[HUNTER]

I have patches of BBA and would like to try couple of short fin mollies in my 17g tank. I already have rasboras and guppies in the tank, but I do 30% water change every four days. Does it matter what color Molly to get, and will my plan works? thanks

 

[acitydweller]

I have only seen mollies tugging at bba if the tank wasnt fed for a few days... And they certainly werent very good at making a dent in the little i had. So i wouldnt suggest they be really any good for BBA to be honest.

You may be better off treating it with peroxide then figuring out where the imbalance is (ferts/light/organic waste) that is fostering the bba.

With guppies and Mollies, you will likely have an overpopulation situation in a few months

 

[Raymond S.]

Mollies are the only fish I know of that is mostly vegitarian. Pet shops carry special food for vegitarian fish(and I doubt it if they would if Mollies were the only ones) but
if memory serves I think they have a picture of a Molly on the package.
But does this mean they will eat BBA ? I would feed them very lightly and every other day to encourage this...it is a plant and they may eat it. You may be onto a new "cure" for BBA. Do them a favor and get at least three. Color doesn't have to do with what food they eat, but the black Mollies are more prone to ick and other fish
diseases that can be the result of poor water conditions. In fact, it was common in
the 60's and 70's to keep a couple in your tank to help keep an eye on those water
conditions. Of course this was pre-good test kit days and when people didn't know
that much about water quality anyway as much as today.

 

[roadmaster]

Most often cause for BBA in my view/expierience is too much waste/food entering the tank on daily basis,and or dirty filter's/material.
I have had it in cichlid tank's where there was no light,no plant's, but plenty of waste being created and I was lazy with filter maint.Also believe food/poop in substrate contributed.
Agree with trying to find the cause rather than purchasing fish.
If cause is not corrected,,the stuff will forever be a problem and return over and over again.

 

[HUNTER]

I think I'm doing everything I can as far as maintaining water parameter. And as far as the main ingriedients, co2, light, ferts and feeding, I've done the balancing act and honestly, I don't have any clue what works. It's natural to get outside help besides trying to figure something out, especially when it's a guessing game. I may pick up couple of female mollies and see what happens.

 

[Subtletanks91]

Mollies will and do eat bba, even if fed once every couple days. Balloon mollies are especially lay good for this. Don't know why but they seem to love to graze on the stuff all day long. At work when there's decorations that have bba and spot algae etc on one I throw it in the tank with the balloon mollies and nerites. The nerites won't touch it but I always see the mollies grazing on it all day.

 

[HUNTER]

Mollies will and do eat bba, even if fed once every couple days. Balloon mollies are especially lay good for this. Don't know why but they seem to love to graze on the stuff all day long. At work when there's decorations that have bba and spot algae etc on one I throw it in the tank with the balloon mollies and nerites. The nerites won't touch it but I always see the mollies grazing on it all day.

Sounds good, it can't hurt trying. I'll get 2 and see if they have balloon mollies, the least can happen is I will end up with two more fish.

 

[Dannyul]

Hello,

I know how you feel regarding BBA

What you need to do as the first step is to double-check your CO2 levels.. and double-check it again. Is it stable? As in, is your drop checker always a green colour during lights-on. Plants require, therefore MUST HAVE, as close to as a stable CO2 level as possible - major fluctuations in CO2 levels can have a negative effect and benefit algae growth.

Next.

Seachem Flourish EXCEL.
Using this is much safer than H202 and/or bleaching!

This is a great product. This kills off all BBA GUARANTEED. The best way to administer this is via a syringe (just a normal plastic one is fine).

1) Turn off filter and all water flow.
2) Fill syringe with Flourish Excel (dependent on tank size - read label).
3) Squirt the Flourish Excel SLOWLY over the affected areas where BBA has taken over.
4) Wait 10 minutes making sure there is no flow in the water - i.e. the water is still.
5) Power up all your filter(s) and pumps.

Then, within 24-72 hours (depending on how badly the BBA is), the BBA should turn from dark green/black to blue/purple/red. Then it will disappear.

According to many sources, BBA is caused by low levels of CO2 or fluctuating CO2 levels. Just make sure you are pumping a constant level of CO2 into the tank (i.e. the drop checker is a lime green). Obviously tanks don't require CO2 during night-time.

Also, give your plants plenty of nutrients - try and dose using the EI method if you can, this is the best way to dose your tank and has worked extremely well for me. And for the lights, well, definitely no more than an 8 hour period.

One final note. The Seachem Flourish Excel is not a permanent fix to your BBA problem. The BBA may come back if you do not get the balance between CO2, nutrients and light correctly. Also, continue to dose Flourish Excel daily as well as using pressurised CO2 with a decent regulator.

And the one thing that people always think is not important to do..

WATER CHANGES! - Trust me, waste products in the water (e.g. Ammonia) favours algae growth. Do a weekly water change (50% if dosing the EI way for nutrients) and that'll help a lot!

In regards to the Molly you are thinking of adding.. you won't notice any major differences for a while. Try the above first.

Best of luck,
Dan

 

[Veritas]

have you thought about Amano Shrimp instead? less bioload than adding more fish

 

[Subtletanks91]

Amanos won't touch bba.

 

[Veritas]

weird, mine do?


or I might be thinking of Hair Algae actually.

 

[Subtletanks91]

Yeah I was gunna say haha. My Amanos eat hair algae and they grave on the occasional spot algae but other than that they won't even sit on a rock with bba on it

 

[HUNTER]

The BBA is on the java moss which is getting a good water flow, the thing is my tank is mostly java moss, nothing yet on my other plants. The other option I have is just rip out all java moss and if other plants are affected, I'll just rescape it with just driftwood and no plants for the meantime.

 

[Subtletanks91]

If it gets on the hard scale youll have to peroxide dip it and let it dry out

 

[HUNTER]

The good thing is the BBA has been the same for couple of months now, it's just hard to look at. Yeah I'm thinking of doing peroxide as a last resort, just worry about the fish and shrimps.

 

[Smeagol]

Hello,

I know how you feel regarding BBA

What you need to do as the first step is to double-check your CO2 levels.. and double-check it again. Is it stable? As in, is your drop checker always a green colour during lights-on. Plants require, therefore MUST HAVE, as close to as a stable CO2 level as possible - major fluctuations in CO2 levels can have a negative effect and benefit algae growth.

Next.

Seachem Flourish EXCEL.
Using this is much safer than H202 and/or bleaching!

This is a great product. This kills off all BBA GUARANTEED. The best way to administer this is via a syringe (just a normal plastic one is fine).

1) Turn off filter and all water flow.
2) Fill syringe with Flourish Excel (dependent on tank size - read label).
3) Squirt the Flourish Excel SLOWLY over the affected areas where BBA has taken over.
4) Wait 10 minutes making sure there is no flow in the water - i.e. the water is still.
5) Power up all your filter(s) and pumps.

Then, within 24-72 hours (depending on how badly the BBA is), the BBA should turn from dark green/black to blue/purple/red. Then it will disappear.

........

Why is it necessary for the water to be still? After administering the Excel with a syringe, how do you remove your hands from the water without causing the water to move?

 

[Dannyul]

You need the Excel to be concentrate to as close to the problem area as possible for the algae-burning effect to work - too much flow will redistribute the Excel. Squirting it slowly with a syringe and removing your hand slowly does work.