# HELP -- Moss Ball Overrun



## FONE (May 21, 2013)

Hey everyone,

I've had a marimo moss ball in my tank from the beginning, and recently it has started to grow very... hairy. It doesn't roll around in the tank, as there's probably not enough current.

My concern is that there's little tufts of moss ball algae on a lot of the other plants in the tank, and spending time removing it freaks the fish out.

What can I do?? I don't want to have to remove the moss ball if I can help it.

Thanks.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

it sounds like what you might actually have is a hair algae growing with the moss ball.

A good treatment for hair algae is double dose of excel, but i'm not sure what that would do to the moss ball.'

Another method is blacking out the tank for a few days


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

I've never noticed any moss ball propagating itself without help. I think pyrrolin is right and you have a hair algae problem. Many of them can look very, very similar to moss balls, because moss balls are also a type of algae, not a true moss. 

'Moss ball' algae is never a pest in tanks. The ball shape is simply because of wave action in the lakes it comes from, or because it's been propagated in a way that simulates this wave action.


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## TankCla (Dec 31, 2010)

What are the parameters of your water? Lighting? WC? Fish?


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## FONE (May 21, 2013)

Tried to black things out by covering the tank with a towel for 2 days with the lights off. Didn't get rid of the thin strands hooked on the various plants in the tank. I'm thinking of either going the chemical route, or "hiring" some small SAEs to clean house.

10 gallon planted
API Test Results: 0.25ppm (constant) Ammonnia/um; 0ppm Nitrite; 5-10ppm Nitrate

2 small Oto Cats
6 pygmy cory cats
6 harlequin rasboras
2 glowlight rasboras
1 shrimp

3 filters: Tetra Whisper 20Ex, Eheim Internal, eBay double-sponge filter
Lighting: 14W tube, in-hood

Open to advice! Thanks.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

try the excel method along with blacking out for 4 or 5 days


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## FONE (May 21, 2013)

Does "blacking out" the tank involve covering it from ambient light also, or just the dedicated tank tube that is lighting the setup?

Thanks!


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

all light, if it is in a room with windows, cover it


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