# Bba take over



## ffemt89 (Apr 3, 2012)

I have a terrible outbreak of BBA in my tank and have NO IDEA how to combat it seeing as its the first time this has ever happened, I'm in need of some seriously helpful advice if anyone would like to privilege some to me.


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## csmith (Apr 22, 2010)

Details about your tank would be helpful. Size, lighting, filtration, CO2, etc.


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## Silvering (Jun 10, 2011)

I recently did a fairly deep Google search of APC for this very problem, and settled on "do more water changes" as my first attempt at a solution, since the tank in question isn't getting CO2 supplementation any time soon. I'd probably have tried more CO2 first if I were using it in that tank, and I'm temporarily dosing some Excel. However, I didn't stumble upon any "silver bullet" technique for getting rid of BBA quickly so that it wouldn't ever return; I've trimmed badly affected plant leaves but I'm leaving the rocks covered in the stuff until my pleco munches his way through the current crop, rather than trying spot-killing with Excel or H2O2, since there are baby fish living in the rocks right now. 

Tank-specific advice for your situation is going to need those details csmith asked for!


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## ShinyCard255 (Feb 7, 2012)

Water changes are not going to help out with getting rid of this algae.

In a high light tank it is an indication of low or fluctuating CO2 levels or not enough water circulation around the plants. In a low light tank it is often due to changing CO2 levels.

In a high light tank you will need to increase your levels of CO2 and/or improve water circulation around the plants. Scrub and cut off as much as you can first. Increase levels slowly to 30ppm or more but watch the fish to see if they are respiring heavily. Make sure you have good water flow around the whole tank along with some good surface movement. Adding a powerhead may help.

If you have a low light tank without CO2 injection then not doing any water changes will help. This is because tap water often has lots of CO2 dissolved in it which causes CO2 levels in your tank to fluctuate. The algae respond to this a lot quicker than the plants do.

Siamese Algae Eaters are known to eat BBA so can be used to control this algae. Overdosing Flourish Excel will clear it up.


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## Silvering (Jun 10, 2011)

Actually, the increased water changes have slowed the growth of the algae - I'm not seeing as many tufts growing on the glass this last week. Nitrates are down from 20 ppm to 5 ppm, as well; I haven't tested for other nutrients so I'm afraid I don't have any more hard data to offer on water chemistry. (This is a very low-light tank with few plants, aragonite sand substrate, and lots of fish.)

As far as cleanup crew, my flying fox is quite large and very aggressive - if I didn't already have him, I'd be quite tempted to get a school of SAEs! Unfortunately even the lovely big SAEs at the new LFS near me are no more than half his size, so I don't think they'd do very well stuck in a glass box with him. :-?


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## ShinyCard255 (Feb 7, 2012)

Amano shrimp also help clean up BBA, although it has to be dead first before they will start to eat it

I've been battling BBA for a while in my high tech tank and do at least 50% water changes every week and it has done nothing in helping stop this algae. What has helped me is having a consistent amount of co2 in the water for when my lights are on as well as spot treating with excel or h2o2. H2o2 also can burn fragile plants like java fern so be careful what you use it on.

I've never had a BBA outbreak in a low light tank, only once I started injecting co2 did this algae ever come up

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## Silvering (Jun 10, 2011)

ShinyCard255 said:


> I've never had a BBA outbreak in a low light tank, only once I started injecting co2 did this algae ever come up


I wonder if there isn't more than one species of BBA - or if it's just incredibly adaptable! Maybe OP would tell us which version he's got, the low-tech one or the high-tech one. However, he seems to have been eaten by a giant BBA monster.  Alas, we were too late!!! :rofl:

Definitely agree on stable CO2 for higher-tech tanks. That's helpful for a lot of different algaes, IME.


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## K Randall (Nov 23, 2004)

SAE's won't eat much BBA once they start to grow up, and they won't eat ANY if you feed the other fish. (which I assume you have to do for the baby fish) Panda Garras are, IMO, THE BEST BBA eaters I've ever encountered. They will eat it like cows grazing on grass. I don't think your flying fox would bother them, and they are a bit on the expensive side, but worth every penny, IMO.

I'd check your phosphate levels too. In an underlit, tank with low CO2 levels, high phosphate can contribute to BBA too. Your water changes will help with that UNLESS your tap water contains phosphate, as mine does. If there is phosphate in your tap water, and your plants aren't growing fast enough to take it up, you are in for a constant battle. You can try a phosphate absorbing resin, but that gets expensive too.


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## Silvering (Jun 10, 2011)

Thanks for the info, Karen! I do have a phosphate test kit, I should test the tank and tap water and see if that might not explain some of the benefit of changing the water. 

I looked them up and panda garras are very cute! Now that I don't have any more six-inch cichlids in that tank I could probably get one if I see any in the pet shops. Of course, the flying fox in question had no trouble chasing those six-inch mbuna around the tank when he felt like it...


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## K Randall (Nov 23, 2004)

Maybe it's time to rehome the flying fox! 

Also, the Garras are happiest in a group. At least 3... 5-6 if the tank is big enough (and your wallet can take it!)


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## ShinyCard255 (Feb 7, 2012)

ShinyCard255 said:


> I've never had a BBA outbreak in a low light tank, only once I started injecting co2 did this algae ever come up


So I posted this the other day and now guess what I found starting on my anubias coffeefolia last night...

The dreaded BBA. I dosed with excel yesterday so hopefully that will take care of the issue. That was the only plant in the tank with it too. I'll have to check my other plants tonight just to be safe

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## Silvering (Jun 10, 2011)

K Randall said:


> I'd check your phosphate levels too. In an underlit, tank with low CO2 levels, high phosphate can contribute to BBA too. Your water changes will help with that UNLESS your tap water contains phosphate, as mine does. If there is phosphate in your tap water, and your plants aren't growing fast enough to take it up, you are in for a constant battle.


I finally got around to checking this afternoon, since I was doing a water change anyway - 0.5 in the tap, 1 ppm pre-water change. So it looks like the water changes dropped the phosphate as well as nitrate level. As for underlit, that was most definitely the case when the breakout of BBA happened.

I'm seeing a lot of finger-pointing in various places at fluctuating CO2 levels in low-tech situations triggering BBA, to the point where there's actually advice to _not_ do water changes!  That's a HUGE no-no for any fry growout situation. Even in lightly stocked NPT circumstances I think I'd be worried about letting months go by between water changes! This started back in the winter, when the cold tapwater is about 34°F and has so many suspended microbubbles that it's practically opaque. I'm thinking that dedicating a plastic tub and a submersible pump to the cause of ageing water for this tank may help once the water gets colder again - right now my "cold" tapwater is warmer than my tank water!


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## K Randall (Nov 23, 2004)

I a fish tank, particularly a grow-out tank with a high fish density, you have to worry about other things building up in the water that do not directly affect the plants, but certainly CAN affect the fish. My feeling is that you ALWAYS need to consider the needs of the animals first in any set-up. If you don't want to do that, it's better to set up a tank without animals. So I agree with you, a DEFINITELY wouldn't avoid large regular water changes on a "fish" tank, with or without plants.


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

There seem to be two species of algae that people refer to as BBA. One species has thick single stems of algae that grow from the plant and can reach about 2 inches long, this species reacts to CO2 levels.

The other type has hundreds of straight filaments that all grow outward from a single point about 1/2 an inch long. This type does not react to CO2 levels or any other nutrient levels in the tank, it grows like a plant.

The only way to get rid of the second type is to over dose with flourish excel or a weak gluteraldehyde solution (basically the same thing). You should do 2x the starting dose and then 2-3x the daily (every other day) dose. You MUST spot treat the BBA for best results, use a baby medicine syringe and slowly squirt the excel underwater over the affected areas. You might not be able to treat it all in one day so do sections every time you can dose. A few hours to a day after you spot treat the BBA will turn red. This means it has died. It will take about a week after to detach from the place it started growing. You can keep retreating the BBA that has gone red (and once dead brown/gray) to ensure that you get the root where it grows from.

You should treat it now, this algae does not go away or get better on its own and it can take over ruining your tank's appearance. Thankfully it grows very slowly and usually doesn't grow back for years (if ever) after you eliminate it with excel.

Here is a picture of what the second type looks like. The BBA lines the edges of the anubias leaf while regular hair algae grows on the middle part of the leaf.


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