Thursday, May 10, 2012

Algae!!



So now it's almost been a week since I added a new plant to my tank and removed the dying old one... I could be regretting this.


I came home from school today and for the first time I found algae on the side of my tank.Yesterday there was none, and today there's a whole lot. The algae only seem to be on the side of the jar where the Zeolite bag is, and on the cloth of the Zeolite bag. Why is this happening only now? Last week I added the Zeolite stones and the new plant. Now the Algae. I'm wondering if the Zeolite could have caused the algae to grow. Or it could be the new plant.


The plant seems to be dying. It's only been week in the tank and the leaves are starting to fall off and the remaining leaves are getting darker. I wrote in my last post how I am not sure what plant type it is, but according to my research I thought it one of either two plants:


Cherry Hedge (Amaranthaceae) or Asteraceae (Gymnocoronis)


This plant that I bought must have been the Cherry Hedge because it is actually a terrestrial plant sold as an ‘aquatic plant’ because it lasts up to 3 months underwater…. Now mine must have already been under water for quite some time!


When I first added the plant I was a bit suspect about it. After watching Blue for a while swimming in his tank, I realized he didn’t like swimming too close to the plant. Because his large fins would drag on the plant, he’d almost get stuck. When he slept I expected him to sleep amongst the leaves of the plant, but instead he slept close to the surface of the water and not in amongst the leaves. In addition to the plant taking up Blue’s swimming space, there is the Zeolite bag. Blue doesn’t seem to like that either. I've never seen him swim too close to it after he explored the tank right after I first added the bag. The material of the bag isn’t that soft when I feel it, and I was wondering how Blue would react to it. Seems like he has also noticed that it’s not soft, so he doesn’t swim near it.


Now after all this change (which I thought would be good) in the tank, it seems it has taken a turn. I know algae aren’t THAT bad, but up until now I haven’t had a problem, and with all these additions to the tank it results in my first experience with algae!


Anyway, tomorrow is my water change day, so I will probably remove the plant and clean all the algae off the jar. I will now try and find a truly aquatic plant…. It would be safe to look for an Amazon Sword Plant specifically because I am already accustomed to that plant type and have seen with the class’s assignment that they are suitable plants.


I am also interested to know if anyone else has had an increase of algae growth in their tank since they’ve added the Zeolite bag? I am questioning this because the algae has grown ONLY on the tank near the bag, and in among the material of the bag. Feel free to comment :)

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