Is it algae, roots, or something else? (pic included)

[TangoKitty]

Hello fellow hobbyists!  I have noticed some hairy stuff growing from my Anubias. I would like help identifying what it is please. I assumed algae would be colorful in some way, like green, or brown, or black, but this hairy stuff is white-ish, and it just doesn't look like I expect algae to look like, so I'm worried it's some kind of worm. I don't think it's hydra, or planaria, judging by pictures I've found on the internet. Could it just be roots? Is it an indication the plant is hungry?

[FishPlanet]

 It looks like hair algae.

 

Source: 2hraquarist

[lefty o]

agree'd, hair algae.

[Odd Duck]

Another vote for hair algae.  Hit it with a touch of 3% peroxide and your clean up crew will probably take care of it.

[TangoKitty]

Thanks for the quick replies! I'm glad to learn it's not some kind of worm parasite thing that will infect the fish, which was my biggest fear.

[Torrey]

On 11/30/2021 at 4:58 PM, TangoKitty said:

Thanks for the quick replies! I'm glad to learn it's not some kind of worm parasite thing that will infect the fish, which was my biggest fear.

Hard relate on the anxiety when something new shows up!

Definitely hair algae and not the marino mall type of hair algae. 

I have recently learned a few things about using H2O2 to treat algae:

1. It is possible to use too much

2. It will have a chemical reaction if you have recently dosed with iron

3. It is most effective if you use an infant medicine syringe to apply the H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) directly to the algae **after** turning off all water movement (aeration and filtration).

After about 10 minutes of the H2O2 soaking into the algae, turn all filtration back on.

Since the hair algae already looks white, the easiest way to check if the H2O2 is working, is a change in texture of the hair algae (dying algae gets softer and easier to break).

You may be able to use a tank dedicated toothbrush to wrap up the hair algae the way you would twist spaghetti onto a fork.

Ramshorn snails will eat hair algae until they go into a food coma, and then wake up and eat the rest.😅

[TangoKitty]

On 12/1/2021 at 11:13 AM, Torrey said:

Ramshorn snails will eat hair algae until they go into a food coma, and then wake up and eat the rest.😅

Glad I'm not the only one that has this issue!  Most of the hair algae I was able to just pick off with tweezers. I'm sure it's not eradicated, but it's what I've got to work with right now. So far I've only found it on that one leaf, so the outbreak isn't severe yet.