# Ammonia and odd growths on plants



## GeminiPrincess (Oct 1, 2010)

Well I just checked my water and it is reading as followed:
Ammonia: .25
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20
Ph: 7.6

Now I am not sure where this ammonia might have come from. I did add some water last night but i used Amaquil plus this time instead of the reg dechlorinater since my tap water has ammonia in it. Normally by now the ammonia would have gone away, but hasn't. Not sure where it has come from since i have not added any fish and i only feed once a day and make sure they eat all of it. I also have some funky root lookin things growing off my swords, anubias, and another plant along with one of the tube suction cups. At first i thought they were actually roots until i found them on the suction cup.


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## automatic-hydromatic (Oct 18, 2010)

staghorn algae?

example:











I'd say wait a day without feeding, and do another 25% water change and see if that helps your ammonia


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## GeminiPrincess (Oct 1, 2010)

automatic-hydromatic said:


> staghorn algae?
> 
> example:
> 
> ...


Will Amano shrimp eat it?


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## automatic-hydromatic (Oct 18, 2010)

that I'm not sure of...

but that shrimp in that photo seems to be enjoying it


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## GeminiPrincess (Oct 1, 2010)

automatic-hydromatic said:


> that I'm not sure of...
> 
> but that shrimp in that photo seems to be enjoying it


Yeah my cherry shrimp look like they are eating it but it never gets smaller so i dunno. I'm going to get some Siamese Algae Eaters this weekend i guess and if that doesn't work then im bleaching them.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I think the addition of your new lighting has probably caused this. When you added the light did you keep the same time period your light was on? Also caused by excess nutrients and low CO2. Do you currently dose Flourish Excel? It does an incredible job in keeping all algae in check. Sort of pricey (I buy the 2-L bottles), but worth every penny.


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## chris oe (Feb 27, 2009)

The little white things are flatworms. They're just an indication that your water is very nutrient rich. If you care about getting rid of them, do more frequent water changes to get your nitrate & so on down. If you don't, don't worry about them, they're not hurting anything that I'm aware of. 

I agree about the green bits - they are algae. If you're fond of your other fish, do a little more reading about the chinese algae eater, it isn't really a fish I'd recommend for ANY community aquarium. True flying foxes are a better eater of filamentous type algae, anyway, and a much more handsome fish. Better still to control the conditions that lead to the algae's growth.


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## Auban (Aug 8, 2010)

i second the opinion about the siamese algae eater. they will eat algea off your plants when they are younge, along with the plant itself. before long you would see the leaves on your plants disentigrating, and the little SAE will be the culprit. when they get bigger, they get agressive and start eating a lot more protien rich foods, they really start bullying everything around them. i have had less trouble with african cichlids in my planted community tanks than i have had with the one SAE i have. to make matters worse, they are almost impossible to catch once in your tank because they are extremely flighty, and very fast. it looks to me like you have staghorn algae. you can treat it with excel, hydrogen peroxide, or by getting the conditions right in the tank. try turning the lights on for only 3 hours twice a day for a while. staghorn algae takes time to be able to start using light, but most plants can start photosynthesizing almost immediately, so short periods of light seperated by darkness can keep your plants alive while slowely starving the algae. in my experience, it takes about a month of this kind of treatment to get rid of the algae.


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## GeminiPrincess (Oct 1, 2010)

jrman83 said:


> I think the addition of your new lighting has probably caused this. When you added the light did you keep the same time period your light was on? Also caused by excess nutrients and low CO2. Do you currently dose Flourish Excel? It does an incredible job in keeping all algae in check. Sort of pricey (I buy the 2-L bottles), but worth every penny.


I took the new light off when i was told it would cause more issues then it was worth. I was thinking of adding another one or two bottles of Co2 to the tank but all separate this time instead of connected. What does high nutrients mean exactly? how to i fix this? Will amano shrimp take care of this type of algae?


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

That algae growth is what I've always heard commonly referred to as "hair algae". Nothing will eat it except shrimp, though SAE's might eat it but I think they're too much of an ******* fish to put in my tank. My shrimp keep the hair algae under control, but it's very hard to eradicate.

If you have shrimp I would leave it be, it's a nice snack for them. If you really want it gone, mix up your light cycle to, say, 4 on 4 off intervals all day. As a last resort for hair algae, do a blackout - turn off your light and cover the tank with a black plastic garbage bag. The plants will survive cause they're bigger and tougher, but the algae will die.

Also, for the ammonia - how are you testing? If you're doing liquid titration tests, I've always had 0.25 ppm readings because I clean the test tubes out afterwards with tap water, which has a concentration of ~1ppm ammonia. If you're doing test strips, I really wouldn't worry about it.


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## probe1957 (Jul 2, 2010)

I don't think your ammonia level is anything you need to be concerned about, unless it goes higher. I use the API Master Test Kit and it is really hard for me to tell the difference between 0 and .25 ppm on the ammonia chart.


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## GeminiPrincess (Oct 1, 2010)

I am missing a platy and the other one seems to be lethargic. I also haven't seen any of my shrimp today. I am going to do a 25% water change tonight, but that worries me because my water has ammonia in it. I also dosed Excel today and plan on turning off the lights here in a little bit. This is frustrating, I can't seem to get the hang of this fish stuff.


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## mfgann (Oct 21, 2010)

Are your RCS breeding yet? Maybe when you get a good population or RCS it might help. You might try putting the excel in a syringe or turkey baster and blasting the dose right on some of the hair algae. I think some use this with success. Be careful dosing excel, though.. RCS are sensitive to contaminants and some fertilizers can prevent breeding or even kill them (I think the iron is what does it).

Good luck


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## GeminiPrincess (Oct 1, 2010)

mfgann said:


> Are your RCS breeding yet? Maybe when you get a good population or RCS it might help. You might try putting the excel in a syringe or turkey baster and blasting the dose right on some of the hair algae. I think some use this with success. Be careful dosing excel, though.. RCS are sensitive to contaminants and some fertilizers can prevent breeding or even kill them (I think the iron is what does it).
> 
> Good luck


Thanks, I havn't gotten my RCS yet and they will be in their own tank that is currently cycling.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

GeminiPrincess said:


> I *am missing a platy and the other one seems to be lethargic*. I also haven't seen any of my shrimp today. I am going to do a 25% water change tonight, but that worries me because my water has ammonia in it. I also dosed Excel today and plan on turning off the lights here in a little bit. This is frustrating, I can't seem to get the hang of this fish stuff.


I would be worried about this. I would stop adding any food for a few days. but (usually) by the time the fish show some signs of stress it is too late for that fish in that tank. Only moving it to a new tank with a good environment can help.


my .02


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## mfgann (Oct 21, 2010)

GeminiPrincess said:


> Thanks, I havn't gotten my RCS yet and they will be in their own tank that is currently cycling.


Hmm. I think your shrimp in the picture is a red cherry shrimp (abbreviated RCS). Are you referring to crystal red shrimp(CRS)? Yeah. Its confusing isn't it? Anyway, I was referring to the cherry shrimp.. not even aware of any other types you have plans on. 

Or am I psychic? Bwahahaha..


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## GeminiPrincess (Oct 1, 2010)

mfgann said:


> Hmm. I think your shrimp in the picture is a red cherry shrimp (abbreviated RCS). Are you referring to crystal red shrimp(CRS)? Yeah. Its confusing isn't it? Anyway, I was referring to the cherry shrimp.. not even aware of any other types you have plans on.
> 
> Or am I psychic? Bwahahaha..


Oh that wasn't my pic someone else did that. I was thinking CRS though. The other platy showed up and all seems fine with them. I bleached the plants for about 30 seconds and rinsed them till no smell of bleach was left. I am going to do a water change after diner and test tomorrow.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

GeminiPrincess said:


> This is frustrating, I can't seem to get the hang of this fish stuff.


Hey, hey, cut that out. We've all been there.


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## GeminiPrincess (Oct 1, 2010)

jrman83 said:


> Hey, hey, cut that out. We've all been there.


Yeah I now have another problem with the Shrimp tank i just set up...it's never ending. The water is cloudy since i put in the drift wood - is that normal? Anyways on my 26g - I just did a 25% wc and tested for ammonia before i put the water in. With the amaquel it is .50 vs 1 which is what it was prior to the amaquel. I'm worried about my Cherry shrimp but i guess its a good clue if they can't handle water changes with my water that the CRS wont be able to. I need a job to support this addiction lol


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

GeminiPrincess said:


> Yeah I now have another problem with the Shrimp tank i just set up...it's never ending. The water is cloudy since i put in the drift wood - is that normal? Anyways on my 26g - I just did a 25% wc and tested for ammonia before i put the water in. With the amaquel it is .50 vs 1 which is what it was prior to the amaquel. I'm worried about my Cherry shrimp but i guess its a good clue if they can't handle water changes with my water that the CRS wont be able to. I need a job to support this addiction lol


Did you soak the driftwood for a while before you put it in? The batches I've gotten I always soak for at least 2wks. Have you tried filling a container with water and let it sit to see if the ammonia drops?

There is always a RO. It will kill the ammonia, soften the water, and neutral the ph.


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## GeminiPrincess (Oct 1, 2010)

jrman83 said:


> Did you soak the driftwood for a while before you put it in? The batches I've gotten I always soak for at least 2wks. Have you tried filling a container with water and let it sit to see if the ammonia drops?
> 
> There is always a RO. It will kill the ammonia, soften the water, and neutral the ph.


I boiled it for 2 hours and then let it sit for anther hour in the pot while it cooled.

I let the water with amaquel sit for 2 hours before i tested it, still had ammonia. I've actually let a bucket sit overnight and tried that with no success. 

What is RO? I do have hard water, or so i've been told. I don't have my own test kit for that one.


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## mfgann (Oct 21, 2010)

GeminiPrincess said:


> Yeah I now have another problem with the Shrimp tank i just set up...it's never ending. The water is cloudy since i put in the drift wood - is that normal? Anyways on my 26g - I just did a 25% wc and tested for ammonia before i put the water in. With the amaquel it is .50 vs 1 which is what it was prior to the amaquel. I'm worried about my Cherry shrimp but i guess its a good clue if they can't handle water changes with my water that the CRS wont be able to. I need a job to support this addiction lol


Mine turned tea color when I added driftwood, and some fungus grew on the driftwood for a while, but the shrimp cleaned it off. The tea color got cleared up with water changes. The second piece of driftwood I bought is still soaking.. and I have dumped lots of tea colored water from that bucket. The BEST way is to boil the wood a bit, then soak it for a couple more days, but I doubt my wife would like me using her pots to boil driftwood


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## GeminiPrincess (Oct 1, 2010)

mfgann said:


> Mine turned tea color when I added driftwood, and some fungus grew on the driftwood for a while, but the shrimp cleaned it off. The tea color got cleared up with water changes. The second piece of driftwood I bought is still soaking.. and I have dumped lots of tea colored water from that bucket. The BEST way is to boil the wood a bit, then soak it for a couple more days, but I doubt my wife would like me using her pots to boil driftwood


My water looks more whitish/cloudy then it does brown. The boiled water looked like tea, but not the tank water. I did a 20% water change tonight and will most likely do more soon since tomorrow is the last day of the semester so i will have extra time on my hands till the beginning of the year.


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