# I Have BGA on My BBA!!!



## Rob Tetrazona (Jun 21, 2005)

:help: 

You heard me right. Things aren't going so swellsy melvin right now. If I had zoom on my obsolete digital camera, I'd snap a digipic for the group, but instead just picture a nice dark green, slimy blanket covering the BBA hairs on a filter outtake. A 3 day blackout knocked this filth down pretty well, but it quickly came back. 

On Wednesday, I will be receiving a 60 tab bottle of Erythromycin. I have 2 75g's that I will be treating for BGA. Both have had 3 day blackouts. One I have just uncovered today. 

Anybody know how many mg's of the "E" to add to a 75 and for how many days to kick this crap once and for all? It seems to favor my Java Moss, Pearl Grass, L. aromatica, & E. triandra.

On the flip side, I pulled all of the adult fish out of my upstairs 75 and plopped about 50 Rosy Barb fry & 60 Neon, Glowlight, & Lemon Tetra fry in there today. Nothing older than 4 months. There's a lot of schooling going on...or maybe they're just shoaling off!


----------



## JRJ (Feb 9, 2005)

Rob,

This worked for me. Get a syringe and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. Here's the link where I learned about it: http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/aquainfo/algae_peroxide.html

Is your tank getting enough co2? Have you tried Excel?

good luck,

-Russ


----------



## Krisybabe9 (Mar 21, 2006)

I used "E" for my BGA problem and it worked really well. I used this from Drs F & S. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=12101&N=2004+113021
I believe the bottle said to use 1 tab per 10 gallons. I first tried just dropping the tabs in as the bottle stated but that was a big giant mess. Make sure you crush the tabs up in a bowl and try to dissolve it with warm water first. Also, if you can get the "gel" like coating off while you are crushing it that is helpful because it stays a little too gelatiness when dissolved for my taste. I can't recall but I think I treated for 3-5 days.
Ultimately, the treatement worked great and I have never seen another spot of BGA in the tank...it was also effective on a bad case of dropsy in one of the comets in my pond. 
Best of Luck!!!


----------



## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

E-mycin should work but so should the blackout  

I'd love to see a pic of this. Have you thought about getting some HAP points for it :shock:


----------



## Rob Tetrazona (Jun 21, 2005)

Thanks for the links and the suggestions. I ordered the same stuff from DrsF&S.com. I think I'll battle the BGA first, then the BBA. Hopefully, I won't kill any plants or fish. I'll follow up this post next week with the results.


----------



## Rob Tetrazona (Jun 21, 2005)

I think my lower CO2 levels might have been due to poor or no water flow from my canister filter. On Monday, I noticed that the water flow had completely stopped, so I cleaned out the canister, rinsed the filament fiber, and replaced the activated carbon. Now a day and a half later, the BGA is dying back with big holes in the blanket.

I will be getting my Erythromycin today and I also picked up some Hydrogen Peroxide for the BBA.


----------



## Rob Tetrazona (Jun 21, 2005)

Let's play Good News/Bad News!

The Good News is my BGA has been wiped out entirely by the Erythromycin. Thanks for the tip, Matt. I bought the 60 tab bottle mentioned in this thread. I had 2 75's both w/ BGA.

First I did water changes and was too lazy to physically remove any of the slimy crap. The recommended dose was 1 tab per 10 gallons of water. I dosed both tanks 8 tabs one day, 7 the next, repeat 8, repeat 7. 1 $30 bottle gone-dee. I actually put the tabs in a Net Breeder, let the tabs disolve into a powder, then shook the Net Breeder until all of the power fell through the fine mesh. Oh yeah, I cleaned out my canister filters also which dramatically increased my water circulation. 

It's been about 1.5 weeks and the BGA is gone. Plant Death Toll = E. triandra "taller var." (actually there are a couple of sprigs left). Stunted or died back, but recovering = H. balsamica & E. triandra "short var." Most BGA covered, but somehow unaffected = M. minuta, what a tough plant. Fast growers like Water Sprite, Water Wisteria, & Ambulia were partially stunted, then quickly recovered. 

What can I say other than I'm glad that crap is gone.

The Bad News

I was growing out big bunches of Hornwort & Guppy Grass for Shelly's Guppy breeding operation and the H2O2 completely melted both plants. The Java Ferns and some other plants took a bit of a hit too, but recovered. The BBA didn't miss a beat. Now I need to overdose the tanks on the Flourish Excel! This will happen after a water change.

I did some trimming/aquascaping and pulled out the R. rotundfolia & R. macranda in one of my tanks and now my plants have hair algae that looks like the hair from those troll figureines. Water Sprite & Wisteria plus D. driandra trimmings have been added to counteract the hair algae. Seems to be working.

If it's not one thing, it's something else...the curious can see the results Saturday.


----------

