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This wierd algae (?) has started to grow in my tank. It grows rapidly on the wood (about 1-2mm/1 hour !!) And how do i get rid of it ??

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Afaik it's some sort of fungus. Rinse the wood thoroughly with hot water; you should get rid of it that way.

thanks - the trouble is that it started to grow on all 3 pices of driftwood - it even started to grow in the plastic container i use to put small fry in

i will rinse the wood and see what happens

You could try dosing the tank with Pimafix, it is an anti-fungal treatment derived from clove oil.

that's quite a heavy treatment for a wee bit of fungus that's completely harmless.....close oil isn't exactly harmless.
like smashing in the frontwindow with a sledgehammer because there's a spot of dirt on it.

These woodfunguses might look weird but they're harmless. a brush and a bit of shrub n rinse and it's gone, or at least controllable. but fault however doesn't lay with the fungus, but with the low quality of wood in the tank!
wood that isn't sufficiently old still decays, hence: fungus.

si it'll return again and again to do what this fungus is supposed to do: decompose wood.

fungus growing on fish, living plants or eggs are completely different species so in all it cannot harm the tank or the inhabitants in any way.

I agree with Sid.

I have had a very similar fungus growing on bogwood from time to time.

It didn't do any harm at all.

the fungus didnt start on the wood. i first noticed it growing in the floating plastic container i use for small fry. It has spread to the wood, base of some plants and has krept onto the gravel - it looks bad !!

If you don't want to treat the whole tank then you could paint the affected areas with your preferred fungicide at a diluted strength. Or, as Marc van Arc suggested, simply wash the affected pieces in hot water and see if it returns.

I agree that a bit growing on some of the wood should not be a cause for concern, but if it is spreading over everything then you'd probably want to do something about it.

it looks like a slime mold. Slime molds are not actual funguses but more of bacteria.

If I were you, I'd put in pimafix along with melafix to ensure that at least one works.

well, i have added pimafix and melafix and it has not affected the fungus/mould. It keeps re-growing on the wood and tries to grow on parts of the glass. Next step ???

should i add salt ??

Salt is not a good idea, I should think. Not good for your plants, and not good for most fish. If it's strong enough to kill somethingt that is of bacterial/fungal origin, and Pima-/Mela-fix isn't killing it, I'm pretty sure a mild dose of salt isn't going to hurt it much either.

Not sure what to suggest tho' ...

--
Mats

Curious, the only thing like that I've ever seen in any of my tanks was growing beneath a piece of very old wood and not spreading out.

How quickly does it spread? Does it grow on any living plants? Does it grow in dark or well lit areas? It might be worth asking about on a plant forum.

it does spread quickly (1-2mm/hour)sometimes quicker. It will spread across a piece of wood for example and then disappear. It then may start again from another point on the same piece of wood.

I'm not sure if it grows in the dark although i did see some starting to grow on the tank wall starting from under the internal filter which is raised above the gravel by 40mm approx

I have seen it (to a lesser extent) on plant leaves, on the inside of the tank glass, spreading onto gravel (but not far) and spreading onto the internal tank backing (3d juwel standard black plastic/foam backing)

The fish dont seem to be bothered by it although they dont eat it.

As I said before, I had an identical "fungus" growing in exactly the same way as you describe.

I don't think cleaning/treating the wood will work, as the fungus is probably present in the gravel, and will re-colonise the wood. It used to grow on my gravel as well you see.

In my opinion, treating the whole tank with any kind of treatments such as meds, salt or otherwise will do far more harm that good to your fish and plants.

I see your only options are.....


1) Leave it alone and get used to it. It does no harm.

2) Replace the wood with a different type that hopefully won't get affected

3) Break the whole tank down, disinfect every thing and start again.

I would choose option 1 !


Giving it some more thought, I am trying to draw parallels with your tank and mine.

The tank I had the "problem" with was very heavily planted, with lots of decaying matter in the substrate and around the base of the plants.

Perhaps if your tank is similar you can give the gravel a good vacuum and try to get rid of as much detritus as possible. Perhaps this will reduce its food supply?

thanks for the advice everyone - interesting.


I think i will do as Racoll suggests and give the gravel a good clean every other day for a couple of weeks and see what happens - i will keep you posted

cheers

just a quick update - claned the gravel more often - appears to have stopped growing on the wood now, occasionally see it growing out of the lower water intake grille on the internal filter and then disappear. Much Happier Now !!

Thanks