I have two 10 gallon tanks. In them I have an Oto and a Pleco. The Pleco, how ever, we are searching for a new tank for (since he will soon grow too big) and currently they aren't doing a good job of keeping the tank clean.
there's dark green algae everywhere! I'm going to get 2 to 3 more Otos to stay in the female guppies' tank, while the Pleco can stay in the males. The male's tank, however, is where the Pleco and Oto are staying now, since it's covered in slime, and the job isn't getting done.
Anyway, I'd like a list of different algae eaters that do great in a tropical community. I DO NOT WANT GHOST SHRIMP!
Thanks a bundles :)
Answers:
HI Morgan, haven't seen you around in awhile. You've got some decent input here from everyone. To treat algea you have a combination of things. Starting first with the lighting, make sure that there is no direct exposure to sunlight, and that your tank lights are on like a normal day, say around 8-10 hours and then just cut them off. Try to simulate a natural light cycle in your tank.
Algone as mentioned by Donnie is a good product. I've used that and it seems to work fairly effective. And the others talking about the nutrients in the water as well, keeping up with the regular maintenence. That will help put it under control, but one thing I want to add outside the scope of the other answers here..Check your tap water source for nitrates and phosphates please. You may well be doing everything you should, but the problem will be that nitrates as well as phosphates are already in the water to begin with.
If you find nitrates high in your tap water source, my next question would be, are you on a farm or near one or maybe a golf course? These things are very high in nitrate run off and has a strong potential to reach your tap water source. Both of these are fuel sources for algea. Check that in addtion to all the other things, and add phosphate remover to your tank. Email me in like 7-10 days and let me know if you still have an algea problem in your tank :)
JV
you could get an albino cory catfish--or ask at your pet store what they recommend. I like snails myself'but they reproduce so quickly they can take over your tank in no time
There aren't any fish that really just eat the algae and will keep it clean
You need to prevent algae from growing in the first place
Start with leaving the light only for 10-12 hours during the day on and off for 12-14 hours at night
if you have the tanks near a window, remove them from there into a dark spot, because the sunlight causes algae to grow
Feed your fish only as much as they will eat in a period of 3-5 min at each feeding twice a day
And do weekly partial waterchanges of 25% with a gravelsiphon
Also, you could get some live plants for your tanks
but you could get 3 corycats for each tank
Hope that helps
Good luck
EB
A bit of advice. Don't try to solve this problem with algae eaters. If the growth is that bad, then the problem is that you are leaving the lights on for too long. Adding more fish to a tank with algae problems is usually not a good remedy. Algae robs the water of oxygen, and when you dedicate more fish to solve the problem, you use up even more of the oxygen. More often than not, you can simply turn off the light when you aren't using the tank, and the problem will solve itself. The Plecos, by the way , are in my opinion, the worst at keeping a tank clean. I much prefer the Oto.
algae grows for many reasons...but, if your pleco is too big then he has become lazy. they slow down as they get older and some even begin to eat fish...lol. try adding a real plant. that will give the water more oxygen and sometimes that is why the water starts to grow algae, also you can try to trade in your larger pleco for a couple little ones.and my experience is that otocinclus are way better algae eaters than plecos!! good luck!!
Well the thing with plecos is they only eat algae when they are starving you need to get them crustaceans like crabs or crayfish to feed on.
As for getting rid of the algae you will have better luck when getting an algae mitt or algae magnet and when doing weekley water changes scrub it off and use the siphon to get it out.
You are doing weekly water changes right? That along with only 12 hours of light should keep algae at bay, I've never had an algae eater and keep my lights on around 12-14 hours a day and never had algae, the key is weekly water changes to remove nitrates and ammonia while keeping algae out.
how about snails? I think I heard they keep slime off the sides of the tank/
Olive Nerite Snails may be the best general algae eater around. They can live in freshwater and brackish tanks. They clean up algae very quickly.
I use them and love them. 1 snail for every 5g of water.
You can get Otos and SAE (Siamese Algae Eater). The SAE will get big but not as big as a pleco.
The source of your problem is that you have too much nutrient in your water (probably nitrate). A fast way to halt the growth is to do more water change. Try 50% twice a week for a couple of weeks. At the same time reduce your lighting period. If you have strong sunlight around your tank, cut some dark cardboard and stick them on the outside of the tank where the sunlight is strongest.
Another neat trick is to buy a bottle of solution call Seachem Excel. Dose 1.5 to 2 times recommended contcentration and it should help push back the growth. Do a search on the internet on this product in relation to algae. The company doesn't promoting this side effect on the website, but read what others are saying and you will know what I mean.
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I have two choices for you..
The first obvious choice is a freshwater snail. I've heard that Mystery Snails are the better variety. You can find them at your local pet stores (don't trust Wal-Mart). The key to finding the best snail is to see which one is moving more quickly than the others.
Another option is Algone. I left the link below for information about the product.
You have the right fish for eating algae.You said the algae was dark green. Do you need a scraper to get it off the glass or will it come off with your hand or a cloth ? If it is the former it might be a form of wort. This is not algae and the plecos won"t eat it. I have had this in my tanks from time to time and you can keep scraping it off or you will have to empty the tank and use bleach to get rid of it.
i found that mystery snails are great with algae in a matter of days thell clear most of the algea and keep it under controll and they wont multiply because there seprate sexes heres a site on them http://www.applesnail.net/
Regular algae eaters, corydoras, mystery snails
You'd be much better scraping it off yourself!
