Complete Guide to Aquarium Algae - How to Identify it and Get Rid of It!

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

If you want more information on the best algae eating fish and invertebrates check out this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qWW0aq2vZcuanNksi=D2UVm8VFofDptZB2 Here is the best algae scraper: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pKCxlIBon82Irc0si=EYy3fb-E64ampkET Here is how to control algae using plants: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d3PdpX6liaZ9i9Usi=jcj5Dsly1M1Cgvjw Do you want a subscription to the best fish magazine in the world? Check this out - a special offer for Prime Time Aquatics viewers! www.amazonasmagazine.com/primetime Our new shirts can be found at: www.primetimeaquatics.com/merch Want to become a Prime Timer and see behind the scenes fish room videos? Consider becoming a member: kzbin.info/door/YVN7EN0ALL6CE4U7NpMUTAjoin For the latest short form content check us out on: Instagram: primetime_aquatics Facebook: primetimeaquatics1 Tictok: primetime_aquatics If you want to see all the cool stuff Joanna does with other types of scapes check out her channel! kzbin.info/door/PEZk1MpOTGiBVh6BtWjlRg

[@taniamans2026]

I really like your channel. You talk sense. Your voice is also not irritating lol. Sometimes i start listening to a new channel... until the dude starts to talk... did not even catch the line... Thank you for the effort you and your beautiful family makes! This channel awesome!

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Glad you are here!

[@Laura-ed5kf]

Razor blades work great but easy to scratch even glass tanks. Don’t be cheap: swap them out. Old credit cards/health ins. cards work very well too esp. on acrylic tanks.

[@dt4676]

Thanks I'll change my blade now

[@cherylbelott]

👍🏻 I was in the zone yesterday. I spent the afternoon addressing BBA and string algae on 2 of my tanks. Scraping, gravel vac/water change, some plant removal, hydrogen peroxide and adjusting my light.🤞🏻

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Woohoo!

[@mastergxp4993]

Really informative video i had my fair share of battles of all type of algae Also wanted to say thank you for making the fish hobby fun and educational and also for the shirt i got signed by you and your wife on the side note the Rainbow Fish i got from you are my favorite fish in my planted tank super stunning and fun to watch thank you agian for the great work and education you show us fish keepers!!

[@debbieakelly7557]

My albino Bristle Nose keep my tank clean ❤ Thanks Jason & Jo Anna ❤

[@johnlasco894]

This was another great video. It was enjoyable and educational. You really provided an in-depth discussion of how to handle algae. I've been providing less intense light by painting the tank lids (in a dappled light look). I learned a lot again today. Thank you!

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Thank you!

[@michellejadin4453]

I have some of that green filament algae growing on my driftwood. I personally think it looks rather neat. I do pull some off every once in awhile. The Amano shrimp, young mystery snails & pest snails seem to eat a little of it.

[@juliepidd-lv8qx]

Thanks for this informative video Jason. 👍

[@caverock.1]

I really needed this info. Thanks for posting.

[@davethefishdudesteinbock5518]

Thanks for the Info Jason! This video would help with so many questions on the Live streams 👍

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

I hope so!

[@chriscyr4982]

great video, will be sharing as a tool for others ...... thank you

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Thank you!

[@bobcobb99]

Thanks Jason!

[@dallasbrat81]

Yes I have black beard algae in my 75gal planted tank with simease

[@lukeborg9523]

Thanks Jason for the video!, but what about staghorn algae ?

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Didn't have any : -)

[@carleywilliams509]

Does staghorn algae look a lot like Blackbeard? Because I thought I saw staghorn in that tank with all the Blackbeard.

[@angelfishhaven]

Hill Stream loaches also do a good job on brown algae and spot algae

[@tracydas2523]

I grow algae on purpose for my Borneo sucker loaches. They don’t eat any bottom dweller foods, only green algae on glass and large river rocks. Also got some Amano shrimp for the green hair algae.

[@PlainsPup]

Great stuff as always, but you didn’t mention “green pea soup” algae. Unless that’s the planktonic form of another one you mentioned?

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Yep that’s the one!

[@LakeMissoulaAquaticsandPlants]

Skuds are amazing for hair algae removal, problem is they eat Java Moss too.

[@Jennifer-nz2ss]

While watching this video I feel i might have algae on myself. Gonna check to see what kind! 😆

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Ut oh! 😀

[@popculture70]

BBA has killed so many of my plants over the years that I was ready to give up on aquariums for good. It would just cover the leaves and smother them, whether it was slow-growing anubius or fast-growing stem plants or vallisneria. The BBA would kill them all. I've learned a lot about algae the hard way. The long and short of it is this... plants in distress release hormones which promote algae growth. Plants under attack by BBA release more of these hormones, and pretty soon your plants will be overwhelmed. The answer, however, is incredibly simple and cheap. 3% Hydrogen Peroxide squirted onto affected affected plant leaves or surfaces with pipette or syringe. I dose my 29 gallon twice a week with a shot glass of it. No need to turn off the lights or the filter with a small dose like that. It is 100% safe for fish, plants, shrimp and snails. The BBA starts to bubble immediately on dosing, producing bubbles of pure oxygen that your animals will love. The BBA then turns pink and dies allowing your clean up crew to devour it. After doing this for a few months now, I have no BBA in my tank. None. All the plants, substrate, and hardscape are algae-free. It's just a no-brainer and I wish someone had told me about it a long time ago.

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Appreciate you sharing!

[@pannobhasa]

A balanced system with diverse microfauna helps to prevent any kind of infestation. I've inoculated my tank with river and lake water, and have even bought a microfaunal culture with protozoans, amphipods, copepods, rotifers, tardigrades, gastrotrichs, nematode worms, fungi, etc. The tank has plenty of algae but also plenty of tiny organisms keeping it in check. The tiny organisms then serve as food for the fishes.

[@joegleeson9506]

Hi I am looking into doing this and am a bit confused. You mention using a syringe and applying directly to plants, I’m assuming while they’re out of water, but also doing a basic shot glass application into ur tank on a regular basis. Is one method preferable to the other or have I misunderstood? Cheers

[@popculture70]

@@joegleeson9506 Hey. You apply hydrogen peroxide to the plants while they are in the tank... if you do it while they are out of the water they might get burned. The hydrogen peroxide will attack algae but not harm your plants, fish or shrimp. You squirt it onto the affected plants and hardscape with a syringe, and bubbles of oxygen will form on the algae. After a few applications BBA will start turning pink and die while other forms of algae will die almost instantly. The bubbles of oxygen oxygenate the water and your fish and shrimp will love it. The only thing to be careful about is that the hydrogen peroxide can in theory kill the good bacteria in your filter. I haven't had any problems with that at all myself and I've been doing it regularly for many months now. But to be safe, you could turn off your filter for an hour while you add the hydrogen peroxide. I don't do that because my tank is very well established and has lots of filtration, but I would recommend it for the first few goes if you're worried about it. The shot glass refers to the amount of hydrogen peroxide I use each day. A shot glass full. Each day. Sucked up with a syringe.

[@azraelairsoft]

That hairy green algae at the end is marimo in its free form no? The one you said looks like a freshwater version of a salt water algae?

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Maybe?

[@camdengaliote3586]

Hi Jason, this is an off topic question, but I am wondering if you have had any experience keeping bichirs with plecos? I’ve read online that sometimes plecos develop a taste for the bichirs’ slime coat and that can lead to the bichir’s death. I have a 4 inch bristlenose pleco with a 10-12 inch delhezi bichir in a 125 gallon tank, and am now a bit concerned for the bichirs well being.

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

I haven’t kept them together?

[@jerrygoebel9152]

I have a 40 gallon community tank that's always grown BBA, and the three Siamese Algae Eaters ignore it. It's growing on some rocks and not on the plants and quite frankly I don't mind the way it looks.

[@mananthakkar4765]

What about staghorn algae?

[@dappledlight8073]

The thing you missed is taking steps not to introduce certain types of algae to your tanks. People tend to think of all algae as inevitable, but this simply isn't true. Black beard is a great example as most species in the genus have never been discovered with reproductive bodies and spread primarily though fragmentation. Treating incoming plants with "reverse respiration" is your best approach to prevention in that case. Diatom algae exists on the opposite end of the spectrum - it's in the air! So prevention is not really an option. But people need to stop approaching algae like one thing. They are more diverse than the plants we put in our tanks!

[@thewoodsman4157]

I have a long thin grey alage. Very much like strands of hair. And very grey. Getting about 3-4” long. Only on leaves. Seem to be able to pull it off leaves pretty easily. Any idea what that could be? Imagine it’s the same story : too much light, CO2

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

I've had that too - I treat it like green hair.

[@ummfish4878]

i have found that sand is the 1 thing that brings me massive algae. I don't know why. all my tanks with no sand , also have no algae. add sand and you get black beard, some green mat and brown. its frustrating.

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Could be the silicate content?

[@Ash31415]

Sand promotes brown algae for sure. Because brown algae are diatoms - microscopic crustaceans with shells and they use that silicate from the sand to make those shells.

[@ianredgate4031]

what if it blathers on about it's glory days on the Atlanta Falcons?

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

There were glory days for the Atlanta falcons?

[@TerryLestrange]

I seen everywhere that the Fishnet algae eater is the best. crossocheilus reticulatus. Will try those out when I start the hobby again. But green spot algae is my biggest enemy. It got on the glass. It goes even on the mystery snail its shell. Terrible stuff.

[@nanoswithabackbone232]

Didn't see my algae. I actually can't find it anywhere. It's a new planted tank with co2...and it's started to get what looks like fine pieces of hair here and there....but it has bubbles in it.

[@PrimeTimeAquatics]

Could be hydra too?

[@filiplaskovski9993]

Carful with peroxide it has nuked one my tanks … decimated my plants, bio filter and almost killed my fish

[@johnglenham4099]

Cant even get the old one,s let alone new one,s.

[@Karp_Keeper]

I think the red algae might be cyanobacteria

[@nutmeggs]

It is absolutely cyano bacteria!! In freshwater, it generally appears as a reddish or purple color.

[@samhennies6493]

Snails and shrimp are dynamite.

[@MAR_10-x5w]

why his beard looks like an apple notch? 💀💀💀💀💀