what is this?

Can you get a clearer shot?

 

A rock and a flower pot?


Rick

 

Are these on rocks you collected recently? If so did you clean them?

 

Sounds like the beginnings of BBA if it is fuzzy.

 

Black algae will form small (typically 1-3 cm / 0.4-1.2 inches in diameter) black or dark blue green dots on various surfaces, such as aquarium glass.

Black algae have strong roots and in order to eradicate it you must destroy the roots...if any roots are left behind it will reappear in the same spot eventually. It's a slow growing algae in comparance to other types/forms.


Cause:

•Nutrient Imbalance – potentially excess N, P, Fe. Strive for the following nutrient levels: N (10-20ppm), P (0.5-2ppm), K (10-20ppm), Ca (10-30ppm), Mg (2-5ppm), Fe (.1ppm).
•Low pH – It’s believed that BBA thrives in acidic environments

Cure:

•Increase CO2 – This will stimulate plant growth, which should help the plants out-compete the algae for resources.
•Excel/H202 treatment – Use a syringe to spot treat problem areas. Then manually remove when BBA turns grey/white.
•Manual removal – Use toothbrush to remove as much as possible.
•Bleach treatment – Dip affected hardscape items/hardy plants in a bleach/water solution using a 1:20 ratio of bleach to water. Before putting them back into the tank, make sure the item is free of bleach odor.
•OxiClean treatment – Dip affected hardscape items in a OxiClean solution, making sure you only use the original OxiClean with no other additives.
•Maintain proper water change/dosing schedule – weekly / bi-weekly changes.
•Algae Crew – Siamese Algae Eaters (SAE) and Amano shrimp are known to eat this algae.

Knowing your tanks small I'd go with the removal and bleaching of the affected items, followed by checking your water chemistry.

If your readings are "good" then you might wanna clean your filter & put some new media in there (filters should be cleaned and media refreshed monthly) & possibly increase your partial amount/frequency.

Did you add anything new to the tank? (product wise) or move its location (to a spot that receives more light)?

 

you could always try the Excel/H202 treatment – Use a syringe to spot treat problem areas. Then manually remove when BBA turns grey/white.

Hydrogen Peroxide is cheap enough...even excel would be for a tank that size...If memory serves I think Ryan used that method

Shrimp would be really nice (what kind are you getting?)

 

I loved the cherry shrimp when I had them...the yellow ones I wasn't all that fond of after I had them for a while. Although you did "see" the yellow ones more out and about!

Are you putting them in your 5g?

 

that would be really nice for them.
Be sure to use a prefilter (unless you want them IN your filter).
what are the 4 other fishys you have in there?

 

That looks cute...
Maybe your rock has a mole >.<V