Ugly black stuff

[jizzle]

I have a moderately planted aquarium and all of my plants seem to be growing a black kind of weed, like fur on there leaves, it is making the tank look really ugly!

Does anyone know what this fur growth is and how I can get rid of it?

[aquak]

The algae is the least of your problems. Your tank is extremely overcrowded, especially since it hasn't been running long enough to cycle. These articles might help:
http://www.aquariumpros.com/articles/stockguide.shtml
http://www.aquariumpros.com/articles/fishcyclefw.shtml
http://www.aquariumpros.com/articles
http://www.aquariumpros.com/faqpro/index.shtml
http://www.peteducation.com/category_summary.cfm?cls=16&cat=1911
You have many fish that should not be used for cycling. Look for them on the list from the fishcycle site listed above. The angelfish, ram, catfish, and tetras are not on that list, meaning they are likely to die during the cycling process because they cannot tolerate the ammonia. The guppy is on the list, but my experience is that some on the list don't really do all that well, and the guppy is one of them. The red-tail, gouramis, and bettas are good choices to keep in the tank while it cycles, but you still have too many of them to begin cycling. Added to that, your filter is only rated for 24 gallons, making your tank even more overstocked. Generally, you need a filter rater at 1.5-2x the capacity of your tank. Even if you get a very large filter, however, you will have to drastically cut back on your stock or get a MUCH bigger tank. You can probably return them to the LFS; they might even give you credit for them. If the store where you got them recommended that many fish for a new tank, it would be best to find another store.

[aquak]

Also, the overload on the tank could be contributing to the algae growth. I also forgot to mention, even if the tank were cycled, such an overload stresses all the fish and the weakest will get sick and whatever they get will probably go through the tank.

[jizzle]

I haven't updated my profile for a while (I got rid of a lot of fish and have a bigger filter) and my tank has been fully cycled for a long time.

The growth isnt like algae its like a black hair which is growing on the plants any Idea how to get rid of it?

[aquak]

Double entry -- sorry! Why can't I delete my own posts???

[aquak]

Hair or thread algae is difficult to get rid of unless you have a fish that will eat it. The only one I've found is the rosy barb. I got 2 for my 30 gallon and they make short work of it. Before I got them, I did some of the work by taking ornaments out and putting them in the sun and then scraping off what I could. I also scraped what I could off the plants. They did the rest and it never came back, even after they both died mysteriously. They are quite active fish and appreciate a small school I had 2 females. I now have 2 females and one male. 3 to one is better because he harasses them. They apparently are easy to breed, but if you don't want them to you can do nothing and most of the fry won't survive. One or two might if you have lots of plants. Is your profile updated now? If so, you still might be overstocked. The angel requires 10 gallons and the shark can get to be 5-9". Also, the shark might become a problem for the angel. They tend to be fin nippers and rather aggressive. I have heard of them attacking anglefish that only survived because they were removed in time.

[jizzle]

Thanks for the advice (rosey barbs).

There are no worries about my shark and angel, all the fish in my tank get on great, also the angel isnt very big its one of those dwarf variety and its only about the size of a penny.

[oscarbartoni]

I have never hears of a dwarf angel but the young start out as very littl guys and can grow to a respectable size, body length not including the fins about 4 inches ans height of body about 3 to foru inches. If somebody sold you a dwarf angelfish than I would not buy from him/her any more because they may be over crowding their fish and stunting their growth.