Algae Shrimp.

[Underwurlde]

Algae, like all plants, will need some thing to eat i.e. nutrients.

Light is only a trigger as this is thier primary requirement.

So to this end:
What substrate have you got?
What & how often & more importantly how much food do you feed your fish?
What is your maintenance schedule? Do you gravel vac when water changing?
Do you think you live in a 'hard water' area?

Fish food and fish waste (poo & pee) are great nutrient sources for any kind of plant, espcially if allowed to sit in a dirty substrate where it breaks down and nutrients (the source of which is the fish food) are then released into the water column over time.

Andy

 

[lawrie]

its a gravel substrate and i vaccume the gravel once a week. i feed them blood worms as a treat 2 times a week and flakes 3 times a day, there called aquarian flake food. i also use pellets for my clown and corys. im not sure about the water hardness.

 

[Underwurlde]

flakes 3 times a day,

Too much!

ONCE a day, just a pinch.... Read up on this if I were you.

Andy

 

[lawrie]

it says on the box of fish food to feed 3 times a day, but im kinda new to algae problems so all help and advise welcome! and critisism!

 

[Underwurlde]

Honestly, one small pinch per day is more than enough. (Fish are greedy & will always appear hungry).

Manufacterers of the food want you to over-feed... you'll buy 3x more than you need - at the expense of your bio system of course!

Andy

 

[lawrie]

ahhh, i never thought of that! but i will start to feed them once a day. what about treats, how often would i give them blood worms or brine shrimp?

 

[GoldLenny]

Feeding depends on the type of fish and the age of the fish. As babies and juvis, they should be fed several meals a day as they are in the rapid growth/development phase of their lives. As they mature, then feeding 1-2 times a day is fine.

For goldfish babies/juvi's, it's recommended to feed a total of 2% of their body weight each day so this would be split into 3-6 meals. For adults, it drops down to 1% of their body weight and could be split between 1-2 meals.

My cherry shrimp tank has several hatchings from newborn to several weeks old so I am feeding them 3-4 times a day right now... plus they spend the rest of their time scavenging for food, algae, etc. For the first two years, I fed my goldfish 3-4 times a day but now I'm down to 2 times a day.

 

[Underwurlde]

England playing like a bunch of muppets again.
Bloody awful.

Anyway, 'treats' - instead of usual feed. I dunno, up to you. Once a week perhaps. Do a forum search or start another thread - get everyones views & experience.

A

 

[Invader Xan]

A couple of these little beauties will hinder the growth of some types of algae. I have several in my tank (the shrimp love them, incidentally). Easy to keep, they just sit there and absorb nitrates/phosphates. In my experience, if you give them the right conditions they'll prevent almost everything except green spot algae and cyanobacteria.

Treats... I like to give my pets some jellied bloodworm maybe once every week or two at most. Occasionally, I'll buy some live daphnia for them too. The shrimp chase them occasionally, but rasboras love them!

 

[MHunt]

A couple of these little beauties will hinder the growth of some types of algae. I have several in my tank (the shrimp love them, incidentally). Easy to keep, they just sit there and absorb nitrates/phosphates. In my experience, if you give them the right conditions they'll prevent almost everything except green spot algae and cyanobacteria.

Treats... I like to give my pets some jellied bloodworm maybe once every week or two at most. Occasionally, I'll buy some live daphnia for them too. The shrimp chase them occasionally, but rasboras love them!

hmmmm, adding algae to hinder the growth of more algae, might work! or you may just end up with a green tank!

 

[Invader Xan]

Nah, cladophora (like those moss balls) always grows in filaments. You'll notice stray filaments and occasional little lint-looking things on your substrate, and that should be all. Not all algae's bad.