In article , Bigs wrote:
Hi,

I have searched the web trying to find the type of algae I have. Not
successful. I think I got if from getting free hornwort from a LFS.
But, stupid me I did not know about the bleaching to get rid of it.
It's a black string that grows like a tree branch. It grows on my live
plants and my ornaments, does not seem to affect my filter or my glass.
My otto does not seem to eat it either. I'm thinking it's algae from a
pond because that's where he grabbed the hornwort. I'm thinking it's
Staghorn algae but it's seems black and not green like I have read.

Yup, that's the stuff, it's really awful.

Should I do a 25% bleach solution and dip them in? How long should I
dip them?

20:1 water to bleach. 5 - 10 seconds. The plants must be bare
root; you can't bleach them if they're potted.

Closer to 5 seconds for more sensitive plnts, closer to 10 for
tougher plants. They will die back but they will return.

Be very carful of snails. They can survice this bleach treatment
by withdrawing into their shells ans closing their operularum;
when they do this they can trap algae cells in there and it
can all come back from one cell. Stick any snails in a completely
blackkend tank for 3 months, feeidn them the ocasinal bit of
dried catfood; use the offspring, never the parents.


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