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if i have a few spots of brown algae on my anubias leaves how can i remove it?and could it harm the plant?

ugh. i have brown algae too.
i have been told that it can be caused by too low light, excess silicates (from just stetting up a new tank) that should disipate overtime, and recently i have heard that it can be caused by higher nitrates so check your params.
Right now i'm keeping my light on longer and feeding less and doing more water changes and i just started this process so ill see how this goes.
and when i had a planted tank, i had it just as bad and i didnt seem to harm my plants, just dont let it smother the plant: wipe it off with your hands anytime you see any.

Good Luck (for both of us )


~Morgan~

i figured it was from the nitrates.wil check params, and wipe off thanks.

Anubias is tough, so you can wipe it off. The unfortunate thing about Anubias is that it grows so slowly that algae can easily overtake it.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

take it out of the tank and wipe if off with a soft cloth while running it under water. if you cant then just do your best to wipe it off, but running it under water will help to make sure it is all washed away and not put back in the tank, although if you get a few snails shrimp or etc they might tackle that algae no problem.

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

ok, maybe i could try snails but wouldnt they eat the plant?

depends on the type of snail. try MTS (Malaysian Trumpet Snails) or Spixis Snails. they do well in my tanks with the plants.

stay away from apple, mystery, rams(horn) or pond/pest snails... they will over run your tank and eat the plants.

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

ok thank you brandeeno.