Several of their offerings raise a question also raised by a thread on
Cyanobacteria on the killietalk list not so long ago. Is it a good idea to
use erythomyacin in any but the most dire of situations? Wouldn't there be
some small danger of raising erythromyacin-resistant Cyanobacteria ?
Much improved tank maintenance accompanied by considerable quantities of
hornwort or even duckweed have done the trick. I made the assumption that
the addition of higher plants was either starving the Cyanobacteria of
nutrients or light. Now the contributors at the Krib site raise some serious
questions about that analysis.
At the Krib site Paul Krombholz actually suggested overdosing the tank with
nutrient! Another person, David Webb , made the interesting point that the
nutrient limiting factor might not be nitrogen, but competition for whatever
in the world it is, could cause the bg algae to go away. Roger Miller added
CO2, evidentially favoring higher plants. Another correspondent suggested
better aeration and circulation. Another startling thought by Krombholz, was
the suggestion, a la Diana Walstadt, that the hornwort (or perhaps Hydrilla
if legally available and not intended for deposit in local waters) was
actually producing allopathic substances which inhibited bg algae growth.
Whatever the specifics might be, siphoning and cleaning as much of the stuff
up as one can (then go scrub down your hands extensively - my bride
recommends washing dishes), maybe better tank care (do as I say, not as ...)
and the introduction of competing cheap and expendable plants is preferable
to first nuking the tank with an anti-biotic.
All the best!
Scott
> There is a very good article on how to deal with it in
> http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Algae/cyanobacteria.html#5
> It explains how to use erythomyacin -- dosage and
> frequency.
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