Need some expert advice

[Scott T.]

Hello all
Just wondering if someone with some experience with plants could help me out here. The attached picture is a plant that has been in my tank for about three weeks and all of a sudden it looks like the picture. It's almost like something is growing on it like maybe algae? As you can see there is new growth at the base of the plant but this other type of growth is all over the middle of the plant and it is almost like a gel type of substance. Any help would sure be appreciated.

thanks
Scott T.

[Webzilla]

Looks like hornwoart... Maybe hairalgea all over it. Check you Nitrates, I personally would get it out of the tank, once hair algea starts it is very hard to stop it. It seems to double in size daily. JMO. Maybe try a water change.

John....

[Scott T.]

HI Webzilla
Thanks for the reply. I am not sure what type of plant it is but I am doing water changes every other day at about 33 percent. My nitrates are at about 3 ppm right now. I have not done any dosing on this tank as I am new to the planted tank. I guess I will take the plants out and try to balance the nutrients in the tank. Any more suggestions are definately welcome.

scott

[Webzilla]

Scott,

I'm an expert by no means when it comes to plants. But I did have alot of plants and hornwort is the worst for that stuff. At least I always have problems with that. "I think it is hornwort." Kinda hard to tell from the pick. But yeah, once that stuff starts it can be a bear to stop.

John.....

[Don_Lee]

Looks like algae for sure........are you monitoring your water? Could be alot of different things causing the algae.......

Don

[Scott T.]

Hi Don
I need to get a phosphate test kit and check my water. The nitrate is at 3ppm but I have not done any dosing of fertiliser yet. I am open for suggestions

Thanks
Scott

[Anonapersona]

I'd prune out the plant that is affected, leaving any stems that look OK.

If you can let the nitrates get just a bit higher, 5ppm is better for plants than 3ppm. I got the worst green hair algae when the nitrates went to zero. The hair was so bad, it twisted into dreadlocks when the goldfish swam around.

It required trace fertilizers and nitrates to turn it around.

[sn8k]

I used adobe to brighten up the picture so I could see it a bit better. Looks like brown/diatom algae. I would hazard a guess that you setup your tank pretty reciently (less then 2 months) - and this type of algae is normal until the tank 'settles'. You're doing the right thing by not dosing or adding ferts at this time. In the meantime, you can manually remove the algae by just taking the plant out of the tank and rubbing it off with your fingers in a bucket of declorinated water. Then just add it back to the tank, along with a few otos (1 per 10 gallons of water) and a couple of plecos - they love to eat this stuff and will keep it in check.

Nitrates & phosphates do contribute to growth - but again, this type of algae is normal for a newly setup planted tank even with both NO3 & PO4 at zero - it usually indicates a lack of light or an excess of silicates. Nothing really bad about this type of algae because it is easily removed and will eventually disappear in about 3 months time... it's just unsightly ;)
Mark K... :fish:

[ChloroPhil]

ScottT,

Is that plant in an area of weak water current? A lot of times fine leaved plants like that will get diatomaceous or slime algae on them if there's not enough water circulating around them. Unfortunately, that plant (looks like Parrot Feather, Myriophyllum spp. to me) is hit pretty hard. I'd cut out all the affected plant and let those little side shoots grow out. Also, move it to a higher current area if you can.

Best,
Phil