# Worst algae ever is not BBA



## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

It's Cladophora.

BBA is manageable and could be erradicated succesfully through frequent water changes, reducing the organics in the water and using Excel.

But Cladophora is an algae that likes everything that the plants like. It basically acts as a plant. It does not suffer too much from shortened light periods. It could care less about frequent water changes.

Also when touched it breaks into tiny pieces that float everywhere. Even syphoning the Cladophora while removing it results in the algae spreading around.

You could spot treat Cladophora with Excel and it will die. But it takes more Excel to kill Cladophora than to kill BBA. Basically you need to treat it as soon as you notice it.

Basically if Cladophora has gotten pretty big you are in a big trouble too. 

The only truly serious way to fight spreading Cladophora are Amano shrimp. But their count should correspond to the task at hand. 10 Amanos in a 55 gal tank will not do any harm to the Cladophora. 50 may do better but if the infestation is about 7 sq. inches or so good luck. Without Amanos the fight will be long and frustrating.

For those that don't know - Cladophora comes in 2 forms. A brittle form that is easily removed but also easily broken and spreadable like wild fire. A very hard form that is impossible to even tear out with your fingers (that's the Cladophora that is being sold as "Marimo balls"). You can try to use a Dremel tool with a wire brush to clean the hard form off rocks or wood and you will be faced with a very hard task.

Truly, Cladophora is an organism to respect.

--Nikolay


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Never, were truer words said!


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## Jason Baliban (Feb 21, 2005)

I couldnt agree more!!

Sad, sad story

jB


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## Dielectric (Oct 7, 2008)

Indeed!


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## maknwar (Feb 28, 2008)

But where does it come from? I could never find out exactly what it is and how it starts to show in a tank. Of course I had to nuke my take because if it, but how do I stop it from showing back up? I have read many sources and it is always a mystery still.


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## rich815 (Jun 27, 2007)

Good CO2, never let your ferts go too thin, strong healthy plant mass, cladophora eventually subsides and goes away. That's my experience when I had it in a small 10 gal once.


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## BobinCA1946 (Jul 28, 2009)

Regarding the use of Amano shrimp, that is absolutely true. The problem then, is if you have fish that will eat the shrimp, then you will have to live with the Cladaphora.
I put 100 Amano shrimp into a well planted tank that had Boesmani Rainbow's and Congo Tetra.
I wound up serving one heck'uva expensive meal to the fish.

Prior to being eaten, those shrimp did start to clear out the Cladaphora.
So what it boils down to is........change the fish, or keep the algae.

BoB


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## Elohim_Meth (Nov 4, 2007)

I agree with rich815, especially about strong healthy plants. My experience was the same. I've noticed that Cladophora clings upon sick or dying plants.
By the way, I've never seen my Amanos doing any harm to Cladophora.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Oh yes Amanos eat Cladophora very well! 
My experience:

- 25 gal. tank
- Bare bottom, no gravel
- 1 sponge filter
- A Cladophora mat over the entire bottom. 4 inches thick. 2 ft. long, 18 inches wide (the size of the tank's bottom)! Starting to turn into the hard form - the marimo kind.
- 200-250 Amanos

3 days after adding the Amanos all that was left from the Cladophora was green water. There was not a single piece of algae anywhere. Just a little green juice in the water - you could see through the green water. After about 2 days the water cleared perfectly. The tank was now bare glass, water, and shrimp. 

Conclusion - as I said above - the number of shrimp needs to match the amount of the algae. That's not always practical. Or inexpensive.

Keeping the plants growing good works but if you have let the Cladophora grow for some time it's going to be a long time before it completely disappears. 

The best approach is to have just enough animals in the tank that keep the Cladophora that's trying to grow mowed down to nothing.

By the way - a blackout does not scare the Cladophora.

--Nikolay


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## PeterE (Feb 9, 2010)

I have mostly gotten rid of my clado (and my plants) through a really long blackout and Excel and hydrogen peroxide treatments, but I notice there are still frighteningly thick patches of it hidden in my Rotala. Yuck. I hate Cladophora. Also, Marimo balls are not the same species as the Clado we hate, and for me, don't spread nearly as fast.


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## Elohim_Meth (Nov 4, 2007)

niko said:


> Oh yes Amanos eat Cladophora very well!


OK, I trust you. After all, I had too few of them - only 10 on 300 L tank. Maybe they found something to eat that was more tasty than Cladophora, though I didn't feed them.


niko said:


> By the way - a blackout does not scare the Cladophora.


Yes it was my experience too.


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## fishyjoe24 (May 18, 2010)

I think I have this and have no money for shrimp till next monday. what do I do just take out the flourite that's covered in it? ghost shrimp don't do anything but get big and mean.


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