey growth on my plant leaf edges (on both live and plastic plants). What the hell is this crap? Is it some kind of algae, or a bacteria, or what??

Help?

You can see the stuff in these photos. On the fake plant leaves at top right in the first photo, and on the Java Fern leaves:










And on the Brazilian Sword leaf edges in this one (a little harder to see):


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## Steelrain (Apr 22, 2006)

it's hard to tell from the picture but it is probaly red brush algae, one of the hard algaes to get rid of.


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## jaejae (Apr 16, 2005)

Hey...I have the same problem...I'd love to get some help on how to get rid of it.

Jay



Kyriako said:


> Hey all.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Kyriako (Feb 21, 2007)

Steelrain said:


> it's hard to tell from the picture but it is probaly red brush algae, one of the hard algaes to get rid of.


Awesome.


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## Puff (Feb 14, 2005)

i have/had that crap on some of my plants.

i found the only way to get rid of it is to pick every bit off of the plants...algae killing stuff doesnt work on the friggin stuff. its insane!

other than that i just pick off the leaf that has it on it...but in one of my tanks all the friggin plants got it.lol

although ive gotten a little bit on the tip of a piece of driftwood i have. it looks kind of cool in the current, but i dont want it on my plants.


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## Coldfire (Aug 20, 2003)

Perhaps the members in the plant forum would be best to "trouble shoot" this algae, and how to best remove it.


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## Zip (Apr 17, 2005)

It's also called black brush algae (BBA), but I believe it's actually related to seaweed. The only thing I've found which keeps it in check is the use of Flourish Excel (used as a carbon source for plant growth which happens to have a growth-inhibiting effect on BBA). It doesn't totally eradicate it, but at least it makes it manageable. I think use of pressurized CO2 also helps inhibit its growth, but not sure about that one - maybe someone with CO2 can comment.

Incidentally, if you do use Excel, most people use twice the dosage recommendation for a couple weeks until the BBA melts back some, and then continue with the regular dosage. I did so without any ill effect to my fish or plants, but standard disclaimers apply....


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## russm4a3 (Aug 24, 2005)

I had it on my plants and ended up doing a 1:10 bleach treatment on all of them. Completely eradicated the algae and the plants have made a full recovery. Just dont soak the roots and make sure you thoroughly rinse the plants before placing them back in your aquarium.


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

Yes, it is BBA.


russm4a3 said:


> I had it on my plants and ended up doing a 1:10 bleach treatment on all of them. Completely eradicated the algae and the plants have made a full recovery. Just dont soak the roots and make sure you thoroughly rinse the plants before placing them back in your aquarium.


I would soak the plants for a couple minutes a piece like russ said. It is the easiest way to get rid of it IMO
BBA usually comes when nitrates are low in a tank combined with low CO2 levels (in med/high light situations)
But algea is a strange thing, and it is hard to say exactly why it is there all the time.


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## flashover00 (Oct 19, 2006)

Watch out......stay up on it and remove it asap or else

That stuff is what i like to call a "ruiner".....lost my discus aquascape below to several types of algae similar to what you have. 
My co2 did nothing....my params were all decent....


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## BlackSunshine (Mar 28, 2006)

Black brush algae. and yes its one of the worst to remove. 
Basically your treatment will be to clip all effected leaves. Any deco that has it growing on it you will need to remove and scrub. you can also do a bleach dip on effected Decorations. just make sure you rinse and let air out for a couple days before replacing in your tank.


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## Winkyee (Feb 17, 2003)

My tank had it bad a couple months ago and daily dosing of Excel helped to get rid of it completely within a few weeks.


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