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I have terrible looking rocks in my tank due to black algea. My algea eate cant fase it and all i can do is scrape it off with much difficulty.
Is it my water or wwhat?
-Newb

_______________________________________________
You can call me Newb too, since I'm not nere new any more.

Hi,
While this is a question many have, you might want to have
it moved to "Water Quality" as it is a water quality
problem.

Here is one of many sites that discuss the various types
of algae, why it occurs, and how to eliminate it:

http://www.otocinclus.com/articles/algae.html

and another:

http://www.plantgeek.net/article_viewer.php?id=9

For "us" to answer your question, we would need specifics
on the tank.
How big is it?
What kind of lighting (incandescent/flourscent/compact
flourscent, etc)?
What is the Kelven rating for the bulbs, if flourscent?
How long are the bulb(s) turned on in a 24 hr period?
How many fish, and what kind?
What kind/size filter is on the tank?
How often do you do aquarium maintenance including water
changes (how much) and vacuuming the gravel?
What are the water chemistries (pH, GH, KH, Nitrate)?

Algae is an opportunistic critter. It fills a void to
take advantage of excess or defficiencies of nutrients
in a tank. The key is figuring out what niche that
specific type of algae is taking advantage of, and
eliminating it.
Frank


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

....and while youre figuring out the cause, as frank suggests,it might be handy to have a siamese flying fox to help you clear it up. They are about the only fish that eats black algae. They do get to about 5 inches long, and arent really suitable for small tanks though.

thanx guys.
-newb

_______________________________________________
You can call me Newb too, since I'm not nere new any more.

If you have a small tank, I would go with some good algae-eating fish, such as Otocinclus catfish, or pepperred otocinclus catfish. I recently bought a pair, and they immediately began to eat the algae on the rocks of my 10 gallon tank. Here are two websites on these two fish:
http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/206.htm
http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/615.htm
Good luck!

The best method of cure is prevention