Pothos DESTROYED my aquarium!

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Most popular comments
for Pothos DESTROYED my aquarium!

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TheTerminator1919 - 6 years ago

Thumbs up given as I like your vids and all but your title was very misleading.

Rachel O'leary - 6 years ago

we all have our click bait moments

necro easy - 7 years ago

Im sorry about your algae, but im sure you know a lot of people been trying to get rid of it and have a hard time. I do feel bad that your algae is gone. Its sad that your going to give your pathos plant a dirt nap cause i think it gets rid of nitrates or something. Your fish look nice though. I think they said they want some different plant and some more algae. Oh an some gold fish that they know you have stashed away. Well thats what they told me to tell you. I know it sounds crazy but they have a water proof cell phone behind the wood dont tell them i told they said they would crash my computer. Good luck bye.

bebebutterfield1 - 7 years ago

I'll brb. Cutting photos.

Something Fishy Juno - 7 years ago

That brush algae looked awesome.

Riaz Guy - 7 years ago

utter nonsense I have ever heard of that pothos destroyed your aquarium :(

Rickard Rakkoon - 7 years ago

that tiny bit of pothos didn't kill the algae, I suspect the soil mix it came in had an algaecide/fungicide mixed in and leached from the roots once water flow started over the roots. I noticed with a lot of my hydroponics when you take a plant that's normally soil grown and transplant to a hydro setup, the plant will expel a lot of build up TDS's that's stored in the root system to basically "clear the arteries" for a water only absorption mode. so any algaecide the roots had stored probably got dumped into the tank, not harming the fish, but wrecking the BBA.

jordi lizaola - 7 years ago

what plant was that what is the name of it im trying to buy some for my betta fish tank

Nature's Finest - 7 years ago

where can i get green brush algae? i want to set up a tank with it

K.D Breed - 7 years ago

this cant happen over night. what happens to?

10. comment for Pothos DESTROYED my aquarium!

Sam Spilde - 7 years ago

post an update on what your doing with this tank!

Rachel O'leary - 7 years ago

+Sam Spilde it's overdue!

Sys0p - 7 years ago

Is there a video of the tank before?

Kristina Rapson - 7 years ago

I'm considering putting in a Pothos vine in my filter to help with Nitrates, but I have some moss balls which I've read are algea... Will it kill them? If so how long would it take before it does?

Rachel O'leary - 7 years ago

i wouldn't think so- my results were VERY atypical and I still don't understand exactly what happened and why

Tyler P - 7 years ago

pretty sudden effect it had?? I mean, you didn't notice it before it was too late?

Jessie scofield-murphy - 7 years ago

Did it come from a big box store? The pothos I mean. I think they may use some kind of crap in the soil that is no bueno for planted tanks, rinse and trim very well before adding new plants to tanks

J F - 7 years ago

Best thing to do is use a trim of an existing plant - that way you can be sure it has never even touched soil.

Alex Chapman - 7 years ago

that was my first thought too, not the pothos, they dont uptake nutrients that fast, id be wary it was a commercial weed deterent, big box pothos (and succulents for that matter) is notortiously harder to take cuttings of because they use such retardants

Jeremy McReynolds - 7 years ago

so I'm confused.....did the pothos completely such up nitrate content and starve the alge?

Luculencia - 7 years ago

Wait... you WANTED black beard algae in your tank? xD

Paul Allan - 7 years ago

So Pothos dose good a job then

wichid cichlid - 7 years ago

just do a tangle of driftwood?

ArkTiger4c - 7 years ago

It kills algae awesome ....im getting shit loads but im sorry for what its done to your aquarium

20. comment for Pothos DESTROYED my aquarium!

Spaide man - 7 years ago

i was wondering whether to put pochos in my aquarium filter, now,i definitely want to use pochos to remove all my nitrates. thx :)

Sad Onion - 7 years ago

my tank is loaded with pothos. I think it looks really nice growing out and down the sides of the tank, and the extensive root systems provide excellent hiding spots for shrimp and snails.

I have 5 large pothos plants in my tank right now and i think it looks awesome.

Dave OG Miles - 7 years ago

ahh maby if you take the plant out maby it will grow back

Dave OG Miles - 7 years ago

oh that sucks

sdq sdq - 7 years ago

well i dont believe that amount of pothos killed the black beard ,might be something else

Silenced9 Trujillo - 7 years ago

I keep leaving my lights on so my algea doesn't even get phased

Tyler powell - 7 years ago

had me a lil worried! I grow that same plant in my sump on my 225 I can't believe that happened to your beautiful set up I've never seen anything like that and absolutely loved it!!

gregg horner - 7 years ago

I can't tell if you're kidding!

ikeblade1 - 7 years ago

A sign that pothos works I guess lol, to an unfortunate end in this case though.

Evan Stepowany - 7 years ago

Rachel, would this have a potentially bad impact on a heavily planted tank in out competing the desired fauna?

Evan Stepowany - 7 years ago

Rachel O'leary . thanks, figured that would be the case... might be worth it to nuke a few spec tanks. thanks for being awesome.. hope to purchase from you once things warm up in our area

Rachel O'leary - 7 years ago

+Evan Stepowany it would certainly use up ferts in the water column if you were dosing

TheOpelkoenjas - 7 years ago

Wait, I'm not following you. Did you add a SECOND plant, or did you replace the old one with a new much smaller one? Secondly, did your algae disappear overnight? And what were your water qualities before you changed/added the plant? You might have disturbed the water quality drastically. It's easy to blame the Pothos plant, but you should always check the quality of the water before and after changing ANYTHING in or around your tank (filters for example). To be honest, I don't think that such a small plant can exterminate that amount of algae you had, at least not overnight. I could be wrong tho, but if that would be the case I think Pothos would be sold by the mass since everyone is trying to get RID of algae, not grow it on purpose. LOL Unless you have some type of fish that can only thrive on algae, of course. LOL

Cheers.

TheOpelkoenjas - 7 years ago

+Luke Frampton Okay, thanks, that indeed does make sense to me.

Luke Frampton - 7 years ago

TheOpelkoenjas it's this certain cultivar - it demands loads of nutrition from the water it thrives in - and will take in even more than nessisary and store it for later. Depending on how long the new plant was in the tank it most certainly could've sucked a lot of the nutrients the algae was using for such solid growth ( normally algae doesn't get as big as hers without such large numbers of nutrients for the algae to absorb)

30. comment for Pothos DESTROYED my aquarium!

Catherine Fears - 7 years ago

Hey! Pothos is REALLY forgiving! They can tolerate full sunlight as well as none at all. Also, I'm spreading the word that the leaves can be pinched off and planted directly into your substrate. The plant quickly grows roots and thrives in your tank as well as keeping your Nitrites and Nitrates barely detectable. These can also be found at any Lowes or Home Depot. Happy Fish! :)

Elizabeth Michael - 7 years ago

Catherine Fears it's leAves and roots r safe? Some say it's toxic

Catherine Fears - 7 years ago

Yes! You can do this. Sounds crazy, I know. I have 4 large tanks with Pothos planted directly into the substrate and they are thriving! With these plants and oxygenated water...your fish will be happy and healthy. Just pinch leaves off and pop them in the gravel, that's all!

Fins FurLife - 7 years ago

Catherine Fears hi I am wanting to directly plant some pothos into my gravel like you would a live plant I was wondering if that's what u were saying u can do and was wondering if you have personally done it before

rurutu M - 7 years ago

go for some Jungle Vals get that tank all green and wavey

GianniAzul3609 - 7 years ago

I planted a pothos cultivar at the foot of my grandparents old oak tree in Puerto Rico. And it climbed all the way up, about eighty feet. It's vines and leaves turned HUGE. And I actually began to worry about the tree so we had to hire someone to remove the plant.

MrOdyne80 - 7 years ago

I'm sure you have a reason for wanting BBA, I'd use a flamethrower on what I got growing in the tank if I could...

Luculencia - 7 years ago

Look up excel and H2O2 treatments for BBA (if you haven't already done so).

Vincentvondoom - 7 years ago

Brutal!

Magnea Ólafsdóttir - 7 years ago

why not try sand or gravel?

IR. DJODI ACHMAD HUSAIN - 7 years ago

I love your hair

Per Shop - 8 years ago

I guess just like we could notice more and more algae in our tanks, did you notice less and less algae? In other words, you noticed the undesired effect of your algae disappearing and then you would try to think what were the reasons for it, such as recently adding in the new cultivar of pothos, and try to save the algae.

Fukano Nakito - 8 years ago

which cultivar did you add?

Art Hunter - 8 years ago

OMG! I loved the look of this tank with the algae...

casey childs - 8 years ago

Omg yes!!!! Pathos destroyed all that alge? Now I will definitely put it in my tanks! I'm sorry for your loss since you wanted your alge- but your discovery is excellent for me!

abhishek sakharkar - 7 years ago

pothos is great to prevent algae in fish bowls as well

Ashley Ash - 7 years ago

Agreed! Algae is a pain in the ass to clean off everything.

Adrian Ho - 7 years ago

casey childs lol

Ashley Arvidsson - 8 years ago

I wish Gars were legal in Hawaii.

Alex T - 8 years ago

Joey sent me here !

segagenesis1989 - 8 years ago

Whoa! After watching your video, I just realized that my aquarium in which I added pothos a few months ago, no longer has any algae growing in it! In my tank, the algae was something that I really detested since it ran amuck on the aquarium glass and resulted in hairline scratches after scrubbing it away.

wcdeich4 - 8 years ago

Where did you get the brush algae to put in there to start it off?

Ryan Ong - 8 years ago

glue/tie some java ferns over your equipments

partypoison485 - 8 years ago

link to a video of what it looked like before?

partypoison485 - 8 years ago

wow, how upsetting.. it looked amazing before. who'd of known algae would look so good lol.

Rachel O'leary - 8 years ago

+partypoison485 https://youtu.be/QUdPwYoptgs

vagasduke - 8 years ago

on the positive side of things, your fish look awesome

Dave Sorensen - 8 years ago

Funny, most people would call that a success. :)

Thuddy Waters - 8 years ago

Somehow, the tank looks much smaller without the algae.

50. comment for Pothos DESTROYED my aquarium!

ilikewasabe - 8 years ago

woah didnt know pothos was that effective of getting nutrients from the tank.. im getting one!

Guy Green - 8 years ago

That sucks. This was one of my favorite tanks out there!

MsArtemis01 - 8 years ago

At least your fish is still alive. I actually thought that happened.

Goutham Krishnan - 8 years ago

U should have added a small clip showing how it was before the attack happened!

bentlikeitsmaker - 8 years ago

i noticed you dont run regular lights have you ever considered led high bay lights

Charlie Jackson - 8 years ago

I know you are generally a nano fish kinda person, but I wanted to tell you ho0w you "ruined" my life :)

I had never seen polypterus before until you did your first special on UaruJoey's channel a couple months back. I clicked through to your channel and watched a few of your videos and saw you polypterus on there. I need to let you know, I am now obsessed with getting one. I am saving up money to get a bigger tank right now (my current biggest is only a 55 gal which I am using as a community tank) I am having to seriously fight myself to not just buy one, drop it in my 55 and hope I am able to buy a more appropriate aquarium before it outgrows the tank.

Sorry it ate your algae, I know you liked it a lot. Keep doing what you are doing, because you really inspire people. and just an FYI, I plan to get a couple of 20 gallon tanks and try my hand at some planted aquariums fairly soon. When it gets closer to the time, I want you to help me chose some fish, I have now seen multiple sources saying you are the absolute best at that.

Charlie Jackson - 8 years ago

Looking forward to it

Rachel O'leary - 8 years ago

+Charlie Jackson stay tuned tomorrow for more polypterus ;) thanks for the kind words

Emmit Stewart - 8 years ago

That is sad. That algae really looked great.

pecktec - 8 years ago

Ok that wasn't as scary as I thought it was going to be. Sorry you have to rescape but you do have a mountain of driftwood.

Nunnito Miguel - 8 years ago

It was like this
https://youtu.be/QUdPwYoptgs

lizzyanthus1 - 8 years ago

Sorry to hear that! I had not seen your tank with the algea in it, but I bet it was awesome. I like your fish, though I don't know what they are, they are pretty cool looking. I'm sure you will find a good solution to make the tank pretty again.

Ruben - 8 years ago

I don't know why the spell check put tunes was suppose to be light

Ruben - 8 years ago

Wow never herd of that happening. I had 3 plants 8ft long a while ago one of the plant was like yours and two with spots on the leaves. Is that florescent tunes on the lights. If they are they might of lost the frequency that the algae use to grow. My wife put the plants on a corner light that you secure with the floor and ceiling now it looks like a spider Web. lol

James Johannesen - 8 years ago

Can wee zee tank before

Rachel O'leary - 8 years ago

+James Johannesen https://youtu.be/QUdPwYoptgs

Hemo Valencia - 8 years ago

Sorry to hear. if you love algae coverage it's definitely a no-go.
I however love it on my freshwater aquariums. Makes for easier maintenance. long periods between water changes, just required top ups.
I wouldn't change it, but that's how I like it.

minimonkey969 - 8 years ago

LOL u done fucked up

Rachel O'leary - 8 years ago

+minimonkey969 it's the seymour little Shop of horrors pothos

ArowanaMan85 A - 8 years ago

Bummer. Pothos works great though at nitrate removal. Have to up the light and bio load!

The king of DIY - 8 years ago

Pothos for the win!!

Leo Doesvlogs - 7 years ago

Liv in she wants to keep the algae she loves it she's been growing it for years it is a shame to see you work destroyed I hope it comes back

At Home Herping - 7 years ago

The king of DIY
Lol! (Also I'm a big fan) so, could you give me advice on how to convince my parents to get a fish?

me n jiji - 7 years ago

This comment just made my day!

rodimuspm - 7 years ago

The king of DIY LOL...funny

Tyler powell - 7 years ago

Liv in absolutely what keep the alge down on my 225 gallon Predator Tank.

Jennifer Szostek - 7 years ago

The king of DIY

Liv in - 8 years ago

+Rachel O'leary it might turn out to be a great thing in the end. Also for people trying to get rid of algae this might be a solution :P

Rachel O'leary - 8 years ago

+The king of DIY or the kill. Algae murderer! Now I have an excuse to use some more wood in the tank

Ross Ellis - 8 years ago

Shocker what a difference. I've had the same idea to just leave whatever grows. black beard is so strong did it clog you're filtration. Seachem products like ph buffers with phosphate will bring it back fast. And the co2 stuff seems to give everybody the beard.

Rachel O'leary - 8 years ago

it was a bitch in the filtration, but i loved the effect

luis segura - 8 years ago

Maybe you dose something that make the Photos react that way, Or was a Water change?. Maybe the Photos you introduces in the filter find the Nutrients it needed and absorbed the Nutrients living the Water with no sufficient Nutrients for the algae to feed on. :-)

Benny Castillo Moreno my small fish tank - 8 years ago

great job there on the on video

Rachel O'leary - 8 years ago

My photoshop skills are unsurpassed!

Benny Castillo Moreno my small fish tank - 8 years ago

Yes it is

Rachel O'leary - 8 years ago

+Benny Castillo Moreno the thumbnail is key to its success

SamanthaR - 8 years ago

Oh no Rachel! That's so sad, I loved the algae in that tank. Seeing the 220 deconstructed without the algae makes me feel like a magician has revealed how they do their trick:( I look forward to seeing what you will do next but that's a super sucky thing to have happen.

Dan Hiteshew - 8 years ago

I love you attitude towards algae. I lost all my beautiful algae when I cut back on feeding and lighting.

Dan Hiteshew - 8 years ago

+Eric K cool!

Eric K - 8 years ago

I think you're right based on the description I read. Thanks! Now I have a name for it!

Dan Hiteshew - 8 years ago

+Eric K Sounds like Spiro Gyra in your sump.

Eric K - 8 years ago

Diana Walstad's book, Ecology of the Planted Aquarium, goes over allelochemical interactions between plants and algae in the natural environment and in aquariums. It's very possible pothos could have that effect on black beard algae. I've been growing pothos in my sump for several months now and it has no noticeable effect on the algae I'm growing the the algae scrubber. I have this green hair algae in the scrubber chamber that is always growing crazy. Interesting video/ topic for sure.

DigniTy - 8 years ago

maybe you could try adding some cladophlora/moss at the back of the tank and cover it with mesh. The moss will grow over the mesh and you will have an awesome background.

Day5 Aquatics - 8 years ago

Do you have any kind of a substrate in your filter for the pothos to take root in?

Rachel O'leary - 8 years ago

+Day5 Aquatics it's having no problem growing lol

Day5 Aquatics - 8 years ago

+Rachel O'leary that's what I was wondering. I didn't know if ceramic rings would be enough of a substrate for it to grow in. How many inches deep are the rings in the filter?

Rachel O'leary - 8 years ago

+Day5 Aquatics nope, just ceramic rings

PsychedelicBabe - 8 years ago

Oh Rachel that sucks big time I love this tank so much and I know you have worked hard to get that algae growing .....

epicexposure - 8 years ago

So Pothos IS a good method of removing algae from a tank? If so, I'd WANT to add some to my HOB filter then -if I want my algae gone. Would that work?

Norman David - 8 years ago

I had a BIG algae problem and I added 6 Pothos plants and now the tank looks good. I also have Nerite snails to help with the Algae

Damias Mcdonald - 8 years ago

That would work wonderfully

Damion Markham - 8 years ago

bummer,looking forward to your solution

HybridHerps - 8 years ago

what cultivar was it? wouldn't mind something to help kill my BBA haha

PajamaPantsMan - 8 years ago

damn

NYCity Cichlids - 8 years ago

Well that sucks. The pothos worked too well.

nick pastore - 8 years ago

NOOOO! the black beard..... this is truly sad. I'm sorry

DMAN D - 8 years ago

Java moss!

Dee From Brooklyn - 8 years ago

Funny cause mine grows toward the filter intakes all the time

Flynn's Fish Forum - 8 years ago

Sorry about that! It's still a nice tank though :)

Rachel O'leary - 8 years ago

Stop by my facebook: https://www.facebook.com/msjinkzd/
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Dee From Brooklyn - 8 years ago

you have to constantly cut abs remove pothos to keep that from happening

Rachel O'leary - 8 years ago

it just used all the nutrients, it didn't actually do anything bad. I just happened to be fond of my algae

FishOnMatt - 8 years ago

Damn that burns sorry to hear rach

John Zimm - 8 years ago

I know you said it was the new plant, but did you do anything else? Why would a small group of one plant roots kill all the other "plants" in the water? Did you check water ph ammonia etc?

Jay's Aquariums - 8 years ago

The pothos uses the excess nutrients in the water that

Rachel O'leary - 8 years ago

Nothing has changed otherwise. Just the new pothos.

Virpi C - 8 years ago

O.o that's... peculiar. Also, sad. I originally found your channel because of that algae, on finnish aquarium forum someone complained about algae so someone else said it can also be a decoration and linked your video. :D Good luck with the new decoration! =)

Jennifer Langley - 8 years ago

I hate those moments when you discover something you just can't reverse easily if at all. I'm sure you'll come with something new and cool though.

james gonzalez - 8 years ago

those look like Dino bichers..... or how ever you spell it lol always wanted those

Rachel O'leary - 8 years ago

Polypterus endlicheri endlicheri- Saddled bichir

Dude, That's Cichlid! - 8 years ago

I'll have to find a video showing the growth, I've never seen it. Sorry. Well learning something new is the silver lining, surely! FISH ON!

Rachel Porter - 8 years ago

awww what a shitter. I'm pissed too my goby in marine tank has died after 7 years

neufy123456 - 8 years ago

At least the water is still clean and the fish are still healthy. Title had me freaked out, was about to run downstairs and rip some plants out of my tanks lol

Chuck T - 8 years ago

Wow! What a shame that algae was awesome. Did you take anything else out of the tank? It looks so barren! I guess it was all the movement of the black beard. It drastically shows how one little addition can change a tank.

Rachel O'leary - 8 years ago

+Chuck Troast nothing else was changed. And I have had pothos in the filter for 6 years. Just added a new piece to the filter

Christina MacNaughton - 8 years ago

So sad, the brush algae was impressive and unique. Maybe you could create a moss wall in its place?

West End Aquariums - 8 years ago

That is a MAJOR bummer. On the bright side, your crown looks like it healed nicely. I hope you are able to get your tank back the way it was...all around bummer.

COOPER'S CICHILDS - 8 years ago

sorry to hear that but I know and trust that your going to do that tank good, so can't wait to see the end result

Corey Corey - 8 years ago

pothos seems to do more harm than good in post applications, NEVER USE IT NEAR TURTLES! its poison

GJmelb - 8 years ago

+Jennifer Langley you go girl!

Jennifer Langley - 8 years ago

People with no dogs or cats (or crazy chickens) are irrelevant to me. So, it works out.

Ajaxtrippy26 - 8 years ago

The concern with reptiles and pothos is that it has a lot of oxylates which interfere with calcium absorption and placement, if you fed a young turtle nothing but pothos you'd likely kill it eventually from metabolic bone disease not poisoning however if you're turtle eats the occasional leaf here and there it's largely harmless

AQRify ln - 8 years ago

+Jennifer Langley Irrelevant to people with no dogs or cats.

Jennifer Langley - 8 years ago

Pothos is toxic to dogs and cats as well. Most won't bother it or eat it, but it is toxic to them.

AQRify ln - 8 years ago

So long as you don't have it in a tank where the inhabitants will eat the pothos, I think it's fine. In my 55 gal with crayfish, the crayfish ate all the plants and proceeded to eat the pothos roots. Even then, the crayfish are fine and continue to gnaw on the roots as it grows back.

The Midwest Fishkeeper - 8 years ago

I might need some pathos if it kills black beard for my 72gal. Those are some really cool fish what are the species? And it's sad that happened Because the tank looked so cool!

Rachel O'leary - 8 years ago

Polypterus endlicheri endlicheri (saddled bichir), Tropical gar and Cuban gar.