Immortal Algae (BBA?) - help

[Ragnarok12]

Hey everyone, I have been fighting a localized algae bloom in my Spec V for months, and I can't figure it out. It's a super puffy, billowy gray algae that is easy to remove, but it ALWAYS comes back. The weird thing is that it is only on one branch in my tank, and absolutely nowhere else. The pictures below are of the branch 1 week after plucking everything off with aquascaping tweezers. I do this routine weekly, and it always comes back in force over the following week. I have no other algae in the tank (AT ALL) and have never had issues, even on the buce that I have. I currently have cherry shrimp in the tank, and they won't touch the stuff. I have no nitrites and ammonia, and I keep the nitrates <20 ppm. Ph is around 7.5, temperature is around 76F, light is on for 9 hours a day, which I gradually raised from 6 hours in the beginning with no issues. I'm starting to dose Easy Carbon to see if that does anything, but this algae is so tough that I have low expectations. Anyone have any advice? At the very least, can someone positively identify this algae for me? Thanks!

 

[Keeg]

Is there a time of day that hits this spot with natural sunlight? Its recommended that tanks have 8 hours of light a day so that could also be a possibility. Another thing you could try is to take the piece and sterilize it. Take the plant off and then scrape off the algae then wipe with hydrogen peroxide and let evaporate. 

This is if it is algae in the first place^^ To me it looks like the film wood gets from when you first add it to the tank without treating it. Did you do anything to the wood before adding it to the tank? 

[Tihshho]

I could be wrong, but it looks like mold with algae growing on it. It's too pillowy to be BBA.

[Patrick_G]

I  think you may be on the right track with the Easy Carbon. I’d take the dose for five gallons and dilute it with 10-20ml of water. Use that to fill a syringe and then squirt it onto the offending area. 

[Ragnarok12]

On 9/13/2021 at 3:56 PM, Keeg said:

Is there a time of day that hits this spot with natural sunlight? Its recommended that tanks have 8 hours of light a day so that could also be a possibility. Another thing you could try is to take the piece and sterilize it. Take the plant off and then scrape off the algae then wipe with hydrogen peroxide and let evaporate.

It does get about 15 minutes of evening sun at about 6PM, but that's about it. It's not near a window. I am about at the point of dunking it in a hydrogen peroxide bath to soak and calling it a day, like you recommended.

On 9/13/2021 at 3:56 PM, Keeg said:

This is if it is algae in the first place^^ To me it looks like the film wood gets from when you first add it to the tank without treating it. Did you do anything to the wood before adding it to the tank? 

I boiled the wood for several hours before putting it in the tank, and the tank has been set up for about 6 months. I did have the driftwood lying around for a little bit before attaching plants and flooding the tank though, so a contamination by some sort of mold is certainly possible. Is it possible for airborne molds to persist and grow out submerged like this though?

On 9/13/2021 at 5:21 PM, Patrick_G said:

I  think you may be on the right track with the Easy Carbon. I’d take the dose for five gallons and dilute it with 10-20ml of water. Use that to fill a syringe and then squirt it onto the offending area. 

That's a very good suggestion. I'm going to try this method for a week and see what that does for me. 

[OnlyGenusCaps]

I think @Tihshho might be onto something thinking there is a fungal component to what is going on there.  That said, to me the best way would be to test it.  BBA and their ilk are species of "red algae" despite their color while living.  But like crustaceans, when you "cook" them they turn red.  If you have a syringe, load it with a little H2O2 and spot treat the stuff (don't exceed 1.5-2mL per gallon though, and turn off the filter or anything making flow for a couple minutes while doing this).  The stuff should bubble like crazy.  Let that happen for a few minutes and then turn the current back on.  After a few hours, note the color.  Fungus is unlikely to go red or pink, but a BBA or close relative will. Let us know what you find.