i recently had a really bad case of black beard algae, which basically looks like thick black hairs growing on everything. i tried a "drastic" treatment. I used Hydrogen Peroxide in a 3% solution and used a baby medicine syringe to squirt the peroxide directly on the algae. here are some before and after pictures

Before:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/Celeste_Eden/pets/beforeh2o2-2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/Celeste_Eden/pets/P1010025-1.jpg

After:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/Celeste_Eden/pets/10-14-06-right.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/Celeste_Eden/pets/10-14-06.jpg

and just because i love him, here is a picture of Sid, my Ctenopoma acutirostre, or spotted climbing perch.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/Celeste_Eden/pets/sid.jpg

That is looking so full and lush! I'm sure your fish just love it.

I will be upgrading mine in the next week or two...do you use co2?

i have a yeast CO2 system (2 litre bottle with airline sciliconed to a hole in the cap) i use a powerhead as the diffuser. i have it hidden on the far left side behind some plants about halfway down in the middle of the tank. the airline tube from the bottle runs to the bottom of the powerhead and every few seconds you see a little spray of tiny bubbles shoot through the tank. it works really well.

That is soooooo neat lookin' Sorathien....
Looks like a really cool lookin' little world in there..
(I have a small tank and my snails eat my plant life right down to nubs)

Thanks for sharing those pictures..

I just wanted to add that your tank look great! I have been a plant lover for a while now, and I am just getting into some fish, so far I only have a beta tho. Can you reccomend any specific plants that would go well with him?

Your aquarium looks absolutely wonderful!!!

That is a beautiful aquarium!

amber, its not really a matter of what plants will go well with the betta. he would enjoy any type of live plant.

the question is what plants would do best in the environment you have. aquatic plants are a bit different to care for than terrestrial plants. you need a delicate balance of fertilizer, light, and CO2 injection. too much of one, or not enough of another will cause the plants to not grow, even die, and algae to take over. some plants do well with very low light, no ferts, and no added CO2. others require very high levels of all three.

i'd suggest you start asking questions at a forum like http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/

It looks so beautiful....great job