# Hm?



## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

So I have this 55 gal. tank. No plants, just rocks and fish. Algae grows only on the glass and on the big smooth rocks, nowhere else.

I left the tank with no maintenance for about 45 days. Evaporated 20%, fed the fish every other day, light is 10 hours a day, 1 wpg (but T5HO with ind. reflector). No CO2.

The algae on the glass became so dense that you could barely see the fish. All 4 sides of the tank were completely green. But if you looked from above you could see that the water and gravel are pristinely clean. The big round smooth rocks that decorate the tank were also covered with the green algae.

So the other day I take a big painter's scraper razor blade and scrape all the algae off. Comes off smoothly in big sheets. Falls down and drapes on the rocks and gravel. I did not remove any - it looked pretty cool, fluorescent dark green and so on. Wanted to see something... and I certainly did:

2 days later there is not a single piece left. I do know for sure that 15 Amano shrimp cannot eat all this algae. 

So now I have a pristinely clean tank with big round rocks beautifully covered with the algae that was originally on them. They look like covered with very thin velvet. It's very natural looking and beautiful. Also I can see how a Nerite snail eats some of that algae but never has the willpower to clean an area larger than 1/2 square inch. Nerites are useless for removing visible algae. There are no other places where that algae grows now.

What I do not understand is why the algae must be on the glass, grows only on smooth surfaces, and if removed just dies off.

--Nikolay


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## TanyaQ2000 (Jan 31, 2010)

interesting....post a pic please


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

This is how algae usually grows in my ponds during the spring and fall. The sides and any smooth rocks or exposed bottom are covered with deep green, velvety algae. It comes off in sheets, which I sometimes bring inside to feed my otos and bristlenoses.

Once it peels off the surface of an object, it does not live long. In my ponds the goldfish and koi eat it. In my aquaria, the fish, shrimp and snails eat it. I've never tried putting it in a tank with plants only.

What kind of fish are you keeping in the tank? Maybe they have a taste for it.


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