Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations physical removal of fil. algae?

Steve said "I've been told not to physically remove algae because the fragments (filaments) that break off will in turn give rise to new growths.". I do not consider this completely true. Filamentous algae are a very diverse group that encompass several algal Divisions (Phyla). There are some genera that do continue reproducion after fragementation. But also some filamentous algae grow by establishing a hold fast cell that attaches to the substrate. It all depends. As the algal mass grows it eventually breaks lose and floats to the surface where most people now consider it a problem and need to do something about it. Technicaly Chara and Nitella are an algae and broken branches of these plants can probably regrow from bracts (fertile nodes) and or oogonia (female parts).