Furry algae in fish tank?

Question

There is black furry looking algae growing in my fish tank. Anyone know what this is and how to get rid of it? I have algae eaters, but they won't touch the stuff.

Answer 1

Uh oh. Black algae is the hardest of all algae to get rid of. The stuff has minuscule roots that get into everything, so simply trying to pull it out will leave some, and it quickly regrows. Hydrogen peroxide (3% kills it, but is very hard on your plants and you will have to remove your fish for two days). Try this site http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/aquainfo/algae_peroxide.html
I have also read that increasing the amount of nitrogen high fertilizer helps, and Siamese algae eater will snack on it. http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=1086&N=0 They are also known as the Siamese Flying Fox, and Siamese Fox.
Whenever I have an outbreak of algae, I replace my bulbs. Aged bulbs produces more red-spectrum light which is ideal for algae growth and less blue-spectrum light which is ideal for plants.
A

Answer 2

Large amounts of algae in a tank are most likely due to high phosphate levels. You can get a phosphate remover which should slow growth and stop any new algae. Or you can get products like AlgaeFix which kill algae, but I've also had problems with it killing my younger fish too.

Black algae is really tough to get rid of and Siamensis are the only things that will eat it.

Answer 3

Siamese Algae Eaters will eat the stringy algae, but do your research on them as there are several fish that look like them and pet stores will sell them as SAE's.