# Is algae always bad?



## Nutty (12 May 2013)

Hello,

This could sound rather stupid, but do people only remove algae because it doesn't always look the best or is it that algae will steal nutrients from the plants and cause slower growth?

Also does anyone know of a benefit to have algae in your tank?

Thanks,


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## NanoJames (12 May 2013)

You would have to feed shrimp less often if you had a good amount of algae in your tank!


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## OllieNZ (12 May 2013)

Algae will survive/thrive on a fraction of the nutrients required by plants so no issues there.
As for benefits of it...... well some species of fish benefit from an algae based diet.


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## AverageWhiteBloke (12 May 2013)

It can also soften edges of equipment in the tank. I tend to leave BBA on my heater cable for this reason.


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## Nutty (13 May 2013)

thanks guys, i have seen my Guppies munching on a bit but they arn't super into it!

I sort of like the look, makes things look a bit more natural... a bit aged...


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## Palm Tree (13 May 2013)

I personally don't see a problem, however my tanks are jungle style so it would be impossible to get every last piece of hair algae. I really don't have that much though, and I like the fact the fry can munch on it throughout the day.


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## frothhelmet (28 May 2013)

depends if the algae is on equipment/decorations or plant leaves. If the latter the plants can suffer. Also, some nasty algaes like spirogyra tend to keep growing and growing, dominating the layout and leaving little room for else. So ya, depends on the type of algae and where it's located in the tank. Most people want to nip the problem in the bud rather than wait until it gets out of control. It's easier to deal with problem alges in earlier stages.


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## Kannu (10 Jun 2013)

As long as there is a balance between plant growth and algal growth, I dont see anything against it. Too much of certain species of algae (eg.BGA) can deprive the fish of Oxygen. And as pointed out by several others, it forms an important part of the diet of several species.


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## ceg4048 (10 Jun 2013)

BGA were among the first producers of Oxygen on Planet Earth. It's because of the rise of BGA that we are able to breathe Oxygen today. Later, plants figured out how to make food in the same way that BGA does, and then _they_ started producing Oxygen. Most algae are plants, and during the day they are net Oxygen producers, just like the higher plants.

BGA is a microorganism, a bacteria. The cells produce enzymes known as "cyanotoxins". These are various groups of enzymes which may be neurotoxins, which attack the nervous system, hepatoxins, which attack the liver, and cytotoxins, which attack individual cell walls. So the lethality of BGA has less to do with Oxygen, and more to do with enzymatic attack, although having said that, hypoxia would occur at night due to blockage at the surface and due to mass uptake if the algal mass was astronomically high.

This is the nature of the toxic condition in waterways known as "Red Tide" (named after the color of the marine algal blooms which are red), which results in fish kills, and which is dangerous to humans. There is little danger in our tanks however. You would need a few inches thick layer of BGA to leech enough toxins and to block enough Oxygen at night to be harmful.





The OP is reminded that there is a difference between algal blooms in the tank as opposed to simply having algae present in the tank. Blooms attack plants as a direct result of ill health, normally as a direct or indirect result of environmental conditions which lead to malnutrition. Therefore, when there is evidence of an attack, steps should be taken to alleviate the malnutrition, otherwise the plants will continue to fail. Small populations of algal colonies are often unavoidable, however these small colonies, especially if they are on hardscape only, do not pose a danger.

Cheers,


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