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I've been getting this algae on the glass of my 10 gallon (probably from the small amount of sunlight that it gets).

It's just like a bunch of little green dots bunched up and is pretty hard to scrub off. I'm not sure if my 2 ottos are getting enough food from it, even though it's all over one side of the tank...They seem to have trouble eating it, and I can never really see it disappearing where they're "munching".

Does anyone know what kind of algae it is and if my ottos should be able to live off of it without me giving them algae wafers?

Last edited by fishnewbie at 26-Feb-2005 10:25

Sounds like cyanobacteria to me.

The ottos will not eat it, so you will have to supplement algae tablets.

Joe Potato

It's not cyno - nothing like the cyno I had in my 90 gallon and 5 gallon, anyway. And it also ONLY grows on the glass. It's not "taking over" the tank or anything.

Cyanobacteria can show up in a number of forms in an aquarium.

One of the forms is this thick, dark green sheet of gunk which will quickly overgrow the gravel, plants, and just about everything else in the tank.

The other common form is little spots which are very hard to scrub off.

Does it look like this?.

If it does, it is a member of the genus Gloeocapsa. At least, that's what it was in my tank when I had it a couple of months ago.

Joe Potato


Last edited by Joe Potato at 26-Feb-2005 14:06

I get green spots like that in my aquarium. Yet my Otocinclus spend happy hours munching on it.

In fact, one's doing it on the glass right now.

The big problem is that Otocinclus are adapted to scrap algae and aufwuchs type algal herbiage from surfaces such as broad plant leaves and sunken wood. So they tend not to be as efficient at cleaning glass as they are at cleaning the aforementioned surfaces. But, they try, and in the case of my Otocinlus, they try hard. Wonderful little workers they are.

Admittedly, I have to dig out the scouring pad intermittently, but not as often as I would have to do without the Otocinclus. So they do make a difference.



Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Yeah, I get the same stuff you're describing, and my otos gobble it right up.

All right cool. Thanks for the help you guys!

Hi,
Oddly enough this stuff is called "green spot" algae.
Unlike hair algae or others, this stuff forms spots on
the glass and plastic in the tank and is rock hard.
Normally, it takes a razor blade to remove it.
Here is some more information on it and its control:
http://www.otocinclus.com/articles/algae.html

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Yeah, Frank, that's what it must be!

Thank you!

It's green spot algae. It's too tough and too well stuck on the glass for the Ottos to eat.

A credit card or ATM card you no longer use will scrape this stuff off in no time.

---

Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.