# Purple algea?



## AshleytheGreat (Jul 24, 2005)

Well, In my Freshwater tank...I have...well HAD, this purple moss growing on a log. A fake log, not driftwood. It was a deep violet, but definitely purple. Just curious about it. Does anyone know anythign about it.


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## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

Lol yeah, my parents have had that in their pool, actually. It's related to black algae from what I know. If it doesn't spread to other parts of your tank, it's fine, but if you start noticing on everything, scrape it off and toss your log ASAP.


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## AshleytheGreat (Jul 24, 2005)

toss my log....no way, that thing was 26 dollers.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Although it was purple, it is called blue-green algae.
It's also not algae at all, but a weird kind of bacteria called cyanobacteria.

This stuff grows in tanks that have problems, and won't usually thrive in tanks which can support plants or green algae. Clean things up a bit, increase lighting and aeration, and it'll go away eventually. Otherwise you can kill it with antibiotics like any other bacteria, with erythromycin being the drug of choice for this stuff. However, you'll do less overall damage to your tank and get better results by simply figuring out what's wrong with your tank and fixing it.


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## mlefev (Apr 19, 2005)

Hmm, I wonder if that's why the algae killer in my parent's pool never works on the stuff.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

For aquariums ethromyacin works but may not really solve the problem, just fix the results and should be used as a last effort short of tearing down the tank. A 3-4 day blackout and if possible the addition of Potassium (easier to add if the tank is planted) will eradicate it. Be sure to remove what you can first.


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