Spirogyra, the Algae from Hell

[Onsaud]

I'm not sure how many of you keep plants in your tanks, given that this is a catfish forum, but I figured I'd ask anyway. I've got a case of the alleged algae from hell—spirogyra. It's a floating, filamentous nuisance that latches onto plants and never goes away. It seems almost as notorious as black beard algae for its tenacity.

I don't really have the time or the means to do a wholesale breakdown and treatment, and I'd rather not be dousing my tank with noxious chemicals. So I figured competition would be the best way to keep a lid on it, since it doesn't seem like I'll ever get rid of it entirely.

So, does anybody have suggestions for really fast-growing plants and how to keep them? My first thought was a chain sword, since I used to have those and they grew like crazy. I didn't have so much algae when I had those either, but that was probably also because it was just a new tank. Are there other fast-growing, competitive plants that I'm not aware of? It sounds like floaters could be a good idea; I have some water lettuce right now. The rest of the plants are three java ferns, several Blyxa japonica bunches and some hygrophila shoots.

[dw1305]

Hi all,

So I figured competition would be the best way to keep a lid on it, since it doesn't seem like I'll ever get rid of it entirely.

Green algae are problematic to get rid off, mainly because they share the same photosynthetic pigments with higher plants. If you have lights and nutrients plants will grow, whether they are the ones we want, or the ones we don't want. A higher plant mass will reduce algal growth.

Shading is a very good idea, and floating plants even better. The Pistia you have is good, and so is Amazon Frogbit (Limnobium laevigatum, I also like 2 ferns Ceratopteris and Salvinia. Fast growing stems are Ceratophyllum and Cabomba caroliniana, Hygrophila corymbosa is also good, but ideally likes to grow at least partially emersed.

cheers Darrel

[Onsaud]

Thanks; hopefully these plants will help to cut it back, because I've been reading horror story after horror story about Spirogyra. Everyone says it's next to impossible to kill, and what one thread says was effective another thread says is useless. People have tried bleach dips, week-long blackouts with 50% water changes every few days, algaecide... Most (but not all) threads say Algaefix will kill it, but I'm worried about my fish; I don't want to overstress or kill them. I guess if I set up that quarantine tank, I'll have somewhere to put them, but still. Other threads say that flagfish or even guppies will eat it (I've never seen my guppy touch the stuff, even when I held off food for a week), but that's just a few people and I've never seen it corroborated in the bigger posts. Algae sucks.

[uaru]

Depending on your tank conditions, Vallisneria might be worth a shot too, and I second the floating plants suggestion. I've also had a lot of luck with guppy grass, a.k.a. water nymph (Najas guadalupensis). I just float that stuff and end up with handfuls of it every few weeks. Both of those grow very quickly in my planted tanks, which aren't running CO2.

As far as algae-eating fish go...I've never had a Spirogyra issue in my tanks, but I have a friend who had an infestation in his koi pond last year. He pulled handfuls of it out of his pond, sun-dried it, and gave it to me as a fish food. One fishkeeper's menace is another fishkeeper's lunch, huh? Anyways, based on the response I got from the fish, the only "biological control" solutions might be larger fish: siamese algae eaters or veggie-loving cichlids, like festivums or uarus. (Some African cichlids like tilapia-types might eat it too, but I don't have experience with that.) You might not want those guys in your tanks though, because they all get pretty large & have some problematic behavior when they're adults.

I had a black hair algae outbreak several years ago, and people gave me the same advice that you got: guppies & flagfish. We had the same outcome as you did, too: the guppies didn't help, and the flagfish just chased each other around instead of eating algae.

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Everyone says it's next to impossible to kill, and what one thread says was effective another thread says is useless. People have tried bleach dips, week-long blackouts with 50% water changes every few days, algaecide... Most (but not all) threads say Algaefix will kill it, but I'm worried about my fish; I don't want to overstress or kill them. I guess if I set up that quarantine tank, I'll have somewhere to put them, but still.

The problem with all these methods is that they are just treating the symptom, the algae, not the cause. If there is light and nutrients "plants" (photosynthetic organisms) will grow, if the conditions are the same the algae will return after the treatment.

I'd try manually removing it every day, and then hopefully as the plant mass increases the algae will decrease.

cheers Darrel

[Rebah]

I'm pretty sure that's the same algae I've had in a couple tanks. First time a couple siamensis (Crossocheilus oblongus) ate it all up in a few days, second time was in a tank that was a bit too small for them so tried the fast growing plants tactic. Went with Shinnersia rivularis which grew very fast, no added fertilizers co2 etc. (Currently having to clear out 1/3-1/2 of the plants every two weeks to make some space for the fish. Seems sensitive to black out treatment though, atleast if longer than 3 days.) It still took several months to get rid of it, with waterchanges (1/3) every 2 weeks and having to pick apart the filter once a week since the stuff choked it.
About the guppies, endlers and wc guppies seems to atleast try and taste most algae, but those bigger fancy breeds rarely do. Well, atleast from what I've seen

[Onsaud]

Thanks for the advice again, Darrel! I was never too set on the chemical route. It seems dangerous and in my small tank, it's especially risky. I have been trying to pull it out, but it's very slippery and falls apart easily. Plus it just grows right back. I'm gonna be visiting my LFS soon, so hopefully I can get some chains and frogbits and other fast plants there.

If you did, Rebah, I feel sorry for you! I've been doing 30-40% water changes every week, and thankfully none of it's clogged up the filter. (I put a sponge head over the intake which'll probably keep it well out.) I'm not sure if I want to do a blackout since I don't want dead plants, and a there were no two threads that agreed on the effectiveness of a blackout. Thanks for the plant suggestion! How well did the fast-growing plants work for you?

[Rebah]

If you did, Rebah, I feel sorry for you! I've been doing 30-40% water changes every week, and thankfully none of it's clogged up the filter. (I put a sponge head over the intake which'll probably keep it well out.) I'm not sure if I want to do a blackout since I don't want dead plants, and a there were no two threads that agreed on the effectiveness of a blackout. Thanks for the plant suggestion! How well did the fast-growing plants work for you?

I think they worked pretty well, the algae is all gone and hasn't come back. (probably shouldn't be saying that though.. ) Still has a bunch of Shinnersia in that tank, but has replaced some of it with cryptos and so far so good. It did require quite a bit of patience aswell though . I removed as much as I could at water changes, and it was pretty easy to just pull it off of the plants it stuck to.
Also, maybe amano shrimps would eat it? If you've got shrimp friendly fish in that tank that is.

[snowball]

I've had success with black mollies (I suppose any colour molly would do, but black ones are less obvious in the tank). They eat most filamentous algae except red or blue-green types and when they have done their job they are much easier to catch out than Crossocheilus. Mollies are also great for keeping the surface clean as their constant slurping removes any oily-protein build-up.

[Onsaud]

I think they worked pretty well, the algae is all gone and hasn't come back. (probably shouldn't be saying that though..) Still has a bunch of Shinnersia in that tank, but has replaced some of it with cryptos and so far so good. It did require quite a bit of patience aswell though . I removed as much as I could at water changes, and it was pretty easy to just pull it off of the plants it stuck to.

Wow, that's a relief to hear! Thanks, I can't wait to get those plants, then! I haven't heard about much success with amano shrimp, and I'd rather not add unnecessary animals to the tank, so I don't think I'll be getting those.

I've had success with black mollies (I suppose any colour molly would do, but black ones are less obvious in the tank). They eat most filamentous algae except red or blue-green types and when they have done their job they are much easier to catch out than Crossocheilus. Mollies are also great for keeping the surface clean as their constant slurping removes any oily-protein build-up.

Hm... that sounds like it could be worth a shot, if only I had more room in the tank. As it is, it's pretty small to begin with. Thanks for the advice; some of that protein buildup just appeared the other day!

[prohor010305]

Try to place the escape willow (Salicaceae, Latin "Sálix")
Sorry for my English