Who Gives A Fish Forums

Hi all, been keepin tropical for about 2 years now and never had any major issues, just the odd sick fish from a new shop. Recently started a planted scape and it's been goin great, most plants are thrivin but I've got a problem with some of the grasses. Parts of 'em have started turnin dark brown, but they're still alive and kickin. Wonderin if it's an algae issue, 'cause it's only affectin the grasses and not the other plants.

Show us a pic of the affected plants, it's hard to diagnose without seein what's goin on.

One of my platys had a big batch of fry too, over 20 made it which is mad, could be the change in plants that's causing it, anyway they've all got new homes now.

Seems like algae's the culprit, best get rid of it.

They resemble hair algae to me.
You'll probably need a brush to get rid of them.
Or consider adding some algae eaters to your tank.

Give nerite snails a go, they're pretty cool and they make some weird patterns while they're eating the algae.

What's your lighting setup - specifically the wattage? I'm thinking one possible solution could be to dial back the light brightness, as this tends to have the biggest impact on algae growth.

Personally, I've got a 2ft, 6W LED light in one of my tanks, and algae is barely an issue - I also have a Pleco and some shrimps in there, which likely helps. The plants I've got in this tank are Java Moss and Anacharis Elodea, which don't require a lot of light, and I've got the light on for 9 hours a day.

In another tank, I've got a 16W LED light, but I've turned it down to the lowest setting - 10 steps down, to be exact. And you know what? This tank's got more algae.

One thing that might help is adding some fast-growing plants like Anacharis or Hornworts - these guys compete with the algae for nutrients and can help keep things under control.