2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21
Vietnamese algae was imported from Southeast Asia. In aquariums, you can find several varieties of this representative of the flora: Membranacea, Audouinella investiens, Microscopica, Spinulosa.
Characteristics
Vietnamese resembles bunches of dirty gray, black or brown hairs, no more than 2 cm long. Algae is located on the tips of the leaves of aquarium plants and gradually occupies their entire surface. In addition, the Vietnamese can settle on decor items, artificial ground, ledges and bumps.
The plant belongs to the group of red algae due to the presence of a dye in its structure, which can only be detected experimentally. Pigmentation appears under the influence of a solvent or alcohol.
Ways to enter the aquarium
If the Vietnamese has grown abundantly in the aquarium, it means that errors in care were made. The plant reproduces by spores, which are easy to bring along with acquired algae,especially if the purchase was not made in a specialized department. Infection can also occur through dirty hands, new equipment, fish relocated from another aquarium.
Vietnamese can be in a state of dispute for a long time, which is not afraid of cold, temperature rise, drought. For nutrition, the algae uses organic particles that are spread by the current or by fish that are looking for food in the soil.
Reason for distribution
In favorable conditions, red algae quickly populates the aquarium. The rapid spread of the Vietnamese is due to the following reasons:
- A lot of organic particles have accumulated in the soil: half-eaten food, waste products of aquarium inhabitants, dead representatives of the flora.
- An error was made in calculating the amount of fertilizer to be applied.
- The presence of fish actively digging the ground and raising all the sediment from the bottom.
- Weak or dirty filter.
- Increased hardness and acidity of water.
- Overcrowded aquarium.
- Too much water flow, causing organic particles to rise from the bottom and settle on glass, decorative elements and vegetation.
- Excessive saturation of water with oxygen.
The difference between a flip flops and a beard
To determine the type of algae, you need to pay attention to the threads of which it is composed. In a flip flops, they turn into tassels, and in a black beard they stretch out in length, becoming like a fringe. The Vietnamese is more demanding on living conditions. Most often, it is placed away from the current.
Water contaminated with both types of algae turns dirty green. You can take a few hairs and put them in alcohol or acetone. As a result of these manipulations, the flip-flop will become red, and the black beard will become colorless.
Harm plants
Despite the fact that red algae do not feed on the juice of representatives of the flora, they cause them irreparable harm. Algae covers the entire surface of the vegetation, does not allow it to carry out photosynthesis and receive nutrients. First of all, slowly developing plants die from the Vietnamese. Also, the pest likes to be placed on wide leaf plates.
Due to the widespread flip flops, the appearance of the aquarium is changing dramatically. Its surfaces are covered with an unpleasant black coating, which is quite difficult to get rid of, because the algae are firmly attached to their place of growth. All this makes you wonder how to get rid of the flip flops in the aquarium.
Interaction between algae and fauna
You can free the aquarium from a small amount of flip flops with the help of fish whose diet includes red algae. Ancistrus and Siamese algae eaters can eliminate the pest in a few weeks.
It is important to note that the Vietnamese is not the favorite food of cleaners. In order for them to pay attention to the algae, they need to stop feeding. In addition, it is necessary to remove the rest from the aquarium.fish and green plants.
Experts who know how to get rid of flip flops in an aquarium advise using ampoule snails for this purpose. It is best to take small individuals, the size of a match head. They are in the most active life cycle and consume the maximum amount of food. It may take about a hundred snails to clean a medium-sized aquarium. After obtaining the desired effect, the molluscs should be removed, otherwise they will begin to actively multiply and eat all the greens they find.
Mechanical method of getting rid of flip flops
In a neglected situation, the only way out may be the complete elimination of aquarium vegetation. To prevent this, you should begin to destroy the algae at the first sign of its appearance. If a Vietnamese appeared in an aquarium, it will not work to get rid of it forever. The only way out is to constantly control the number of the pest. If the fish are kept in optimal conditions, the kelp will not grow too fast, but any mistake in care can cause a new outbreak of flip flops.
First of all, you need to try to manually catch the maximum amount of algae from the aquarium. Scrapers and stiff brushes are required to restore the sets and equipment to their former glory.
Clean the filter daily to remove accumulated organic particles and replace 10% of the water in the aquarium.
Destruction of spores with chemicals
MostAn effective drug that eliminates the Vietnamese within a week is considered "Sydex" for the aquarium. This disinfectant is an aqueous solution of glutaraldehyde at a concentration of 2.5%. The kit also includes an activator powder, which is not used for aquarium treatment.
Analogue of the drug - Organic Aqua. This product also contains aldehyde as an active ingredient, but due to the emollients included in the composition, it does not adversely affect the he alth of the fish.
If the aquarium is heavily neglected, it is necessary to add an anti-flip flops agent to the water daily for a week, at the rate of 20 ml Organic Aqua per 100 liters of liquid. To prevent the release of ammonium, you need to regularly collect dead algae from the soil surface and rinse the filter. On the third day, it is recommended to replace 20-30% of the water and introduce a culture of beneficial Bactoferm bacteria into the aquarium, which will process organic residues and maintain a he althy ecosystem.
On the eighth day, you can reduce the dosage to 10 ml of the drug per 100 liters of water, until only a few dots remain from the pest. The complete disappearance of the flip flops is observed after a month of using Organic Aqua. To prevent a recurrence of algae growth, apply 5 ml per 100 liters of water daily.
"Restarting" the aquarium
Opponents of chemistry who do not know how to get rid of the flip flops in the aquarium need to do a general cleaning. It is important to remember that a sharp change in the composition of water is a strong stress for its inhabitants, thereforeyou need to monitor their well-being.
First of all, it is necessary to put all the fish in a separate container filled with settled water. All decorative elements must be boiled or washed in s alt water using a stiff brush. The soil is calcined in the oven.
Plants should be soaked for 1 hour in a bath filled with water with the addition of 3% hydrogen peroxide at the rate of 5 ml of the preparation per 10 liters of liquid. Representatives of the flora with hard leaves can be poured with a 2% solution of acetic acid for 10 minutes. In this case, the roots should not be immersed in the liquid. After restarting, proper care and maintenance of the aquarium is necessary. Only in this case will a positive effect be achieved.
Prevention measures
To get rid of the need to constantly think about how to get rid of the flip flops in the aquarium, the following recommendations will help:
- All purchased plants must be quarantined in a separate container filled with clean water. Do not place in the aquarium representatives of the flora, on the leaves of which a suspicious coating is visible.
- It is necessary to regularly check the he alth of the filter, wash it.
- Feed should be limited, based on the number and size of the fish.
- Vietnamese does not like water, the hardness of which exceeds 80. Also, the algae dies at pH 7, 5-8, 5.
An effective preventive measure is the backlight correction for the aquarium. Blue spectrum lighting should be avoided - red algae love it. It is useful to artificially reduce the durationdaylight hours for 2-3 hours. In order for the new mode not to damage the plants, you need to adhere to the following scheme:
- In the morning, turn on the lights for five hours, so that the representatives of the flora have the opportunity to consume the carbon dioxide accumulated in the water overnight and release oxygen.
- Shadow the aquarium for 2-3 hours.
- Turn on the lights again for 5 o'clock.
To ensure the vital activity of plants, it is enough to turn on the lighting for 8-10 hours. Sockets with a built-in timer will help maintain the optimal mode.
Knowing the reasons for the appearance of the flip flops in the aquarium, you can prevent its spread and protect ornamental crops. It is important to constantly monitor the condition of water and equipment in order to exclude the creation of conditions favorable for the growth of the pest.
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