Help What Algae is this, and how to combat?

[gnatster]

How Do I Rid of Thee.webp

• gnatster
• Sep 13, 2025

This algae has appeared on some Buce. I've tried to manually remove it with no success. Occasionally, a thin, long string will appear that I can pull off, but I can't get at the source. How do I deal with this algae?

 

[Asher E.]

I think I see two types of algae. One is a fuzz/hair algae, and the other one is green and I can’t tell what it is because the picture isn’t very clear on it.

 

[gnatster]

A better image. It's the stingy stuff where I'm having issues. It's darn near impossible to pick off the strands with a tweezer.

 

[Asher E.]

A better image. It's the stingy stuff where I'm having issues. It's darn near impossible to pick off the strands with a tweezer.

View attachment 10376

I think it’s fuzz algae. And I’m pretty sure it’s caused by organic waste.

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

A better image. It's the stingy stuff where I'm having issues. It's darn near impossible to pick off the strands with a tweezer.

View attachment 10376

Tooth brush works great for this.

 

[SkaleyAquatics]

I think it’s fuzz algae. And I’m pretty sure it’s caused by organic waste.

Tooth brush works great for this.

I concur with both of these. I usually do a very through maintenance session when I see this. It usually occurs in my farm tanks.

 

[Pepere]

How long has this tank been set up?

 

[gnatster]

How long has this tank been set up?

11 Weeks. In the first four weeks, weekly water changes were performed. Since I've been following the PPS dosing protocol, I started doing water changes when the TDS has increased by 100 units since the last water change. That's 12-13 days between.

Time to get back to weekly. Probably a good time to check the filter innards, too.

 

[Pepere]

At 11 weeks it is probably still going through teething pains and maturing. The problem will likely resolve itself with time.

Have you ever red this page by the 2hr Aquarist?

I read it several times pulling new things from it each time.

Algae and tank maturity

Diatoms and filamentous algae often attack plants in a new planted aquarium setup. This new tank syndrome is common in new setups, especially ones that use rich aquasoils. Often, these algae clear up by themselves as the tank mature. How can we accelerate tank maturity and get rid of this algae...

www.2hraquarist.com