What is it?

[Chaos]

I have some moss or algae growing on my driftwood for about 7 months now. I've decided to keep them as long as they don't grow out of control. Can anyone tell me what are they? It adds character to the aquarium and seem to grow only on this specific driftwood and not on my other driftwoods in my other display tanks. The discus seems to do fine with them around.

[Ralph]

Several of the big online plant suppliers have actually started selling algae (mostly Cladophora), it is due to Mr. Amano's work. It is great for forming that lawn type affect that many of his tanks have. And after all, algae is just a type of plant, the main difference is that the cells aren't organized by function. Algae cells operate basically independently of each other.
I don't know the name of yours, I call it a type of hair algae (which doesn't really help). Algae websites have a lot of microscopic pictures that they use to identify the various species.
But I do have what appears to be the same kind in two of my tanks. It just started growing on a new piece of driftwood. It has spread out slowly and is creating a mat. It has lost some of it's bright green color over time, unfortunately, and is now more like a dull green. It is also hiding my driftwood now. I'm also having trouble keeping it clean, it helps to vacuum it once in a while. It has great possibilities though I think, I am going to try rubbing some of it another piece of wood, to seed it. Just like plants, the final outcome will be better with the more control we have over it. Our tanks will look better if we can decide where it grows and how much of the algae we want.
It is tough overcoming the algae biases we have though. I was hesitant to post pictures that show algae, maybe now that you have broken the barrier.....

[tjudy]

:)
I have always called that 'brush' algae. It grows from a calcerous base that is very difficult to get rid of. Occasioanally they will start to grow on glass. The only way to get them off is with a razor blade.

Most likely the only way to get rid of it off that driftwood will be to boil the piece.

[Chaos]

Ralph: The algae seems to be more dense at the top of the driftwood, close to the 40 watt flourecent light, and becomes sparse at the bottom. I can imagine if the lighting was stronger, it would probably take over the entire wood and tank. For now the algae, light and water parameters seems to achieve some level of balance. My display tanks are not heavily planted as you can see.

Tjudy: How fast do they grow? It seems to be hightly dependent on light. The algae has not propagated beyond the driftwood. I like bright color and texture, but hesitant to try and propagated to my other tanks until I know what it is and how to control it. What you see in the picture is the results of 7 months of growth. I saw my discus clear off portions from the driftwood when they were seeking place to lay their eggs.

Any recommendations on online resources to do some research to identify this algae?

Thanks.

[Ralph]

This is a good starting point:

http://www.aquaticscape.com/index65.html

Also the Aquabotanics forum has a thread on algae.

[ChloroPhil]

That looks a lot like Cladophora, as Ralph mentioned. It grows on wood and iron rich substrates like Flourite. I love the stuff myself and think it adds a great deal to the naturalness of the wood. It's hard to get off of things but is easy to control....just take out whatever it's on that you don't want it to be on.

It looks really good on that wood! Gorgeous!

[dm]

I don't know what it is but I think it looks great on there. I wouldn't mind if it started growing onmy wood.

[Chaos]

Thanks for the reference link. Looks a lot like Beard Algae. The leaves are very fine and color is bright green with silky soft texture.

"does not indicate bad water quality but grows very fast and overtakes the tank"

It has not over taken the tank. My guess is the lack of intense lighting. Looks like my tank is OK for now. Will try to propagate to my other driftwood.

[RAWesolowski]

If it does become a problem, you may want to try an Amano shrimp. The little critters are incredible for contreolling algae. They seem to eat any type. I have used them to clean the dark algae that occasionally coats plants... they clean the leaves!

[b3dlam]

*gulp*

i have never heard of ppl trying to entice BBA to grow in their tanks........ ;)