FUNGUS/Algae- plant gurus, help!

[suicune]

You have the heavily planted tank just like me =D. I gave up on mine however, even after a school of neon, a school of danio, a school of rainbows, a school of cory, 1 BN albino pleco, a pair of oto (one is pregnant), and a pair of rams, 3 weeks, no water change and nitrate is still 0. =(. every several days I have to get a chopstick and swirl hair algae out like cotton candy

[Adam C]

Thread algae seems to be a big issue in the spring. If you aren't able to keep Nitrate up between 10-20ppm with stocking levels, I would suggest using one of the commercially available sources.

I had two tanks break out with the hair algae this spring and the only solution was nuking it with Algaefix. I did a full dose (I dosed half twice a day to prevent stress) two consecutive days and the following day performed a large water change. Of course, during this I was making sure I had a balance between light and co2. Happy to say that was all that it took and now the tanks are back to healthy.

~ Adam

[suicune]

I don't wanna mess with algaefix however. I reduce light to 8 hours a day before and still have the same problem. I dose excel and other fertz to keeps nitrate up but it doesn't seem to work. Only one last choice is to remove some plants to reduce the "amount of filtration" but that seems controversial to me. Like I said the water chemistry is 0 on everything even after 3 weeks of no water change. Some says I should feed more but I'm kinda afraid of fish dying due to overfeeding.

[Adam C]

The thing with a lot of green algaes is that they behave a lot like plants rather than things like diatoms or bba. How long did you run the system at 8 hrs? What specific fertilizers are you using?

[LooksLater]

So I've been absent from the box for awhile, been busy and all but mostly because of tank shame...!
Been LOSING my MIND over this tank and the cyanobacteria in Suki's 150g...I hate having tanks full of depression. Lol. When it rains, it pours. But I guess I will update this thread also-

While the rasboras cleared their ich, I cut down on the algae with heavy dosing of Flourish, Iron, Potassium, Nitrate, and Phosphate, and almost no water changes...shortened the light period, while hitting the algae with constant excel and occasional peroxide. Still couldn't get rid of it, the fungus kept blowing up and causing an imbalance, I think. After the rasboras cleared (most) of the ich...

I dosed Fungus Clear again, twice in a week as per directions, then w/c it out over the next week. Looked like I got it, until the meds were out...the fungus slime came back, then the algae convention, then the ich.

I took the wood/fissidens tree and threw it out. Dosed anti-fungal meds again, same thing, same sched. We got a longer break, but a few weeks later, it was back. And then more algae explosion. I thought the poor rasboras still had a spot or two of ich, but I might have been seeing things. Dosed again, then did a second week of meds, just to be safe, and- as soon as I started w/c out the meds, it came back. Again.

So. Still have fungus. My buddy at the microbiology lab says that the spores can't be killed by the anti-fungus meds, it's a different action. He was thinking if I kept up dosing almost continually like I was, I could kill all the live fungus before it had a chance to spore, and let the spores present grow to live fungus then kill it before it could make more spores...but nope, apparently not. And anti-spore meds are super dangerous and usually only used in a lab setting.

He told me today as we were trouble-shooting it some more that it may be colonized in the substrate, plants, filter, even on the wet pets themselves...and some spores can't be killed by peroxide, UV, or even bleach treatment.

:icon_hang:

So my only option left (aside from throwing the tank away) is to try to filter it out...the Marineland Magnum we have has a micron filter, but it only filters to 50 microns or a little less. The average Aspergillus spore (assuming that's what this is) is about 2-3 microns. So that leaves diatomaceous earth, it filters to 1 micron, so I hear. If I can find/rig a DE filter and remove the substrate, I might be able to get it all out that way. Maybe.

Lol, we'll see. I'll try to keep updating this thread- who knows, it may actually help someone someday.

[Adam C]

Would you mind posting a current picture of the crud you're dealing with?

~ Adam

[LooksLater]

I'll try to get better pics when it blows up again, but the tank is freshly destroyed right now. I tore out most of the plants to put in a QT tank, removed the HOB, and pruned/ cleaned up what's left. A current picture probably wouldn't help you much.

Did you check out the 3rd page of this thread, with the microscope pics?...That's what's in my tank.

[Adam C]

It seems like you're causing more harm to your tank than you are good. Is it possible that the sample was contaminated? Is it possible that it might not be a fungus?

All of the things you've been doing to the tank IMO are just causing your problems.

~ Adam

[aquabee]

Sasha, have you tried hitting it with peroxide?


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[LooksLater]

It seems like you're causing more harm to your tank than you are good. Is it possible that the sample was contaminated? Is it possible that it might not be a fungus?

All of the things you've been doing to the tank IMO are just causing your problems.

~ Adam

No, the samples weren't contaminated. We took 2, with sterilized test tubes. One of the water column, not trying to catch anything in particular, and another of the actual slimy grey funk that was covering the tree and collecting in various spots. Both showed the same thing among with the regulars, as I said in that post- this fungus. It was grown multiple times (once in general culture, once in fungi specific culture) in a lab, by a person who handles and grows bacteria and fungi for a living at a college...then ID'd as fungus by a professor, though not what kind. She was not inclined to give us that much of her time, which I understand.
I can appreciate that you no doubt have much more knowledge of planted tanks than I. I don't dispute that. But is it so hard to believe that aquatic fungus exists, and may occasionally get into an aquarium? That's why I'm trying to at least share this. Maybe someone else, like me, will run into a similar problem and have something to go on.
Also, keep in mind I started this thread 6 months ago. Every change has been one at a time and with good reason...changing the old lightbulbs, adding fish to keep nitrates up, etc. I removed the plants to a QT tank to see if it will grow over there. If not, it's tank-specific, and a little easier to deal with. I'm just trying my best to figure this out.

Sasha, have you tried hitting it with peroxide?


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Yeah, Bee. It doesn't seem to hurt the fungus much, and any help it is with the rest of the algae doesn't last long, because it just grows back. So frustrating.

[mistahoo]

Have you tried a bleach dip?

Edit: are you sure it's a fungi? I know that they exists in aquariums. It kind of looks like hair algae from the pictures? I remember you guys dosing iron. How much iron? Hair algae tends to appear when you dose more than .15ppm.

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[suicune]

Remind me to bring you that uv sterilizer... I guess it wouldnt hurt to try

[LooksLater]

Have you tried a bleach dip?

Edit: are you sure it's a fungi? I know that they exists in aquariums. It kind of looks like hair algae from the pictures? I remember you guys dosing iron. How much iron? Hair algae tends to appear when you dose more than .15ppm.

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Lol. I love you guys, but is anyone reading this thread?! :lupe:
Hey, it's cool. I probably wouldn't believe it either if it weren't happening in my tank! C'est la vie.
I haven't bleach dipped anything...yet. If I do, it's going to involve taking the tank apart, bleaching everything, and starting over. And having to put the occupants somewhere else in the meantime, to put them back after cycle...and maybe have it come back? Besides, hard restart is what I'm trying to avoid unless it's the only option.

Yes, I'm sure it's a fungus.

I also have about 4 kinds of algae I can't get to go away, including hair algae. I dose iron once per week, about .5 ml or so.

Remind me to bring you that uv sterilizer... I guess it wouldnt hurt to try

I appreciate it so much, but I think I'll just buy one. I want one anyway and don't want to pass this along...I would feel terrible. Better safe than sorry I guess.

[mistahoo]

Didn't feel like reading it

Have you tried dosing PraziPro? Maybe Formalin?

[LooksLater]

Didn't feel like reading it

Have you tried dosing PraziPro? Maybe Formalin?

Lol...most people don't...at least you're honest!! Haven't tried any other meds, just the fungus clear stuff.

I think I'll try the DE filter thing and if that doesn't work, I'll have fun shooting some holes in it, burn it, bury it, salt the earth and just move on with my life!

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