Hey guys,
My Vallis is going a strange brown colour. Some of the leaves have come off and one in particular has what looks like hair algae but appears to be part of the leaf when I try and pull it? The other plants are doing okay, just worried about the Vallis
Sorry for the blurry pic
Trea.
Rena Aqualife 120 x 40- 250l :
Plants: Vallisneria spiralis ''Tiger'', Bacopa monnieri, Limnophila sessiliflora, Hygrophila corymbosa 'Siamensis', Echinodorus 'rubin', Anubias barteri var. nana, Java Fern, Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Green', Limnobium laevigatum
Fish:- 17 x Harlequin Rasboras, 3 x Bristlenose Plecs
3 Bed House - 637129l : 1 husband, 2 kids and 1 hairy dog
Looks like hair algae, yes. Can't see anything wrong with the plant's colour, bits die off and new bits grow! I had terrible problems with hair algae and gave up in the end - I don't like using chemicals if it can be avoided but like I said, I gave up and used Interprets "Anti Hair-Algae" stuff which worked a treat, and it's not come back since...
Its weird because its not anywhere else in the tank at all!
Do B/N's, snails or shrimp eat hair algae?
flying fox's will but nothing eats much of it.
Just remove the leaf's with the problem.
Viviparous.org.uk UK's leading livebearer site
Does it matter where I cut it? i.e, halfway up or at the base?
Trea
Personally, I'd go for the bottom (oooer, missus) 'cos you may just stimulate the plant to grow more leaves.
Do you have your lights on for more than 10 hours per day? Is the tank in sunlight? I'm just wondering what you can do to kill the algea off.
Good luck
Mike
"It is infinitely more exciting to live a life of catastrophic failures than a life of could-haves, should-haves & would-haves." Moh Hon Meng
Lights are on 6 til 6 and our front room gets a lot of sun, although that end of the tank doesn't get direct sun.
Its just strange that its on one leaf, it almost looks frayed
I'll cut it at the base.
Thank you
trea
imo your lights are on too long.
what is your fert dosing?
I read that you don't need to dose for the first week or so when you use Eco complete, I haven't started yet. Should I? All other plants are doing fine
Edit: I have Pro Fito Easy Life sitting there ready to use.
Agree about the lights, 10 hours should be plenty, any more and you are encouraging algae. Although if it is a new setup then you are bound to get some. I have had a little hair algae but my Japonica Shrimp seem to be taking care of it. It could also just be die off that happens to most plants when they are put in a new tank as they adjust to the water parameters. I have had a load of leaves die off on my Tiger Vallis but new ones are growing so I am not worrying.
Personally I would start dosing, I left mine a few days then started, my tiger is already sending out runners and my green crypts are growing loads of new leaves.
Rekord 120 3 Black Widow Tetras, 2 Banded Rainbow Fish, 1 Bristlenose catfish, 3 Rummy Nose Tetra
Rekord 70 Plants - Vallis Nana, Vallis Tiger, Crypt Wendtii Green, Crypt Wendtii Tropica, Sagittaria Subulata Livestock - 5 Japonica Shrimp, 3 Ottos, 6 Cardinal Tetra, 3 x Rainbow Shrimp
Typing EXcremenT To Anyone LiKe thIS FOR Me OR anyONe Stinks.
Teresa, did you trim that vallis, looks like mine when i cut it cos it gets too long, di
Personally I don't like vallis as never had any luck with it. Just quickly dies
It's really best to remove old and dying leaves from the base then new ones will soon grow Pull them away from the base rather than actually cutting.
Often if you trim them further up they turn brown and die off.
Sometimes amano shrimps will eat that type of algae but sometimes not.
It can tend to grow where there's a strong current blowing also if nitrAte is high. If it gets ling and more troublesome you can twirl it round a toothbrush to remove it.
We have our lights on for 5 hours then off for 3 then on for 5 . The break in between is supposed to break the algae growth cycle
The brown tips on the vallis and frayed look looks/sounds like a nutrient deficiency. Vallis like plenty of calcium and do the very best in hard water(apart from in our tank LOL) . I agree about starting feeding. Remove the brown leaves a said and start dosing and they should soon start to pick up
Trea,
Algae is caused by an imbalance in the tank between lighting, nutrients and co2. It is usual to get algae in a new set up as there is generally an over abundance of nutrients in the substrate (especially something like eco-complete). After a few weeks the nutrients are used up and the tank settles down, the algae dies back. However, it can become a problem if there is a big imbalance.
I would cut the lenght of your photo period (as others have suggested) to ten hours or even less. Alternatively increase the number of plants you have and use fast growing plants - this way they will use the excess nutrients and longer light period and out compete the algae. Lilac's suggestion of a lighting 'siesta' is a good one as well - i find that works well for less planted or lower light level tanks. If you have a well lit heavily planted tank with regular fertilisation (inc CO2) i find that you don't need the 'siesta ( I don't have a siesta on my trigon - the lights are on from 12 til 12 - 125W mercury vapour making 3WPG) but I do have a siesta on my 'ickle' tank although I don't reckon I need to (might experiment with that!).
Always trim the leaves at the base, if you cut them half way up they tend to rot back.
Dont panic, trim the leaf with the algae, cut photoperiod to ten hours and see how you go. Expect a bit more algae over the next few weeks, as long as it's nothing substantial just remove it.
1xTrigon 1903 Clown Loaches,14 Cardinal Tetras,8 Rummynose Tetras,6 Cory Trileneatus,6 Hatchetfish,4 otocinclus,1 SAE,1 Bristlenose,, 10 amano Shrimp
Anubius Barteri,Crinum thianum,Limnophilia sessiflora, Echinodorus Blehri, nymphaea lotus, Ammania Senegelis, Crinum calimustratum, java moss, 1xRekord 60Empty at Present
12 litre tank - 4 japonica shrimp, 4 Red crystal shrimp, 5 High Spot Rasbora
Anubias Barteri, Glossostigma Elatanoides, Ammania Senegalisis, Limnophilia Sessiflora, Bacopa amplexicaulis
fishyfeet: Teresa, did you trim that vallis, looks like mine when i cut it cos it gets too long, di
No I haven't cut it.
I will trim the brown leaves at the base. The hair algae is on the leaf that is right in fromt of the filter out flow Jan so you're right about that Its also growing on the back glass now so will have to scrape that off, although its drawn out the snails I didn't know I had
I will also start dosing, sounds like some of the leaves should be expected to die off though. My water is 12 dh so the Vallis should like it once i get the ferts in.
Thanks for all the advice.
Bluedave: Dont panic, trim the leaf with the algae, cut photoperiod to ten hours and see how you go. Expect a bit more algae over the next few weeks, as long as it's nothing substantial just remove it.
Cheers BlueDave. I tried to set the timer different LOL and broke it
For now i will manually switch off as close to ten hours as I can get. When I get a new timer I will set it to have a siesta as you and Jan suggested.
'Don't Panic' sounds like Dad's Army