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Red Algae
Steve Pushak 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.
Red algae are _not_ strictly marine. While there the majority of the 4,000
or so species are marine, there are over 100 species of fresh water red
algae. If you happen to have a species that is adapted to water with a
higher pH, dropping the pH may help get rid of it. But there are other
species that will happily thrive at a pH of 6, or perhaps lower. What they
all seem to have in common is that they thrive in situations of high
nitrate and phosphate.
Mark Fisher wrote:
>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.
While this is generally true, I have some photos of some really attractive
RED red algae in a soft water, low pH discus tank belonging to a friend.
It was growing on some Bolbitis that was clearly deteriorating in the
soft/acid water. I suspect that it was living on the nutrients that were
leaching from the dying leaves. It was pretty enough that he actually
left in the tank for quite a while. (It did not spread beyond the sick
Bolbitis)
Karen Randall
Aquatic Gardeners Association