I recently did a water change in my fresh water tank and after 2 days I had red algae start to grow. I was wondering if it was bad to have that kind of algae in the tank?
Red algae growth usually indicates that the aquarium has high levels of dissolved organics. However, if the problem started after a water change, it may indicate that your tap water has a high level of phosphates, which these days is not uncommon. I would recommend another water change, this time vacuuming the gravel thoroughly. If the red algae returns, you should consider adding some more filtration. Top • I have recently noticed that the green and purple algae I had covering my rock and glass disappeared overnight. I recently treated the tank with Copper. Could this have killed off the algae, and was this algae bad? It is not unusual for copper to kill algae. The purple stuff was more than likely a slime algae, or cyanobacteria, not a true algae at all. The green may also have been cyanobacteria, or even true green algae. The effect will be temporary and the algae will probably return. True green algae is hair-like or mossy in appearance and is a sign of a healthy tank. Slime-like a
