Cyanobacteria (Blue-green Algae) - About and How to Get Rid of It!

Cyanobacteria is a type of bacteria that inhabits most waterways and certainly likes to live in an aquarium given half a chance. It can grow incredibly quickly under ideal circumstances and can be a bit of a nuisance to get rid of.
Its also known as bluegreen algae - but its not actually an algae as it has no true nucleus.

[ezez]

I don’t often comment but this is genuinely a really good video. You brought sound biological logic before each of your points.

I’ve been keeping fish for a while, which means I’ve been watching videos for a while, and this is one of the best.

[callenclarke]

Wonderful content!

Why isn't this channel more popular? Some of the best aquarist content on Youtube. Keep going! You're raising the bar!

[joshuanovakowski]

God i wish this video came out sooner. I had this kill off my 75 gallon tank and was absolutely heart breaking. None of the fish stores had any idea what to do. Thank you for putting this out there

[gardian]

Listening to your videos is not only educational but also therapeutic! 👌 I get a lot of Cyano covering my sand substrate in 24 hours. I think it thrives in silicate.

[PaekSukis]

By far the best advice on how to deal with cyno. Subbed!

[ashenwalls]

I really appreciate the way you approach this subject! I have a corner of my tank being overgrown with cyano and now I have a better understanding of how to counteract it!

[plantlover]

Great approach to BGA! I'll add some fast growing stem plants, thanks for the tips

[chrispeters]

Often people get into fishkeeping as a novelty pursuit "Ooh, look at the pretty fish" but when something goes wrong and tanks start to lose their looks and appeal, many of us initially look for quick fixes using chemicals and/or clean up crew.

I like the way you explain the causes and science of the issue and your approach to dealing with it.

I've come across the saying
"we don't keep fish, we keep water" a number of times and it's true. We call ourselves aquarists, after all.

Like you mention at the end of the video, these glass boxes with a bit of nature in them can often provide welcome relief from other aspects of life and (sometimes) there's as much enjoyment to be had from figuring things out as from when they're running smoothly.

Edit: hmm, a bit philosophical today apparently.

[FishPieTV]

Great tip on the turkey baster! I’ve got a tank I’m currently struggling with cyno, just gave it a pre baste before water change. Saved me damaging the plant leaves sucking them up the siphon ! Thanks v much

[ladysingstheblues]

Appreciate your attention to detail and your informative videos. Keep up the great work!

[HC]

I had an outbreak, and the medicine I ordered came in today. I was about to dose the tank, but after watching your video, I’m elbow deep in the water picking the evil stuff out with a syringe. Good content!

[nospoon]

I had a lot of success removing this with blackout boards for a few days. I remove as much as possible manually first then blackout the tank. Plants cope just fine with this.

[francischeefilms]

It's a big problem for sure. We use phosphate sucking exchangers on marine tanks and have found this helps a lot but your tank/s you show here are really thriving with cyanobacteria and maybe diatoms too. Good solid information.

[druvak]

I love how you say "fissshhhh" and "sssoup". Also very informative video. Thank you

[kevinpowell]

Great information and video. Algae is a super organism, nature always finds a balance. 🍀

[hinuhinan]

This is so well done. You just got yourself a subscriber.

[mclayne]

I just removed that same fast growing plant from my tank as well as an over-abundance of floating plants and then boom! Cyanobacteria is now taking over. What a mistake! Going to be adding more plants back in now. This video is very helpful because I was two steps away from buying antibiotics not really thinking about how that is a very drastic solution...

[그냥_어항]

I am currently struggling with cyanobacteria. Like the explanation in the video, I have also planted fast-growing plants without using medication, and I am waiting for these plants to quickly grow and hopefully win the battle.

Currently, it seems like the cyanobacteria is winning.

The leaves and stems of the plants are completely covered by cyanobacteria, and even the roots of the floating plants are covered by cyanobacteria. Some of the floating plants are even extending their stems above the water surface, trying to find a way to survive.

I considered using a siphon to manually remove the cyanobacteria, but I was worried that the small baby shrimp would be sucked out along with it, so I couldn't use that method.

However, I got a hint from this video. I have decided to use a strong water flow with a pipette, to forcefully blow away.

I hope the situation in my aquarium improves. Thank you for the informative video.

[Lynnekotr]

Thank you so much! I’m going to try your suggestions.

[starboyar]

Awesome video I am currently battling some.