Re: Aquatic Plants Digest V5 #395

[Thomas Barr <tcbiii at earthlink_net>]

> I have noticed how my algae is only able to
> attach to the side of leaves where the
> surface isn't changing in the same rate as
> on the top/bottom of the leaves.
> Plant leaf surface area change = No algae.
> Good plant growth = Great leaf surface area change.

What happens when the leaf is mature? Most growing increasingly area plant
organs are young and new. It takes time for the algae to settle attach and
grow. If you only pick young leaves for your comparison, well, then that
makes sense then. 

> Bad plant growth = No leaf surface area change.

And the leaf simply sits there(it gets old without fully maturing into a
full grown leaf, stunted).

> I bet someone on this list knows, scientifically,
> why algae can't attach to a leaf when it's
> area is changing (growing)?

See above.
 
> Is this the answer to the notorious question
> why algae doesn't exist in a plant dominated
> tank? They can't attach to surfaces that
> constantly change?

Well we do prune many plants and take out the old leaves etc, many of which
have a little algae.

> And the static surfaces
> they would theoretically be able to attach to
> (like the front glass) they really hate
> beacause the DO is extremely high, the BOD
> is extremely low and the NH4 and NO2 is
> extremeley low - and therefore they easily
> detach from it - they become easy prey for
> snails and algae eaters?

Perhaps, if you have algae eaters in there.
I've gotten some results similar with no algae eaters(well nothing one can
see, Rotifers etc).

Regards, 
Tom Barr