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Re: causes of algae growth
eckler 15:19:43: /home/ciarochi
501 > xhost +
I had an outbreak of black brush algae about a year ago. I didn't
know what it was, but thought it looked kind of cool, and so didn't
worry about it. It was somewhat reminiscent of those marine bottle brush
critters (I think that's the scientific name :), waving gently in the 'breeze'.
Then it started getting all over everything, of course. Before I could get too
concerned, however, it mysteriously went away. I had forgotten all about it
until it was mentioned here.
It's possible that the disappearance coincided with me taking an
active role in lowering the pH in my tank (my tap water is well above
8 pH). I don't really recall the timing.
- Anthony
> Steve wrote:
>
> >If you have been unfortunate enough to get "black brush" algae,
> (furry
> >short tufts) you can discourage the growth by keeping pH below 7.
> Its a
> >marine algae and flourishes at high pH.
>
> Black brush is a marine algae? Then what is it doing in freshwater
> tanks? Vacationing? ;-)
>
> Seriously, though, the dreaded black brush algae is definitely a
> freshwater species. The black/gray-green color is a characteristic of
> the freshwater red algae. Marine red algae are red colored, due to
> the
> presence of the photosynthetic pigment phycoerthryin. This pigment is
> greatly reduced in the freshwater species.
>
> Although I have never had an outbreak of BBA, I suspect the culprit is
> probably Acrochaetium sp. (=Audouinella sp.) or Batrachospermum sp.
> These are two common freshwater red algae that grow in tufts, and are
> gray or olive-green in color.
>
> Regards,
>
> Mark
>
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