Blackish algae in my tank?

Question

I got up this morning to a slightly cloudy tank and blackish looking algae in the crevices of rocks and on a white shell in my tank. What happened so suddenly?

I have:

20 gallon tank
77 degrees
I use Cycle
cleaned every 2 weeks
softened well water
have : albino cory, plateco (sp?) algae eater, platy, albino african frog, weather loach, and a betta in this tank.
PH 8.0 (normal water ph in my area and fish are accustomed to it)
When I took the tank partly apart to clean some of the black algae off, alot of old food swirled around. I have never had a prob with overfeeding if this is the prob. Would overfeeding cause black algae to grow?

Thoughtful answers only please, rude ones will be reported.

Thanks in advance!

I forgot to add that this tank is in no way, shape or form near any natural light source, just the tanks own light.

Answer 1

It is just algae, caused by the build up of uneaten food. The algae thrives on the nitrates in the leftover food. Although not unhealthy, you don't want it covering everything and jumping out of the tank at you. There are a number of things that will cause algae to grow. Here is more on algae and what can and does make it grow.

There are a few ways to control algae. Also, monitor your lighting and excess food in the tank.

Algae are mostly-photosynthetic organisms that sometimes resemble plants but are not plants, having no true roots, stems or leaves. Algae grow in freshwater and saltwater. Saltwater algae are sometimes referred to as "seaweed." Like plants, algae require light and nutrients to grow. We supply plenty of both in our aquariums, with several hours of aquarium lighting a day and nutrients like nitrates and phosphates from fish waste.

Algae come in many forms. There are microscopic, one-celled algae, filamentous algae that resemble hair, algae that grow in sheets, and macroalgae that look like plants. There are even algae that live inside the outer integument ("skin") or calcium shell of some corals, anemones, and other sessile invertebrates called zooxanthellae. There are slimy-looking algae that are often not algae at all, but a colony of primitive photosynthetic organisms known as cyanobacteria. There are also very hard-to-remove little dots of green that sometimes grow on aquarium panels which also are not algae, but diatom or radiolarian colonies (microscopic, one-celled, animals with hard shells) with algae incorporated in their matrix. With all that said, let us answer some common questions right up front:

Algae growth is inevitable in an aquarium.
Algae consume nutrients in the aquarium that if allowed to accumulate, are harmful to fish. Algae can be a good thing.
The presence of green algae in an aquarium indicates a healthy environment for fish.
There is absolutely no way to completely prevent algae from growing in an aquarium, without killing the other life in the tank.
Chemicals should never be used to control the growth of true algae in an aquarium, and should only be used in rare circumstances to control cyanobacteria.
Correcting a severe algae problem requires time and patience.
Natural methods of controlling algae are the best and most effective.

Algae removal from the tank panels can be done on an as-needed basis, but no more than once a week. Removing algae involves either correcting negative water conditions to control or slow excessive algae growth, or an age-old process known as "elbow grease" (scrubbing it off!). Algae removal in an aquarium should be done only when necessary. We have seen many aquariums where daily removal of algae resulted in fish that were so stressed, most had diseases and were dying. You should never remove all of the algae from your tank. Allowing some algae to grow in the aquarium can be beneficial to the aquatic environment.

When algae is removed from aquarium side panels, care should be taken to select an algae scrubber that will not hurt the finish of an aquarium. Be careful not to get gravel caught in an algae scrubbing pad where it can scratch the aquarium. Never use household cleaning pads to remove algae. They contain fungicides that kill fish.

First, test the water you are filling up your tank with. Many public water supplies (our homes) have a concentration of nitrates at around 7ppm or higher. (Bottled water is no better).
This could be the start of your problem.
Be sure your tank is not within direct or indirect lighting such as a window or in a room where the lights are on constantly. Is you tank near a heat source. Sometimes we do not take into consideration a fishtank is near a heat register which can and does add additional temperature changes to your tank.

be sure to clean the filter as well? Be sure the entire filter is cleaned and free of algae.

Use a razor or scraper and gently scrape all sides of your tank. Clean your gravel and return it to the tank as well.

If you have a stick on thermometer, get yourself a floating one. The stick on thermometers pick up ambient air temperatures from OUTSIDE the tank and can be up to 10 degrees off. DON"T trust them.

You can also purchase phosphorus pads for around $2.00 at your local pet store. These can be cut to fit with your filter and remove large amounts of phosphorus. These can be reused over and over just remember to rinse them out well when you clean your tank.

Test your water. You will want to scrape the sides of the tank and do a water change no more than 20% every other day. This should only be done if the algae returns in a heavy form.

If you need any more help, you can im or email me.

Answer 2

The old food you noticed in the tank is the villian here. That algae needs nutrients in the water to grow. I would suggest you step up your water changes to once a week instead of every two. Also move rocks and clean under them with your gravel siphon when you do a water change so that you get as much of the uneaten food as possible. For the next few weeks you might want to do 35-40% water changes then step it back down to 25% weekly changes. That should solve the problem within a few weeks. Don't be tempted to try any of the algae killing products on the market please. Not only will they rarely work on this stuff, they usually make far more problems for the tank than they fix. Cleaning up the water a bit and starving the algae is the best way to go for the fish and the tank.

MM

Answer 3

I had a lot of problems with algae when I left the tank lights on for my live plants. I removed the live plants and only put the light on occasionally and have had very little algae since. Also, have a tank near a patio door window and get some algae on the side nearest the window so it is definitely the light whether from the tank or windows that cause the algae.

Answer 4

If you have old food then you have a problem with over feeding. Whether you think you do or not. Clean your tank and start timing your feedings again. Make sure that nobody else is feeding your fish.
Move the food away from the tanks (out of sight preferred) to eliminate any temptation for strangers to feed them.

Your *algae* might be a bacteria growth.
http://home2.pacific.net.ph/~sweetyummy42/conditions.html

I also would suggest looking at your gravel size and rock arangment. If your gravel is large it could have food trapping spaces in it and the same ting with rock arangements. The crevices and cracks can trap food that the fish can not clean up.

Answer 5

From your description, it sounds as though you might have black beard (also called black brush) algae - it's a tough one to get rid of - see photo for comparison: http://www.floridadriftwood.com/brush_algae.jpg

Suggestion have included using Siamese algae eaters (the only fish that will eat it, but are nasty fish and will eat the slime coat of others in the tank), bleaching everything infected to sterilize, regulating growth by adjusting pH, using phosphate removal pads, and using aquatic plants to compete for nutrients. See the atricles below for more information

http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/algae/tonealg.shtml
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_algae.htm

The uneaten food is definitely contributing to your problem - and if there is left over food, you are overfeeding. Fish should only be given what they'll eat in 2-3 minutes and anything left after that time should be netted out. Also, using a gravel vacuum when you clean will remove excess food and fish wastes from the gravel.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

With so many live creatures in this tank, it may be beneficial to get another algea eater.