What are the brown spots on my rocks, deco and fake plants? is it harmful to my fish?

I have four Parrot blood fish. And I just recently got an algae eater because someone told me that the rustic brown spots are a form of algae? Is this true? And is there some way I can get rid of the spots or will I need to get another algae eater? Also I heard that most often apple snails are used? Will this work? I have so many questions, sorry. I have a 30 gallon tank with just the four cichlids b/c thay are aggressive, but really pretty. How do I know if they are sick? One of them looks like they have a scratch from running into a rock on its nose, and another a funny black spot that it had when we got him, then lost it and now its back? I keep the water levels perfectly in line. I just wonder if there is some sort of medicine for this black spot disease if that is even what it is? I am so confused and I love them and don't want them to die... HELP!!! it would be greatly appreciated.

What are the brown spots on my rocks, deco and fake plants? is it harmful to my fish?
It could be brown algae or it could be diatomes. Either way, the algae eater won't eat it. Most algae eaters will only eat very green, grassy-type algaeas; other algae types are just not edible.


I suggest you bring the algae eater back to the petstore; he will starve in that environment, although you can feed him - algae wafers and zucchini slived.





Algae is usually caused by excess nutrients or excess light. In your case, I'd bet it is excess nutrients, because your tank is several overstocked. Blood parrots are big, and sometimes aggressive, fish. These fish can grow upwards of 8 inches and a 50 gallon tank would be the minimum size tank for 2. You could maybe get away with keeping one in a 30 gallon tank, but definitely not four.


So, this is heavy on your bioload, because they are churning too much ammonia, which is being converted into nitrates, for the tank to handle - and algae loves nitrates.





As for the black spot, freshwater fish do not get black spot disease. It could be a healing wound or a scar - if so, the scales will look mottled; or it could just be coloration - if so, the scales will look normal, just black in color.
Reply:Algae Control in the Aquarium





Not all algae in the aquarium is necessarily 'bad' - a certain amount is inevitable where there is water, light and nutrients. However, some types of algae are certainly a nuisance, if for no other reason than looking unsightly.





The control or prevention of different algae types is primarily about nutrient control, and the amount of light. There are therefore some general guidelines which can be followed to help minimize algae:





# Avoid direct sunlight falling on the tank, especially for prolonged periods. Unfortunately, despite the pleasant rippling light effects provided by sunlight, the rich lighting spectrum of the sun is likely to mean a constant battle against algae in most setups.


# Do not leave lighting on for more than 10-12 hours a day. Longer periods are likely to favor algal growth, rather than promote plant growth.


# Minimize nutrient levels with frequent water changes. In particular, it may help to keep nitrates, phosphates and silicates low if you have a persistent problem - either by the use of reverse osmosis (RO) or deionized (DI) water, or specific adsorption resins (e.g. API Phos-Zorb). However, note that although high levels of such nutrients may encourage algae, it is not generally possible to completely eliminate algae by attempting to reduce them, as algae can survive at levels below those which can be measured by a hobbyist test kit.


# Consider adding algae eating fish if appropriate to the setup. These include: suckermouth catfish (e.g. Ancistrus, Peckoltia and Otocinclus species), the Siamese Algae Eater (Crossocheilus siamensis) and mollies.


# Note that in planted tanks (which is not really the same as tanks with a few plants in!), the most effective way to control algae growth is to plant heavily and promote vigorous plant growth of several different species, to out-compete the algae for nutrients. The management of a planted aquarium is beyond the scope of this article, and will be the subject of a future article, but an important nutrient with regard to plant versus algae growth in a planted tank is Iron, and controlling levels of this nutrient is likely to be important.





"Brown algae" (diatoms)





This is often the first algae to appear in a newly set-up tank, where conditions have yet to stabilize. It will often appear around the 2-12 week period, and may disappear as quickly as it arrived when the conditions stabilize after a couple of months. It is essential to minimize nutrient levels to ensure the algae disappears - avoid overfeeding and carry out the appropriate water changes, gravel and filter cleaning, etc. Limiting the light will not deter this algae, as it can grow at low lighting levels and will normally out-compete green algae under these conditions.





If brown algae appears in an established tank, check nitrate and phosphate levels. Increased water changes or more thorough substrate cleaning may be necessary. Using a phosphate-adsorbing resin will also remove silicates, which are important to the growth of this algae. However, as noted above, it is essentially impossible to totally eliminate algae with this strategy alone. Due to its ability to grow at low light levels, this algae may also appear in dimly lit tanks, where old fluorescent bulbs have lost much of their output. If a problem does occur, otocinclus catfish are known to clear this algae quickly, although you may need several for larger tanks, and they can be difficult to acclimatise initially.





There are some very plausible theories as to why this algae often appears in newly set up tanks and then later disappears. If the silicate (Si) to phosphate (P) ratio is high, then diatoms are likely to have a growth advantage over true algae types and Cyanobacteria. Some of the silicate may come from the tap water, but it will also be leached from the glass of new aquarium, and potentially from silica sand/gravel substrates to some extent. Later, when this leaching has slowed, and phosphate is accumulating in the maturing tank, the Si:P ratio will change in favor of phosphate, which is likely to favor the growth of green algae instead.
Reply:The brown spots could be algae, and really the only way to get it off is just to rub it. You need a bigger tank for those four parrots. I hope you are doing your water changes very frequently. The scratch is probably, like you said, a scratch, because those parrot fish aren't the smartest fish out there, they tend to run into things really hard when they are trying to pick up food. The black spot, it could be a streaked parrot, a different type of parrot that does have those marks, but since it went away and came back, i doubt it. You should be doing your water changes with a siphon hose at least once a week because you have large fish in a small tank. My best suggestion is get a larger tank, preferably at least a 55-gallon. Good luck.
Reply:It sounds like it might be agae on the rocks and plants. That is not bad in and of itself. Just make sure you control it. An alge eater should work fine. Snails also work but can get out of hand. Once they do you need lots of work to get them under control again. Some people use loaches to control the snails or get rid of them all together. The brown spot on the fish and the bruises may be nothing at all. Just make sure that you keep fungus out of the tank. Read up on fungus attacks like ick. Keep some anti-fungal meds so you have them at first sight of infestation. I have known aquarists that treated monthly, just as a preventative. I am not sure that is needed. The last tank I ran was almost self sufficient. I had almost enough plants to balance the O2 needs of the fish and filter the water and the fish fertilezed the plants and provided the CO2 they needed. I actually had the tank in the garage without filtration for a week and didn't lose anything. Ick and fungus had never been a problem for me. I did have to siphon off hundreds of snails every two weeks. There is some general medication you can buy that might also help. And you might want to remove any rough surface rocks for a while. Hang out at the BEST petshop in your area for fish and ask lots of questions. If you can find a fish like yourS with a similar brown spots at that store ask the most knowledgable person. Don't go to Wal-mart and ask because they don't even know their prices let alone something complicated like what is the type of fish and what does it eat. They actually think Bala Sharks are sharks. (Bala sharks have bones making them OSTEICHTHYES, sharks have no bones making them CHONDRICHTHYES).
Reply:Diatoms are a type of algae, but a different kind of algae. Algae eaters will not take care of this problem. Apple snails also will not rid ou of this problem.





Your algae problem can be simply cured by purchasing a $2.00 phosporius filter pad and adding it to your tank.





White fuzzy growths, on rocks, plants, gravel. forming white balls then turning brown? This kind of mold or are you talking about algae?





This is a mold that grows on extra fish food.





This is the most common problem experienced by beginners. It is usually due to:


1. Overfeeding: 80% of cases of cloudy water are due to overfeeding. Decaying food creates a bacterial bloom and clouds the water.


It is better to underfeed your fish than over feed. Cut back on the feeding or decrease the amount and increase the amount of times fed.





Treatment: Do a partial water change of 25% making sure you clean your decorations and scrape the sides of the tank. Use your gravel syphon to clean debris. Review feeding procedures.. Maintain adequate filtration, and if using fresh activated carbon in the filter be sure to change the carbon. If this does not clear within a week, your filter is probably not large enough for your tank.





Do not pour chemicals into the tank without knowing what is going onwith the fish. Go to google or yahoo and look up the problem. Fish normally rubbing or running into rock is the start of ich not black spot. However, there is a form of Black Ich, which is rare except for certain fish. Know what you are dealing with before treatment.





Fish have many different behaviors. Depending on your fish this could be normal to keep parasitic's off their scales. The mold will clear with lesser feedings and the pads. Watch your fish for other behavior changes. You know when your fish is sick by the way they act. If you have an aquarium, watch your fish, know your fish. That is truly the only way to know when they are sick other than floating belly up. No algae eater or fish eats mold. They will eat live algae. Adding more to the tank, doesn't fixthe problem. Before purchasing any fish, know the fish you are buying. Colors, temperment etc. If he colors are wrong, you could have purchased a sick fish from the start.





However black spot is rarely fatel. If your fish aren't experiencing any type of abnormal behavior...don't worry. Clear the mold cutback on the feedings and do your 20% water change. Not much to it. If there is a more serious problem, post it or im me and we can discuss.
Reply:It sounds like brown algae to me, there are some algae eaters that eat it but most only eat the green stuff. Here is a site that lists the causes and ways to get rid of it. http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/algae.h...
Reply:The good news is that the brown spots in you tank are just brown algae but the bad news is algae eating fish don;t really like it. Like other algae, it's caused by a bit too much nitrate in the water (it doesn't take much) and the best cure is to be sure your nitrates stay just as low as possible. One way of course is more and larger water changes. Another would be some type of floating plant like java moss, crystal wort or the like. You can remove stuff the brown algae is on and wash it off and you can scrape it off right before a water change but that won't really get rid of it, just move it and spread it.





The black spot you have noticed is most likely just a coloration that changes with the fishes mood and unless you see it spreading or starting up on other fish it would be nothing to worry about.





The scratch on the fishes nose is probably nothing more than that. They chase each other around and run into stuff so scratches are not unusual and nothing to worry about as long as they don't get fungus on them. You can tell that if the scratch starts looking fuzzy and cottony white. If they do, you can easily cure it with a little fungus medication from the pet shop.





A have to join some others and recommend you get a bit larger tank for these guys, they will out grow that 30 gallon.





Hope this helps! MM
Reply:Its not harmful, but it is a sign of excess nutrients in the water (like nitrates and phosphates), which at high enough levels, are harmful to your fish. You should treat it like a canary in a mine... a sign that something may be out of whack.





Best thing to do is to do more frequent water changes. Most algae eaters will ignore it. Brown stuff is usually brown algae or diatoms. Neither of which taste good to any fish. They'll only eat it if they're starving. You can starve the algae to death by doing water changes more frequently, and reducing the total number of hours per day that the lights are on.





You can physically remove it by rubbing, or chemically by dunking the decorations in 1:19 solution of bleach water for 5 minutes. The algae will fall off after a bath like that. Bleach kills nearly all forms of algae.





Scratches are normal on fish. They're pretty tough %26amp; will heal from stuff like that without issue. My cichlids have broken their jaws fighting %26amp; after a few weeks they heal up just fine. As long as they can eat, and there's no sign of infection (like green pus) then they're gonig to heal on their own. Adding a little salt to the water can help them heal better. (like 1-2 tablespoon of aquarium salt per 10 gallons)





I don't know anything about black spots.