Black beard outbreak

[a.person61]

Hey guys, so i have had a black beard outbreak and was wondering what FISH would be best to get rid of it. My tank is planted with medium lighting and co2. Bleeching isn't a option neither is adding a chemical (600L).
Before you guys start saying why i have it, i know why. Basically not enough plants to take up the nutrients and also the co2 level isn't constant as i turn it off at night. I'm working on the core of the problem and these fish are really to clean it up after the core is fixed.
Thanks in advance

[Filip]

Young and hungry SAE fish are supposed to eat it.
Blackout for 3-4 days should beat it.
Double seachem Excell dosing also helps.
Bleaching decor and plants out of tank will also help.
I just got completly rid of my 3-4 month BGA battle with 5 day blackout.
Good luck .

[a.person61]

Was it really that simple? Few days 0 light? How do the fish cope?

[Filip]

Was it really that simple? Few days 0 light? How do the fish cope?

Yes. I went on a 5 day vacation and left the tank covered in blankets. When I come back tank was completely clean of alge and the fish were all alive and well .
I also left BB tank with tetras, Cory's and ancistrus, and they went throught it also ,nothing but hungry.

[a.person61]

Thanks, i will have to try that, im assuming that i turn the co2 off aswell?
I was also looking at the american flag fish, any disadvantages with them? They would end up being there to clean any little bits left and to keep it from comming back

[Filip]

Co2 shut off is a must . Big WC day before blackout and big WC day after blackout. In meanwhile just peep at tank to observe the fish. Maybe 3-4 days will also suffice .
I don't have any experience keeping flag fish.

[a.person61]

Ok i will have to do this, thanks

[kiwdahc]

Any fix you have done will come back unless that fix is an ongoing thing. There are a couple ways you can actually "buy" something to get rid of algae. Get a chemical to kill it which you said isn't an option. Get algae eating shrimp, or a type of fancy shrimp(they all eat the algae regardless of what they tell you, i don't recommend ghost shrimp). Siamese algae eaters are the BEST algae eating fish you can get, but they can become a problem with how big they get (chinese algae eaters are not nearly as good). However I highly recommned against getting a fish to "eat algae" or "kill snails". You could buy a twinstar nano, its basically an electric device almost looks like a co2 diffuser and it kills all the algae in the tank(not sure if this gets black beard algae).

Overall I would recommend spending some time to find the right balance in your tank. If you don't have enough plants to eat up all the nitrates then reduce the nitrates in your tank, or add more light and more co2. You said that the algae went away by taking away the light, well that would point to the fact that the algae was caused by too much light not too much nitrates.

[Jack L]

I bought sae... Did nothing
I cut light intensity in half after board recommendation and it helped

[FishFanMan]

That algae is really hard to get rid of. My solution was to get rid of all plants and start over. Increase WCs and find the balance to prevent algae from taking hold again. May also monitor phosphate and keep it below 0.03 ppm.

[ericNH]

I would try the easiest solution first - Filip recommended a 3-4 day black-out. I would start with that.

[pitdogg2]

peroxide works it you can take it out to pour it over it, but if its on plants not so much.