[gex23]

I have this algae growing on a lot of my bromeliads and also some of the branches in my vivarium, and would like to know if it is cyanobacteria, if not any ideas as to what it could be? Also the best remedial action to take?

Photos :

A few details about the vivarim itself :

30 x 12 x 18" vert tank
Lit by a Grobeam 1000ND LED tile (containing 10 x 6500k CREE XP-E LEDs)
Photoperiod of 13 hours (Including 1 hour combined of sunrise and sunset provided by the controller)
Misting 2 x 30 seconds per day, early morning and late evening (4 Mistking Nozzles)
Internal air circulation provided by a 60mm fan running at 7.5v

The only thing I can think of is stagnant air (hence adding a small fan a few days ago) and / or the use of bottled mineral water (high nutrient content for the algae to thrive off?)

I hope you can help as its very unsightly and is vexing me

Regards

Anthony

 

[Frogtofall]

Short answer is that you pretty much can't easily get rid of it. It doesn't really harm anything. You can spray it away from the spots it's in. That's about it.

 

[gex23]

Short answer is that you pretty much can't easily get rid of it. It doesn't really harm anything. You can spray it away from the spots it's in. That's about it.

Its an indication of things being too wet right? I have dropped misting from 6 times a day to twice a day, and have noticed 2 - 3 of the original broms (only been in there a few months) are dying off (although they have a couple of healthy pups each).

 

[JimO]

I have the same stuff, but have found that as the viv grows in, it tends to disappear.

Oh, and it tends to proliferate on the older brom leaves that are dying, so I pull them off as soon as they are loose. The same stuff usually grows first on my clay backgrounds, which actually helps stabilize the surface from erosion - part of the biofilm that Ed has mentioned. As moss and vines begin to grow, the algae tends to disappear.

 

[earthfrog]

If I'm seeing water-soaked spots on the leaves, the lower leaf on the first pic has symptoms of overwatering (or else it is just really dirty). Broms like to have somewhat of a drying period in between, or else have really good drainage. If their cups are perpetually full of water or the live base of the plant is in contact with water continually, they will begin to rot.
Take a whiff of the plant and see if it smells rotten. If so, it needs to be yanked out. If not, there may be time to save it from drying a bit.

In nature, the rainforest can go for a couple weeks without rain at a time. Misting every day isn't conducive to this rest period for the plants.

 

[gex23]

If I'm seeing water-soaked spots on the leaves, the lower leaf on the first pic has symptoms of overwatering (or else it is just really dirty). Broms like to have somewhat of a drying period in between, or else have really good drainage. If their cups are perpetually full of water or the live base of the plant is in contact with water continually, they will begin to rot.
Take a whiff of the plant and see if it smells rotten. If so, it needs to be yanked out. If not, there may be time to save it from drying a bit.

In nature, the rainforest can go for a couple weeks without rain at a time. Misting every day isn't conducive to this rest period for the plants.

I see what you're saying - I will decrease the misting regime a touch then (down to once a day as opposed to twice a day), I just hope the frogs wont mind too much (the misting system is shared by a group of P.Terribilis and R.Vanzolinii).

 

[JimO]

earthfrog is right. I didn't mention that I only have this algae in my pumilio vivs while they are caring for tads, which means I mist more in those vivs. I only mist two or three times a week in my other vivs.

I see what you're saying - I will decrease the misting regime a touch then (down to once a day as opposed to twice a day), I just hope the frogs wont mind too much (the misting system is shared by a group of P.Terribilis and R.Vanzolinii).

 

[gex23]

earthfrog is right. I didn't mention that I only have this algae in my pumilio vivs while they are caring for tads, which means I mist more in those vivs. I only mist two or three times a week in my other vivs.

Cheers for the reply.

This viv has a euro style vent setup (lower front and above the door vent), each vent is about 1 inch in total - I just worry about it drying out too much.

 

[earthfrog]

I see what you're saying - I will decrease the misting regime a touch then (down to once a day as opposed to twice a day), I just hope the frogs wont mind too much (the misting system is shared by a group of P.Terribilis and R.Vanzolinii).

The frogs won't mind as the humidity stays high due to the water evaporated from water that has soaked into the substrate and wood in an enclosed tank.

I go for a week or two without misting in the wintertime and simply provide empty seed pods stuck in to the substrate and coated in silicone as water reservoirs to help maintain humidity. This saves me a lot of money in buying plants over the long haul.

 

[JimO]

How often do you currently mist? Also, do you have a water feature? If so, you shouldn't have any problem with it drying out if you don't mist every day. I mist by hand because it gives me a chance to check in on everybody. That gives me the option of just misting the substrate and not the areas with algal growth. If you have a misting system, you could either decrease the number of misting events or reduce the duration.

One last suggestion. If the algae is only present on a few brom leaves, it's not too difficult to wipe off with a dry paper towel. Obviously, if you had 20 vivs and dozens of broms with this problem, that wouldn't be practical. But, if it's one viv and only a few broms, I imagine you'd only have to do this every couple of weeks.

Cheers for the reply.

This viv has a euro style vent setup (lower front and above the door vent), each vent is about 1 inch in total - I just worry about it drying out too much.