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Please help ID
- Thread starter Chris_Homan
- Start date
MirandaB
Member
Is it slimy when you wipe it off?
Looks suspiciously like a type of Cyanobacteria I get in my temperate tanks,especially at the top when I zoomed in on the photo
Looks suspiciously like a type of Cyanobacteria I get in my temperate tanks,especially at the top when I zoomed in on the photo
Chris_Homan
Member
No not really slimy. I don’t think it’s blue enough for Cyanobacteria. It’s brownish/green.
MirandaB
Member
May just be a mix of diatoms and green dust algae then.
Cyano does come in black,red and blue green colour.
Cyano does come in black,red and blue green colour.
Hi @MirandaB
I'm only familiar with the blue-green species. Do you happen to know which species of cyano are red and which are black?
TIA.
JPC
MirandaB
Member
I've looked at them under the microscope but I'll be honest I'm not sure what I'm looking at and I'm not able to get a photo from the microscope,both are definitely some sort of Cyano though as when wiped off they're back the next day.
MirandaB
Member
If you want to have a look at them,I'm more than happy to send you a sample of both in test tubes
MirandaB
Member
I don't think so,the rate of growth and the texture makes me think otherwise.
I did try Easylife Blue exit which actually seemed to make it worse,Chemiclean kills it off but it comes back within a week or so as it's lurking in the substrate so as soon as that's disturbed it's back.
All the tanks it's in are hillstream type set ups with masses of flow,low nitrates and usual temps around 19/20 degrees c and it definitely gets worse during the summer with the warmer weather.
I'm waiting on a phosphate test to arrive to check that side of things but usual parameters are PH 7.2 0 ammonia,0 Nitrites with Nitrates showing around 5 on an NT Labs test kit
Hi @MirandaB
I am by no means an expert in this field - far from it. But, I have taken an active interest in cyano - simply because it can/does cause aquarists a lot of problems. So, if what you have is not blue/green in colour, I can't help - much as I might like to! When you said...
...I was hoping that you could expand my knowledge of cyanobacteria.
JPC
Hi @Chris_Homan
It looks very much like diatoms to me. Is it a new(ish) tank, i.e. been up-and-running for just a few weeks?
The following link may be helpful:
JPC
Chris_Homan
Member
That’s exactly it! I was worried it was green algae and that I had to adjust light levels or something like that. Useful link, thanks.
