Jennifer V Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 (edited) Hi Nerms! I noticed this white stuff on my Christmas moss in my 5g tank today. Does anyone know what it is? It looks like white fuzzy tufts clumped together. Is it hair algae? Tank Parameters Temp: 78 Ph: 7.6 Ammonia: .5 ppm (Yikes! The tank has been stable for quite awhile but my wife accidentally grossly overfed the snails the last couple days so that could be the cause. Will do a water change tomorrow morning.) Nitrite: 0 Nitrates: 20 ppm Gh: 196.9 ppm (11 drops) Kh: 53.7 ppm (3 drops) Inhabitants: just bladder and ramshorn snails for now but trying to get ready for neo shrimp. Lighting: we leave the lights on quite awhile each day in an effort to grow algae so I need to get a timer and pay better attention to that. Fertilizer: Easy Green and Seachem potassium at recommended dosage for the tank size once a week. Tank has been running for a year. Very heavily planted with Java fern, susswassertang, Christmas moss, various Buce and various anubias. Quite a bit of green hair algae but I think it looks pretty so I don't remove it. Any ideas? Thanks everyone! Edited February 12, 2022 by Jennifer V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trindlebee Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 Hey Jennifer! I'm still quite new to the hobby, but this picture reminds me of something I learned in high school environmental biology. Maybe do a google search on aquarium hydra and see if they're similar -- maybe someone more experienced might be able to answer. Bumping this and hoping things go well :)! Cheers 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 I believe this is a filiment algea, if it is what I think it is, it starts off as a single white/clear hair and turns green over a few days. Clean this up with a tooth brush or pipe cleaner being careful not to break it off in the water column. Then do your water change just in case you did. Over the next few days watch the tank very closely for these 'hairs' especially the day after you fertilize. I'll edit this to post a link to a thread I did on it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 (edited) These two are the amazing immortal hydra. Very fun fascinating critters 😍 Edited February 12, 2022 by Guppysnail Forgot pic 🤪 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 Jen, this is what I believe it to be I traced my cause back to (i think) an over dose in ez green (ammonia /urea spike). What led me to think that is I had it constantly in my 36g which i dose regularly. But not in my 10g which I dose with an eye dropper. On the day after I gave my 10g a huge dose I had it in there too.... Im currently trying a different liquid fert to see if that was the issue 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BETTA999 Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 yes it hidra and they are inmortal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer V Posted February 12, 2022 Author Share Posted February 12, 2022 On 2/12/2022 at 6:03 AM, Guppysnail said: These two are the amazing immortal hydra. Very fun fascinating critters 😍 Yes! I have them everywhere in the tank. They don't bother me at all but they certainly bothered all of the microorganisms I used to have. Do you know what the white stuff is below it? On 2/12/2022 at 7:15 AM, bettta999 said: yes it hidra and they are inmortal They absolutely are! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 On 2/12/2022 at 10:03 AM, Jennifer V said: Yes! I have them everywhere in the tank. They don't bother me at all but they certainly bothered all of the microorganisms I used to have. Do you know what the white stuff is below it? They absolutely are! I have no idea about the white stuff. I’ve seen it before in my tanks but I the weirdo that enjoys watching strange things grow. Yeah the hydra are pigs and suck down microfauna. But it’s so cool to watch with a magnifying glass and then see their big fat “belly” stalks. 😍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer V Posted February 12, 2022 Author Share Posted February 12, 2022 @JoeQ that could be what it is. It looks short and fluffy almost like BBA but maybe that's just because it just appeared. I think I have been dosing too much fertilizer. I need to get a dropper to make sure I dose the Easy Green correctly. My plants are growing like crazy and my Java fern started showing signs of potassium deficiency so I may be a little heavy handed with the ferts. That coupled with the ammonia spike could've made the perfect conditions for this new stuff. I kind of want to leave it and see what happens but I haven't decided yet. I am fascinated but don't want anything in the tank that could disrupt the shrimp. 🤷 @Guppysnail I'm the same way so I'm more fascinated than anything right now so maybe I'll let it hang out for a second. My wife is the opposite. She wants to remove it immediately. Ha! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 On 2/12/2022 at 10:23 AM, Jennifer V said: @JoeQ that could be what it is. It looks short and fluffy almost like BBA but maybe that's just because it just appeared. I think I have been dosing too much fertilizer. I need to get a dropper to make sure I dose the Easy Green correctly. My plants are growing like crazy and my Java fern started showing signs of potassium deficiency so I may be a little heavy handed with the ferts. That coupled with the ammonia spike could've made the perfect conditions for this new stuff. I kind of want to leave it and see what happens but I haven't decided yet. I am fascinated but don't want anything in the tank that could disrupt the shrimp. 🤷 I could be right, but I've been know to be wrong before! I'm intrested to hear if unpon manual removal it feel like a strand of cob web or if it gets "plump". In my case, my water silk never gets fat, it just gets thicker and turns green. Good luck and let us know the outcome! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer V Posted February 12, 2022 Author Share Posted February 12, 2022 @JoeQ I will definitely keep you posted! Could be an exciting weird thing or it could be a mess. We'll see! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torrey Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 On 2/12/2022 at 8:23 AM, Jennifer V said: @JoeQ that could be what it is. It looks short and fluffy almost like BBA but maybe that's just because it just appeared. I think I have been dosing too much fertilizer. I need to get a dropper to make sure I dose the Easy Green correctly. My plants are growing like crazy and my Java fern started showing signs of potassium deficiency so I may be a little heavy handed with the ferts. That coupled with the ammonia spike could've made the perfect conditions for this new stuff. I kind of want to leave it and see what happens but I haven't decided yet. I am fascinated but don't want anything in the tank that could disrupt the shrimp. 🤷 @Guppysnail I'm the same way so I'm more fascinated than anything right now so maybe I'll let it hang out for a second. My wife is the opposite. She wants to remove it immediately. Ha! I regret having gotten rid of my hydra, because they (like yours) were a more rare type that have a symbiotic relationship with the algae, so they don't prey as much on the microfauna, and hardly at all on baby shrimplettes. They are green, because their symbiotic relationship with the algae allows them to benefit from the algae's chlorophyll and both the algae and the hydra are getting their nutrients from photosynthesis. As long as they have access to light, they will thrive because the hydra will move to optimal light conditions. Maybe your wife will allow you to keep the hydra since they are a rare type? If you perfect raising them, you can get some money from the local high school by providing a few to the biology/ live science class (I raise planaria for homeschooling co-ops). I think you have Joe's water silk, and the symbiotic hydra. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer V Posted February 12, 2022 Author Share Posted February 12, 2022 (edited) @Torrey that's very cool hydra information! I didn't know any of that and now I'm pretty excited I have them. I would love to donate some to a biology class! They were in both tanks I have but I think the puffers ate them in my 10g. They disappeared overnight. They're thriving in my 5g. I have no idea what they're eating because I don't see any cyclops or other tiny things in my tank since the hydra appeared. Do they eat detritus worms? Also, I think what I thought was green hair algae in my tank is actually Cladophora. Do you know anything about it? @JoeQ I did some research about water silk and I think you're right, I think the ammonia and excess ferts created a happy home for it. Do you know where it comes from? I haven't changed anything in the tank as far as adding something new in several months. I did learn that it reproduces asexually and sexually, which is kind of cool. I also read it eventually turns green. I'll keep an eye on it. Thank you so much for the info! Edited February 12, 2022 by Jennifer V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted February 12, 2022 Share Posted February 12, 2022 On 2/12/2022 at 4:49 PM, Jennifer V said: @Torrey that's very cool hydra information! I didn't know any of that and now I'm pretty excited I have them. I would love to donate some to a biology class! They were in both tanks I have but I think the puffers ate them in my 10g. They disappeared overnight. They're thriving in my 5g. I have no idea what they're eating because I don't see any cyclops or other tiny things in my tank since the hydra appeared. Do they eat detritus worms? @JoeQ I did some research about water silk and I think you're right, I think the ammonia and excess ferts created a happy home for it. Do you know where it comes from? I haven't changed anything in the tank as far as adding something new in several months. I did learn that it reproduces asexually and sexually, which is kind of cool. I also read it eventually turns green. I'll keep an eye on it. Thank you so much for the info! I think the main trigger is a rapid ammonia/urea spike, but my source did not metion fertilizer which I would imagine could be another cause. I also believe its just like any other algea, when algea appears its usually the variety that will bring the system back into balance the most efficiently (nature is sooo amazing)! Here is my source I used to reach my conclusion if you are interested in reading more https://greenaqua.hu/en/alga-tajekoztato Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer V Posted February 13, 2022 Author Share Posted February 13, 2022 On 2/12/2022 at 3:09 PM, JoeQ said: I think the main trigger is a rapid ammonia/urea spike, but my source did not metion fertilizer which I would imagine could be another cause. I also believe its just like any other algea, when algea appears its usually the variety that will bring the system back into balance the most efficiently (nature is sooo amazing)! Here is my source I used to reach my conclusion if you are interested in reading more https://greenaqua.hu/en/alga-tajekoztato That's extremely helpful and interesting. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torrey Posted February 13, 2022 Share Posted February 13, 2022 I don't know very much about cladaphora, beyond the links JoeQ posted, and a peer-reviewed research article I was able to look at after Joe named it😅 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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