Name That Algae - Or Not!

["David A. Youngker" <nestor10 at mindspring_com>]

Hey All -

I've had a particularly bothersome algae appear in one of my tanks whose
control seems to have eluded me. It grows rapidly, back as thick the day
after a cleaning as it was just prior to the cleaning, making it a right
fair imitation of a pest if it isn't one already.

I'm not actually sure if it's not affecting the broadleaf plants or if the
Otocinclus are just keeping them free of growth, but it's definitely getting
caught up in the grass and finer leafed plants. Removing it with a siphon is
simple with the stalked plants, where it settles like a fine dust on the
Limnophila or makes the Rotala look like a dusting brush, but it clings to
the grass quite well and is hard to clean out from it.

I decided to keep the clutter about tank parameters and specifics off the
list by posting them on the same Web page as a set of photos of the algae.
Those interested in tackling this riddle can find such at
http://www.mindspring.com/~nestor10/trials/algae.htm
One thing not mentioned there is that the water is changed and re-dosed
quite frequently. The Apistos in the tank are allowed an attempt at brood
raising in a community setting, and I keep the environment as stable as I
can. So you can safely assume the parameters remain consistent on a
day-to-day basis.

I tried boosting the nitrogen up to 10 ppm in case I'd been keeping it too
low for this particular tank (the general chemistry is common to the
majority of my tanks). Dropped the lighting down to only two lamps for a
while as well. But...

...I guess I'm open to suggestions on this one...


-Y-

David A. Youngker
nestor10 at mindspring_com