# Brown Algae!



## anarchywulf (Dec 18, 2015)

So i have two 2.5 gallon tanks with live plants in them and they are both undergoing a brown algae outbreak! The tanks are situated near the window and gets some indirect sunlight. They have been moved there for about 2 weeks now. 
One of them have been cycled for about half a year but is still having this outbreaks. It had green algae dots previously but they are gone now, replaced by brown ones. 
The other tank is a new tank that i set up for about 2 weeks now.
I have been scraping them off the glass using a card and doing 20% water changes every week. I was wondering if the scarped off algae will harm my bettas! And how do I cut back on the algae outbreak? I can't move the tanks elsewhere and i need the light in my room for study purposes.


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## Nova betta (Dec 5, 2014)

no the algae won't harm your fish. For solving the problem you could move your tanks, if you can. Window light will cause a lot of algae. I have also heard if your tank isn't cycled it will have brown algae until the Beneficial bacteria matures. I have also heard adding fast growing plants (duckweed, guppy grass etc.) will "starve out" the algae.

You do need to up your water changes a little bit though. In my 2.5s I do two 50% ones a week.


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## anarchywulf (Dec 18, 2015)

Hey! Thanks! Yeaa i have been struggling to cycle the tank but it never really works since its such a small tank. The tank is quite heavily planted with anubias, java fern, windelov java fern some crypts, water wisteria and hornwarts so i can get away with a 20% water change via gravel vacuum every week.  Fingers crossed that the plants will start maturing and gulp up the excess nutrients in the water!


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## Davo (Feb 21, 2016)

I've had the same problem in my 2.5 gallon, the outbreak started about a month ago. I tried more and less lighting, and nothing helped until I picked up a mystery snail 2 weeks ago. Since I got the snail, the brown algae has steadily declined.

I was worried that a snail and betta would be too much for a 2.5 gallon tank but I closely monitored my tank and nitrates have not risen, despite lots of poop from the snail.

My tank is pretty heavily planted with frogbit, anarchis, anubias, lucky bamboo, and a marimo ball. The real workhorse seems to be the frogbit-it grows insanely fast.

Brown algae is ugly, but from what I've read its not harmful to the tank. I just didn't like having so much of my tank obscured.


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