# Lace rock turning brown



## cvillanueva21 (Mar 10, 2008)

Is it normal for the rocks to be stained brown when feeding with spectrum cichlid pellets? 
The bottom remains gray. But the top is brown.
How often are you supposed to clean the rocks?


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## Hoosier Tank (May 8, 2007)

I had the same problem Algae growing on top of the rocks and making them look dull an brown., I used to scrub them monthly with a stiff bristle brush used only in my tanks.... until I bought a Bushy Nosed Pleco. Now they look much better all the time and I don't have to disassemble the stacks and scrub them. :thumb:


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## Joea (May 25, 2004)

Lace rock is very porous and is an excellent surface for algae to grow. It usually turns brown after a few weeks, despite the brand of food you use. It grows where it's exposed to light, which is why the underside of the rock remains gray. Plecos are moderately useful for algae that grows on glass and flatter surfaced rocks such as river rock, but they have a harder time getting into the small nooks and crannies of lace rock.


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## cvillanueva21 (Mar 10, 2008)

Thanks Joea and Hoosier Tank for the advice.
I've already had a common pleco in there but he didn't want to eat that stuff.
I've recently bought a bristlenosed pleco as suggested and overnight he's cleaned up a significant amount of the brown algae.


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## Hoosier Tank (May 8, 2007)

Joea said:


> Plecos are moderately useful for algae that grows on glass and flatter surfaced rocks such as river rock, *but they have a harder time getting into the small nooks and crannies of lace rock*.


Exactly it seems to define the holes and helps give it the "3-D" look



cvillanueva21 said:


> I've recently bought a bristlenosed pleco as suggested and overnight he's cleaned up a significant amount of the brown algae


Amazing how fast they can clean up a tank. It may hide under a rock and sleep it off for a while but you sure can tell when they have been busy!


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