# Anubias overgrown with algae



## scissorfight (Apr 17, 2006)

Hi, I have several huge anubias'es. They have been completely covered in algae. CAn anyone give me tips on saving them? I was thinking aboutputting them in a bucket with standard aquarium anti-algae stuff....

Thaks


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## Jdinh04 (Oct 7, 2004)

What kind of algae are we talking about here? I have some algae on some of the leaves of my Anubias barteri var. 'coffefolia', hopefully we can track down what kind of algae this is and how to get rid of it.










Sorry for hijacking, but it seems like were in the same boat.


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

scissorfight said:


> Hi, I have several huge anubias'es. They have been completely covered in algae. CAn anyone give me tips on saving them? I was thinking aboutputting them in a bucket with standard aquarium anti-algae stuff....
> 
> Thaks


More info on your tank (volume), your lighting (quantity in watts, type and photoperiod), whether you add CO2, what you fertilize with and how much, etc etc. would go a long way to help in getting some advice...


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## furballi (Feb 2, 2007)

Anubias grows slowly are are more susceptible to algae. You can dip the anubias in 19:1 bleach solution for two minutes (no more). Remove the dead algae with a toothbrush. I keep tall plants over my anubias barteri to avoid algae colonization.


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## Squawkbert (Jan 3, 2007)

Got Otos?


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## scissorfight (Apr 17, 2006)

The tank is 1000 liters (260 usg), lights are low, 58w. I have some big fish so otos are not possible. I have gotten myself some phosphate reducing filtermedia that might work...

Edit: photoperiod = 11 hours


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## furballi (Feb 2, 2007)

1. Change 50% of the water at least once a week. Vac the gravel. Remove as much algae as possible by cleaning the tank and dipping the plants in diluted bleach. 

2. Reduce lighting to 4 or 5 hours per day. No need to keep the light on for 11 hours with a low light/anubias tank.


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## toddnbecka (Sep 20, 2006)

A BN pleco may be the solution, they eradicate most kinds of algae without harming the plants.


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## yildirim (Nov 25, 2004)

From the covering of the leaf and peelings on the sides it looks like bga to me. Is it an easy to remove sheet-like algea? You said you added PO4 reducing media to the filter. How come you decided in such an action and what are your water parameters? (High PO4 is good for Anubias species). A little more info could help.


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

You're also at 0.22 wpg... a long time ago I noticed that certain algae thrived in very low light and seemed to disappear when the lighting was increased a bit. It was a while ago and I don't remember more details than that.

Can Anubias actually grow in such low light?


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## scissorfight (Apr 17, 2006)

The algae is very tough and bushlike , I don't think I can remove it without damaging the leaf.

As I this tank has a a few large cyprinids, there's a lot of waste. I do large waterchanges 25-50% every weekend, and I imagined that the phosphate/nitrate removing media would make the tank more stabile concidering nitrate build-up in the end of the week, also, the packagin on the media said "No phosphate = no algae", so I thought that was a bonus. It's a pond product. Nitrates never sky rocket, I just like to keep them undet 10ppm. Nitrite and ammonia is 0 and pH is 6,5. I have some very sensitive barbs in there.

There are no other plants, there was a huge N. lotus (covering an area of 50x80x60 cm, but that soon became cyprinid snack, maybe the algae bloom really kicked off when the N.lotus disappeared. I'm not really sure.

Should I try to add more light?


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

I'm just starting to experiment with adding some plants to African Cichlid setups so I don't think I can really give advice on this type of setup. Up until now I've done either fully planted or fish only (African).

Can anyone else give some experienced input here?


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## furballi (Feb 2, 2007)

scissorfight said:


> The algae is very tough and bushlike , I don't think I can remove it without damaging the leaf.
> 
> As I this tank has a a few large cyprinids, there's a lot of waste. I do large waterchanges 25-50% every weekend, and I imagined that the phosphate/nitrate removing media would make the tank more stabile concidering nitrate build-up in the end of the week, also, the packagin on the media said "No phosphate = no algae", so I thought that was a bonus. It's a pond product. Nitrates never sky rocket, I just like to keep them undet 10ppm. Nitrite and ammonia is 0 and pH is 6,5. I have some very sensitive barbs in there.
> 
> ...


The chlorine dip will take care of the most nasty algae. You may need to do a 1 min dip, then rinse/scrape with a toothbrush. Repeat a 2nd time if required. Some algae may still remain, but these will die off within a few days. It's important to dip the entire anubias (including rhizome) into the bleach solution. Use a stop watch to avoid overtreatment.

Rinse the plant in tap water before returning to tank.


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## djlen (Jun 22, 2004)

If it's furry/hairy and very hard to remove it's probably BBA (black beard or black brush algae).
There are two ways to get control BBA. Dip all affected plants/rocks/filter returns etc. in a 19:1 water/bleach solution for 2 minutes (Anubias is good for 2 mins., but less time for more tender plants).
Or go out a pick up some Seachem Excel. Dose it regularly at 1 1/2 strength for a couple of weeks and then at the recommended strength, and you will see a decline in BBA, not only on the plants but tank-wide.
Be sure to furballi's reminder to rinse well in tap water conditioned water if you use the bleach treatment. 

Len


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## scissorfight (Apr 17, 2006)

Hi, when you speak of bleach, do you mean household chlorine?

Also, will the famous Simamese Algae Eater eat these algae?

Thanks!

-SF


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## snowhillbilly (Mar 29, 2006)

Yes I would add more light.


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## scissorfight (Apr 17, 2006)

Ok, I have doubled the light.

The algae doesen't seem that happy today, maybe the phosphate/nitrate absorbing media has started to make effect. I am wondering if that is the case, will that make my anubias crumble too?


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## furballi (Feb 2, 2007)

scissorfight said:


> Hi, when you speak of bleach, do you mean household chlorine?
> 
> Also, will the famous Simamese Algae Eater eat these algae?
> 
> ...


Yup, dilute this stuff with 19 part water, 1 part bleach. Fix your water chemistry problem and the algae should diminish or disappear. Some people use too much light. I only keep the light ON for about 4 to 5 hours per day. Remember that plants will never see 10 to 12 hours of sunlight each day.


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## Minsc (May 7, 2006)

I've had great success using Flourish Excel. Take the Anubias out of the water, dribble enough Excel on the affected leaves to make them wet, leave alone for a minute or two, rinse in old tank water, replace in tank. I've used this technique to remove types of beard algae from both plants and driftwood, it seems to beat up mosses a bit, but everything else seems to get through it fine. About 4-5 days after treatment, all the algae suddenly dissapears.

Very similar to using the bleach method, but no need to fuss around with bleach!


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## kiwik (Apr 3, 2007)

Minsc said:


> I've had great success using Flourish Excel. Take the Anubias out of the water, dribble enough Excel on the affected leaves to make them wet, leave alone for a minute or two, rinse in old tank water, replace in tank. I've used this technique to remove types of beard algae from both plants and driftwood, it seems to beat up mosses a bit, but everything else seems to get through it fine. About 4-5 days after treatment, all the algae suddenly dissapears.
> 
> Very similar to using the bleach method, but no need to fuss around with bleach!


so it's a one time treatment right?


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## Minsc (May 7, 2006)

Yep. I've done this a number of times with different beard algaes. They don't appear affected for a couple days, sometimes change color. Then one day, completely gone! Very cool


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## adrielme (Mar 3, 2007)

I had this stuff, or something that looked like it completely covering my anubias that are growing on a tall piece of driftwood growing near the top of the tank. It was also starting to grow on my Hygro Balsamica. After reducing my fert dosing and lighting it came off very easily, like it was dead. It hasn't come back since. I brushed it off the anubias with a very soft toothbrush and was able to rub it off the delicate H. Balsamica. After that I added some otto's, black mollies and have some redy cherry shrimp coming in. I hate scraping that stuff off then trying to find it floating around the tank.


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