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BGA Anecdote



We had a mild problem with blue-green algae growing below the gravel line along the front 
of our acrylic tanks.  I would suppose conditions there are good: light being 
channeled in via the plastic, no water movement, low oxygen, available nutrients 
(?). It seems more problematic where E. tenellus or E. quadricostatus roots get 
close to the front (waste products acting as nutrients?).  

In the past, I've used a sheet of styrene plastic (0.080") to scrape the glass 
in front of the gravel.  This "cleaned" the area but was not a long lasting 
solution. What was happening, I guess, was the BGA was being pushed down and 
behind the gravel in the front.  It has been growing back at increasingly faster 
rates. Recently, I would see 'green fingers' coming up from the bottom the day 
after it was cleaned and it would be back as it was in less than a week. 

I've adopted a new strategy that seems to be working well.  Noting that the BGA 
rarely came above the gravel, I thought maybe it didn't like oxygenated water.  
So I fashioned an "L" shaped piece of plastic out of styrene the the lower arm 
shaped as a slender wedge.  Now I can slip the wedge down to the bottom of the 
glass and pull the BGA up into the water column. It disappears quickly and has 
stayed away for a couple of weeks now. 

George in Sunny Colorado