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Re: Aquatic Plants Digest V3 #1178
Edison wrote:
>
>Has anyone experienced plants being covered by algae? What is the best way
>to treat them? Is there any hope to rescue them?
>
>Thanks, I hope to hear from you very soon.
>
>Edison
>
Hi, I think most everyone that's had plants awhile has had this happen.
Check APD archives too.
There is hope. Treatment is possible but will only be a quick fix. Look at
the long term problem first. Why did the algae get on the plant in the first
place?
I don't think that using bleach dips really helps. I've done it in the
past but mainly on Anubias sp. with any decent successes. A 20:1 dilution of
household bleach and water for not more than 3-5min for tough leaf plants. I
watch while I'm dipping to see when the BBA starts to turn white. At that
point, I remove the plant and rinse well. Tip: Don't put any other part but
the algae covered part in the dip (no roots should go in there)! Less for
not so tough leaves. Most fine leaf plants will just plain die along with
the algae. Most of the delicate plants are fast growing so cutting off the
infected leaves and correcting conditions in the tank will solve the problem
when they grow out.
SAE's are very good at cleaning up plants with BBA (Black Brush Algae).
There are other animals that can control algae too such as
shrimps,snails,barbs,mollies,otto cats,and these are good line of offense
against algae. I prefer these to bleach. Your plants will too!
Don't be scared to trim your leaves that get infected. The leaves will
grow back. Algae species tend to have a narrow range of conditions that they
thrive in. Plants generally aren't as picky. Harass the algae with
animals,manual removal, good plant conditions, good maintenance(water
changes,regular trimming).