Extreme Green Spot Algae..... no other algae just GSA

[kiddjam]

I had a very very very bad situation here in my display tank....

My light is 55w 7200k florescent light, 120L, moderate planted, water fern, java fern, anubias, the usual pretty much, very low to none NPK and nutrient, but I do have a little plant rotting in the tank, nothing too fancy here. and just 4 fishes, dwarf cichlid. I feed them with flakes.

Green Spot Algae

Shrimp and pleco sucker fish doesn't help with it..... I do know very well that Excel can kill some of them, but I also know that they can't be eliminate thoroughly, cos they will come back again very soon. I read that Tom Barr said the GSA(green spot algae) can be treated with PO4, I did but not too much helpful cos they keep coming back.... I dont know what to do to prevent it from growing back again, I do know is, this GSA is I introduce to the tank, because I bouht a bogwood with lots of them cover up..... pretty stupid of me huh? hehe, but at that time when my tank is algae free I actually thought that my tank isn't natural at all..... (what am I thinking???) now they just grow extremely fast and cover up my tank glass, that I can't see a thing, when I clean them up, they just come back in 2 weeks tops, I have now tired of cleaning up.....

Please help!!!!

 

[pepetj]

From the lamp specs I infer you're using PL tubes. These lamps require somewhat frequent replacement when compared to linear fluorescent lamps (like T5HE normal output or T5HO).

Huge mechanical removal seems in order to help your tank. I usually have had GSA in tanks with less than optimal internal water circulation and frankly too little CO2 with too much light. I have had it even dosing ferts regularly.

Algae subject is quite complex one. Are all GSA the exact same algae species? I don't know the answer. I recall boosting K once along with PO4 in an attempt to control GSA yet I can't say it worked.

I also used H2O2 (3 and 6% solution) applied to a cloth that I used to wipe the interior glass walls. As for plant leaves "infested" with GSA I would consider cutting them off.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

 

[kiddjam]

From the lamp specs I infer you're using PL tubes. These lamps require somewhat frequent replacement when compared to linear fluorescent lamps (like T5HE normal output or T5HO).

Huge mechanical removal seems in order to help your tank. I usually have had GSA in tanks with less than optimal internal water circulation and frankly too little CO2 with too much light. I have had it even dosing ferts regularly.

Algae subject is quite complex one. Are all GSA the exact same algae species? I don't know the answer. I recall boosting K once along with PO4 in an attempt to control GSA yet I can't say it worked.

I also used H2O2 (3 and 6% solution) applied to a cloth that I used to wipe the interior glass walls. As for plant leaves "infested" with GSA I would consider cutting them off.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

Thanks bro!......... you are quite knowing what I have tried and didn't work as advertised.............

 

[dutchy]

Keep the amount of PO4 at 2 to 3 ppm at all times, this will stop the growth of new algae in around two weeks time. Old infected leaves are lost, the algae that is present stays there until you remove the leaf.

 

[kiddjam]

Keep the amount of PO4 at 2 to 3 ppm at all times, this will stop the growth of new algae in around two weeks time. Old infected leaves are lost, the algae that is present stays there until you remove the leaf.

nice display tank man......... thanks for the reply, I wish the algae will gone soon after I scrub them of will creditcard, but they will come back very soon.... even I OD the PO4.......

 

[dutchy]

With this algae there's a delay of something like two weeks before growth stalls. if the algae persists, then try to cartefully bump up the CO2.

 

[Biollante]

Whoa Up Cowboy! Rotting What? No N-P-K? What Result Were You Hoping For?

Hi,

It seems a lot of light for the low light plants you are growing.



If you have rotting material, plant or anything else, it needs to be removed. If your plants are rotting, your tank is not favorable to plants. The low nutrient thing is working against you as well; you need to raise nutrients to decent ranges.



As Tom Barr and Dutchy noted phosphates needs to be 3+ times normal rates.


If an algae or anything else blooms, grows quickly, especially after removing it, conditions are simply favorable, to get something else you are going to have to do something else.


In the case of GSA,[SUP]1[/SUP] mechanical removal is important and is somewhat vulnerable to Hydrogen peroxide, but no amount of removal or chemicals will keep the algae away until you change the conditions.

During a large water change scrape all glass with razor blade (obviously stay away from the silicon seams) clean all hard surfaces as best you can with a toothbrush[SUP]2[/SUP] and scrub pad. Then pour (squirt) Fleet Enemas solution into paper towel or cloth and wipe down all glass and hard surfaces down to substrate, the toothbrush of death with Fleet Enemas solution for rough or hard to reach surfaces. Repeat two more times, three days apart.

For Anubias and other tough plants, a 10-minute bath in 20-ppm Potassium permanganate[SUP]3[/SUP] followed by a dip in clean water with dechlorinator. Then GENTLY rub or wipe of as much algae as possible[SUP]4[/SUP] there is no guarantee you will not lose some or all of the leaves, but it gives them a fighting chance.


You are going to need to provide your Anubias plants shade.


Biollante
[SUP]1[/SUP]GSA are colonial algae and as most plants come in a wide number of species and varieties.
[SUP]2[/SUP]Don’t let your significant other catch you using theirs.
[SUP]3[/SUP]10-minutes in 12.5-ppm bleach are a harsher alternative.
[SUP]4[/SUP]If your significant other has a soft bristle toothbrush that can be gently used.

 

[kiddjam]

Biollante Thanks a Billions for this awesome reply
I am actually thinking of add back some NPK and flourish comp(fear algae bloom-_-)....... BTW, my African water fern has strong growth!!! shoot every where.... and Java fern had its leaf spitting out spores with brown root.....

It seems a lot of light for the low light plants you are growing.

Man I was thinking about to buy HQI with fluorescent, so that I can grow some other kinds of grass(more light I can trun off if not needed), HC I had with this 55w in summer time is excellent, but I never had a chance to grow it to a full groun covering carpet so I can mow it, I wanna know what happen if HC grow too thick, and if I trim them multiple times again and again like that, what will happen to the substrate and the root system of HC? will they rot away and affect the good growth of new HC?

If you have rotting material, plant or anything else, it needs to be removed. If your plants are rotting, your tank is not favorable to plants. The low nutrient thing is working against you as well; you need to raise nutrients to decent ranges.
As Tom Barr and Dutchy noted phosphates needs to be 3+ times normal rates.
If an algae or anything else blooms, grows quickly, especially after removing it, conditions are simply favorable, to get something else you are going to have to do something else.
During a large water change scrape all glass with razor blade (obviously stay away from the silicon seams) clean all hard surfaces as best you can with a toothbrush2 and scrub pad. Then pour (squirt) Fleet Enemas solution into paper towel or cloth and wipe down all glass and hard surfaces down to substrate, the toothbrush of death with Fleet Enemas solution for rough or hard to reach surfaces. Repeat two more times, three days apart.
For Anubias and other tough plants, a 10-minute bath in 20-ppm Potassium permanganate3 followed by a dip in clean water with dechlorinator. Then GENTLY rub or wipe of as much algae as possible4 there is no guarantee you will not lose some or all of the leaves, but it gives them a fighting chance.

Checked

In the case of GSA,1 mechanical removal is important and is somewhat vulnerable to Hydrogen peroxide, but no amount of removal or chemicals will keep the algae away until you change the conditions.

I never knew there were wide number of species and varieties of GSA.... again I am shocked!!!!!! die GSA!!! DIE

You are going to need to provide your Anubias plants shade.

Have you ever heard of Anubias disease that melt and turn rhizome into white mush? I hate this, because all my Anubias just died due to this goddamn unknown epidemic cancer-like disease, maybe it is a fungus or bacteria?

 

[Biollante]

Fungus

Hi,

With higher light it is a matter of providing shade areas for the low-light plants.

I have never seen “Anubias disease” though I have certainly heard of it.


Since I cannot find any definition of “Anubias disease,” I am assuming it is a malady with more than one cause.

You are the second or third case I have heard of here.

My best guess is that it relates to water condition, in other words whatever is encouraging the GSA is likely at work here. Based on your description it sounds like a mycosis, if the stuff is stinky and slimy it is likely bacterial.


I am doing some research.


Biollante

 

[kiddjam]

Hi Biollante, I heard of the fungus theory..... I hate it, I lost more than 400 USD worth of Anubias and Bucephalandra just because of this unknown shait.......


Anubias plants rotting: facts, rumours and guessworks
http://anubias-engl.blogspot.com/2011/04/anubias-plants-rotting-facts-rumours.html

The died off petioles.

Spots on a section of rhizome.

 

[Biollante]

Those Photos make me Think Bacteria.

Hi,

Do you mind sharing where you are located?

Are these photos representative of what your plants look like?

Do you have photos of your plants?

I do not mean to offend[SUP]1[/SUP], but I need to be clear whether the rhizome was buried?


My thought when I first heard of this was some type of rice paddy, Sheath Rot.

Biollante
[SUP]1[/SUP]I seem to offend a lot of folks.

 

[Biollante]

To Stay On Topic So B The Internet Sheiff Doesn't Throw Me Out.

Hi,

I meant to also add this may be what is “powering” your GSA.

Biollante

 

[kiddjam]

Hi Biollante,

The rhizome is not buried of course, and you are not offending me by the way you ask, it is clean cut.

These are not my photo, but they looks almost identical, these pics came from here: http://anubias-engl.blogspot.com/2011/04/anubias-plants-rotting-facts-rumours.html
I am not the author of this blog either.

I am currently located both in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, primarily Shenzhen, I heard that Hong Kong bought/source freshwater from Shenzhen.

I have change water frequently these days, so I don't think it is the powerhouse of my GSA farming tank IMHO.....

 

[Biollante]

What Is Lurking In The Tap?

Hi,

Honestly, I do not know what to make of this… Anubias disease.



The water “reports” or lack thereof is troubling, instead hiding behind broad legalistic definitions.:cower:


My suspicion is some nasty’s, at minimum high dissolved organic compounds, in the water adding to some environmental threat.


About all I can recommend is filtration. Something like adding a whole house sediment filter and two stages of charcoal filtration, 45-micron and 5-micron and even 0.6-micron charcoal filter.

Biollante

 

[kiddjam]

Biollante

I bought two anubias 3-4 days, all I want to do is to test what is going on here in my tank.
I bough the anibuas nana, and golden, they sold in pot, I brought them home, and this time, I did not un-pot them, instead I just dunk them in the tank.......
guess what, so far so good, not a single leaf fall..... um, let me test it longer.....

B

 

[Tom Barr]

This is no different that the so called "Crypt disease", which is not a disease at all, just a slow delay response to poor environmental conditions.

I can induce this disease easily, simply place a lot plants together in a bucket of water. Wait. They will all get the same "rot". Poor shipping, poor tank conditions etc. After the old tissue dies back, regrowth occurs. I've gotten a lot of rhizomes like this and had them all recover. Seems a response to low/poor stagnant low O2. They do not have a lot of aerenchyma compared to many plants. In the roots they do.........but not that much in the leaves and rhizomes. If you take them and grow them emergently, the diseases goes away, but much less O2 stress is present, gas exchange increases..........

 

[kiddjam]

Tom Barr,

It is funny for my experience, these Anubias disease did not occur when I buy them from the first old friend LFS, I never have problem with plants they sold me....
Those two batches of diseases petite and stardust are from the third LFS, far away, like 2-3 hrs travel. BUT, I got this disease from the second LFS which is not far away just like the first.... so I am very confused where and how they will occur....

This is no different that the so called "Crypt disease", which is not a disease at all, just a slow delay response to poor environmental conditions.
I can induce this disease easily, simply place a lot plants together in a bucket of water. Wait. They will all get the same "rot". Poor shipping, poor tank conditions etc.

I heard of the so called "Crypt disease", and I got it with one of my crypt, they occur when I did not plant them in the soil, and I fix it by planted it.
And you can induce the anubias disease easily? But I also heard that lots of folks had the anubias plant just floating in a glass cup of water, and they still grow.
BTW, if lot of anubias plant together and will get this disease, is that means I cant grow too much of them together?

After the old tissue dies back, regrowth occurs. I've gotten a lot of rhizomes like this and had them all recover. Seems a response to low/poor stagnant low O2. They do not have a lot of aerenchyma compared to many plants. In the roots they do.........but not that much in the leaves and rhizomes. If you take them and grow them emergently, the diseases goes away, but much less O2 stress is present, gas exchange increases..........

All the anubias tissue die, not die back in my case, the rhizome just became white soft watery mushy material......firstly with the sign of spotty half transparent dorsal leaf........ I can't fix it by planting them emergently, I tried, the rhizome still become white mush after all, leaf melt, no new root growth, and rhizome still die.
I buy those petite from two patches, I travel 2-3 hours in cold weather like 13 celsius degree to get back home.... first batch I bought I un-pot them, the second batch I did not un-pot them....
Should I plant the anubias in the soil for them to get better growth? not bury rhizome.

 

[Tom Barr]

You place some anubias in stagnant water where there is low O2 exchange and add a few plants, and say some soil etc, anything to lower the O2.they will start to rot in due time.

If I take them out right as they start, I'm okay, might lose a few leaves etc.
I know a lot about this because I've often had extra Anubias and store them in water, bags etc.......anything to keep them alive. They are tough, but if you are not careful, the rot will occur.........this is not a disease, this is environmental.

Same with Crypts and Lag's also get it.
Swords and a few other genera also......

It's more about having good care for the plants after you get them and keep it up, good O2 also in the water.