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In reference to the conversation that started in this thread ... http://shrimpkeepersforum.com/forum/index.php/topic/7693-prevent-algae-going-everywhere/?view=getnewpost where Ozshrimp mentioned that he had to dispose of a plant due to it being infested with algae ... I have started this thread in the hopes of helping others who might have the same issue. Have you ever had a prized plant that was infested with algae? The algae has grown in between your plant and has become one big mass of algae and plant. To the point of not knowing where the plant started and where the algae ended? Where manual removal is too difficult, and futile cause the algae just grows back, and where spot dosing with Excel/glut/Dino spit would kill sensitive plants like mosses, pellia or fissiden? Using regular algaecides on plants will kill delicate and sensitive plants like pellia and mosses. Well, I have found one product to be different. And I have tested it with great success with my own algae infested plants. I have mini pellia that had Staghorn algae and BBA growing through it. My Peacock moss was also infested with Staghorn. Manually pulling it out was destroying my delicate mini pellia. And it was fuitle ... the algae would just grow back in a matter of days. I had to researched a better way of treating algae, that had interwoven itself into the mini pellia. The moss, I wasn't too fussed about. But pellia is more precious to me. I came across a product that showed promise. Searching for local retailers brought me to two. And by luck both are SKF sponsors !!! Cha-ching! What's this product? EasyLife AlgExit. Notice it will treat filamentous algae - that's the staghorn, hair and string algae, Brush and beard algae. Notice also that it says it is safe on plants and shrimp. I can personally vouch for the safe with shrimp and plants statement, within reason. It is safe with higher order leafy plants. It is also safe with delicate mosses, pellia and fissidens AS LONG AS you don't use too much of the product and leave the plants soaking in it for longer than 3 days. How do I know this? Well I tested the limits, so you don't have to. (Warning: Do NOT follow this example - it is a test of limits to see what dosage will harm plants) I put in a small bunch of mini pellia into a plastic container, with just enough water to cover the plant ... approx 100ml of water. In this container I added 1ml of AlgExit. Left it for 5 days. Please note the dosage according to the instructions is 10ml per 100Litres. Or 1ml per 10L. So 1ml of AlgExit in 100ml of water is many times over the dosage. (anyone want to try calculating how many times over?) Inadvertently, a shrimplet (1mm) came along with the ride in the plant. Didn't notice it until about 15-30 minutes into the treatment. The shrimplet was removed from the container, and survives to this day. At this crazy overdose levels and 5 days of treatment the mini pellia is now showing signs of not surviving. It's back in my tank now, to see if it pulls through. Needless to say, the algae on that test plant was all dead. (End of warning. Recommended treatment method follows below) However, with more reasonable levels of dosage my mosses and mini pellia will survive even harsh dosage treatments. The following is proof. Mini pellia that was treated about 2 months ago. Not a sign of BBA, brush algae or staghorn. The plant is very much alive and thriving. This is a more recent treatment. Started 6 days ago. I had algae growing on the stainless steel mesh as well as in the mini pellia. Notice the algae is now purple? This will turn white in a few days and die off. the shrimp will graze on it too. But the pellia is unharmed. Same plant, another view. Notice the purple bits in between the Pellia? That's the dying algae, but the pellia itself is a lush green. I have managed to clear it out/eradicate/kill the algae within 3days, without killing the mini pellia. This is the treatment method. 1) Remove the plant for treatment into a bucket. 2) Add enough water to cover the plant. Make a note of the amount of water used. 3) Add up to 10 times the dosage. Recommended dosage was too slow. 4) Keep the algae infested plant in AlgExit for no more than 3 days. 5) Remove and rinse with clean water. 6) Return to tank and observe the algae. If it has not changed colour in the next day or two, return to the treatment bucket for another day or 2. Repeat from step 5 until algae changes colour. eg. I use a 1Litre container for mini pellia, it's only a small plant. I'd add 500ml of water and 1ml of AlgExit. (yes it's more than the recommendation above, but I'm a Pro at it now ) I remove after 3 days , and that is what you see in the picture above. All the algae has turned purple on the steel mesh. You can treat it in the tank, but you'd have to use more of the product. And I suggest following the manufacturers dosage. But this method will treat the algae infected plant in a targeted approach without impacting the main tank, at a much faster rate. You can get the Easy Life AlgExit from our favourite sponsors Age of Aquariums and Tech Den. Hope you found this useful. If it saves you from throwing away a plant, let me know. I get encouragement that I have helped someone else, and we get confirmation it works.

Alright, Premium is done and dusted, talk about peer pressure and cyber bullying, haha.

So thought I would start a journal for our shrimp as we are growing the amount of shrimp and tanks we dedicate to them. Currently it's just three 1ft cubes, one with a satellite box. We are currently breeding yellow cherries, trying to breed blues and brown/blacks. We also have a mix of mischlings, an orange eye blue tiger, and a two stripe king Kong. Also we have some shrimp from someone working towards pintos. Here just a few pictures to get me started.

She is the only one I can ever capture on camera. If I ever get one of the others. You will see how red they get. Hope you like them.

Oh oh, I have a possible solution for that. Where algae has grown in between our prized plants. Where manual removal is too difficult, and futile cause the algae just grows back, and where spot dosing excel/glut/Dino spit would kill sensitive plants like mosses, pellia or fissiden. I have mini pellia that had stag horn and BBA growing through it. I have managed to clear it out/eradicate/kill the algae within 3days, without killing the mini pellia. Yes it might be too late for you now, but it could be useful for next time. Want to know how?? Like this post, and if I get enough interest, I will write a full review article. Otherwise I won't bother with an article.

No limit on the Photobucket IMG link. But I think SKF file size limit is 5Mb for each file.

You can use a site like photobucket to host your images, then copy and paste the IMG links here. I find this is the simplest way. Alternatively you should be able to upload pics directly to the forum after you have a couple more posts (part of our anti-spammer protocols) but there are file size limitations (from memory 500mb, but I could be wrong).