please explain blackbeard algae.sorry that i have no suggestions for you.
fish can be funny. i had a red tailed black shark that was atypically docile and grazed algae or whatever off my live plants. i purchased a second one who was a terror and wanted nothing to do with plants.

Mickster, this blackbeard algae sounds a lot like what I have been battling with the past couple months. It covers everything, including live plants and I haven't been able to kill it yet and it keeps coming back despite my efforts to get rid of it. It also has caused my water to smell very strangely (almost chemical like) and it permeates the house. Water tests have been in the normal or ok range and I am just starting the tear down process to hopefully get rid of it so I am interested in any suggestions anyone has.
Mike

Blackbeard algae is a type of red algae. And your LFS was correct; SAE's are the only fish that eats that stuff. If you Google on Siamese Algae Eater you will find a few places that mail them if you cannot find them locally. Arizona Aquatic Gardens has had them in the past so try there first. Tearing down the tank and starting all over just means you start from scratch again with the biological cycling that is normal in new tanks. Try getting 1 SAE/20 gal, make regular (every 2 weeks) water changes, make sure your light/fertilizer input is balanced and the problem will go away.
Bunky28: your algae sounds more like bluegreens since they have a distinct smell (musty).

i have the same problem. a good cleaning every two months keeps it in check but you cant ever get rid of it. my ph is always yellow. about 6.2 or so. i have discus and clown loaches. i had the siamese alge eater and it wont eat it if it has anything else to eat. so you are screwed. i have noticed keeping the lights off more helps.
i have to actually cut and throw away, during my 2 month cleaning, large leaves of my amazon swords. i have mostly plastic plants and i have to scrub them with green spongey pads. also, i use a wire brush on my bog log and i started using that also on my rock decoration. i have to pull the outside filter off and scrub it to. it doesnt grow inside it for some reason but on the downspout. it grows only on the tops of my undergravel filter which i have to pull and scrub. i use a razor blade to clean the outside filter. adding something to neutralize the ammonia helps as well. i have searched for a long time to find anybody who knows how to kill this black algae and i guess i aint gonna find any help at this forum. if you do PLEASE EMAIL ME AT bullheimer@hotmail.com thanks ps. the cup of bleach in a sink full of water definitely helps me go two months btwn cleanings. but the cleanings take at least a couple of hours and you have no choice. i soak everything in that water after i clean it for a few minutes, except the bog log i leave in for 10-15.

Me thinks ye have too much phosphate. Treated municipal tap water these days is very high in pH, hard, and loaded with phosphate to reduce lead in your drinking water. That's good for human consumption , bad for aquaria. I got some "Phosguard" (?name) pillows filled with beads things that absorb phosphate and silica which corrected the beginning stages of an algal bloom and my freshwater tank is now perfectly free from algea. Left untreated that blackbeard algea will take over. I quit keeping an aquarium a few years ago because of this until I found Phosguard.

BBA is tough.
Even blackouts don't kill it.

Here is a link that might be useful: An overdose of BBA info

One thing I found that helped me out (on resin ornaments and plastic plants) was to soak them in a 1:5 bleach ratio, rinse and then bake in the sun until the algea itself is bleached white and peels off. It doesn't help that I've got the stuff in the tank itself so things will reattach and grow, but it has helped eliminating having to toss out ornaments because of it.

Try this link- be sure to check out the shrimp farm.

Here is a link that might be useful: Arizona Aquatic Gardens

A woman in Florida passed along this tip. It helped me so I thought I'd share it.

Rosey Barbs!

I know what you're thinking, but give it a shot. I was almost ready to give up on my tank, a 20gal fresh and focus on my 125 salt when I got this info. I went and bought 2 rosey barbs and threw them in. I don't feed them any fish food! They will munch on the algea. It's still early so I don't know if they will clean it all out or not. But so far they have survived for 2 weeks on no food. They both have big full bellies, so they are eating something! My algea problem has not gotten any worse either. I'm planning to pick up a couple more and see what happens! I am also running my lights on 8 hour cycles, effected by a lamp timer.

Give it a shot, best of luck! Let me know if you have any success!

Greg
gregory6106@live.com

True SAE's and Rosy Barbs eat the stuff as well as golden barbs and a few other barbs. Barbs are supposed to do better the SAE's with BBA. I guess it depends on the tank. If the Barbs are to aggressive for your current tank residents then SAE. I would research it a little better though. It may mean a complete tank break down and physical removal??? Maybe do a fishless cycle with some brand new filter media. Totally scrub the old tank and filter, accessories etc. Then add the media to the original scoured tank. I had to do this with a tank I introduced Blue green algae to by mistake. It was so aggressive I couldn't control it.

2-3ml per gallon of H2O2. It will kill a few types of plants but most plants are fine with that. All of my fish are ok with it, even my shrip did not seem effected.
I have done this treatment about 10 times with very good results each time. If you are unsure, start out with 1-2 ml per gallon. I have articles puplished with some of my results.
Fill up a syring of H2O2 and squirt it directly on the algea, this way works best. Do this first thing in the morning as the aquarium lights will help break down the H2O2.
I did this at night once when the lights were off, the H2O2 did not break down fast enough and I lost a few neons.