# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Algae on Anubias



## imported_Jim (Feb 8, 2003)

I've got an Anubias Barteri that's having major problems with algae encrusting on its leaves.

I've tried scraping it off with a fingernail, but the algae is so hard, I accidentally put small tears in a couple of leaves.

I've had 2 thoughts on killing this crap:

Bleach bath: I know it works on bba, etc, does it work on hard encrusting algae?

Leaving the plant emersed: Anubias will grow emersed, right? How about if I rigged up something so the leaves are above water and the roots are still submerged? Think this would kill it(the algae, that is







)

I'm also thinking of adding some kind of screen/filter so the anubias gets less light. Any ideas here?

Thanks,

Jim

30gal Tall, 2x55w PC, dosing Flourish, Excel, 50/50 flourite/gravel


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## imported_Jim (Feb 8, 2003)

I've got an Anubias Barteri that's having major problems with algae encrusting on its leaves.

I've tried scraping it off with a fingernail, but the algae is so hard, I accidentally put small tears in a couple of leaves.

I've had 2 thoughts on killing this crap:

Bleach bath: I know it works on bba, etc, does it work on hard encrusting algae?

Leaving the plant emersed: Anubias will grow emersed, right? How about if I rigged up something so the leaves are above water and the roots are still submerged? Think this would kill it(the algae, that is







)

I'm also thinking of adding some kind of screen/filter so the anubias gets less light. Any ideas here?

Thanks,

Jim

30gal Tall, 2x55w PC, dosing Flourish, Excel, 50/50 flourite/gravel


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## jpmtotoro (Feb 13, 2003)

yes, pretty sure anubias will grow emerged, in fact i think that's how it grows naturally. near waterfalls perhaps?


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## stewy (Mar 5, 2003)

Give it a little shade.Use some sort of bunch plant,or even duckweed or any floating plant.


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## wetmanNY (Feb 1, 2003)

The bleach dip (1:20) works better on Anubias than on about any other aquarium plant. Anubias has that tough cuticle that protects it.

What's it growing on?


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## Kathy (Feb 2, 2003)

For some reason there is no more green spot algae on my glass now but back when it took me twenty minutes to scrub it off the front glass, I noticed the back glass would have no GSA above the water change water level. 

If my anubias grew GSA I would try ten minutes out of the water first. My java fern and xmas moss survives its five minutes dry every week, anubias ought to be more resistant than java fern. 

That GSA would grow right back every week if whatever started it to grow was still a problem though. Maybe shade the plant more?


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## MarcinB (Apr 16, 2004)

In my case 10 ottos helped a lot. They can't clean old algae spots but they do a great job preventing new algae growth. As the others mentioned, shading also helps. I also heard that some people managed to remove the algae from anubias leaves with the aid of a toothbrush.


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## Guest (Apr 1, 2003)

Anubias do great as mentioned already, emergent.
This will kill any algae and a old plastic 2 liter bottle is good for this and some gravel or soil etc and a window sill.

Takes a week or two and then your done.

The other method is put it in a bag for a 5 days and put it in the dark of so and rinse it after 2 or so and put it back.

These methods take longer but are far less harsh on the plant.

I just cut up any infested parts, keep the nutrients/CO2 good and they grow fast enough to deal with algae issues etc.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## ChrisS (Feb 3, 2003)

For what its worth, as Tom said, once I get the nutrient balance dialed in, I notice that the algae quickly "disappears" from my anubias. Mind you, I also have a cleaning crew of amano shrimp, ghost shrimp, SAE's, clown and bristlenose plecs, and apple snails. Much safer and way more entertaining than a chemical treatment. HTH.

[This message was edited by ChrisS on Tue April 01 2003 at 06:56 PM.]


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## Guest (Apr 2, 2003)

Thought I point 2la's link for reference.

http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4291714363

Join as at www.njas.net


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