Algae

[Draven]

I seem to have a problem with algae. It's growing on my walls, rocks, and possibly plants. What can I do to get rid of this? I do weekly water changes, but the algae pops up in a day or two.

 

[jacblades]

is your tank in a window?
does the tank have lights? how often are they left on?

algae feeds on excess nutrients which could either come from too much lighting, too much food/waste.

do you have real or fake plants? it often helps if you throw some extra plants in there as they will use up the nutrients and the algae will starve.

or you could invest in an otto

 

[Draven]

is your tank in a window?
does the tank have lights? how often are they left on?

algae feeds on excess nutrients which could either come from too much lighting, too much food/waste.

do you have real or fake plants? it often helps if you throw some extra plants in there as they will use up the nutrients and the algae will starve.

or you could invest in an otto

No windows near here.

Light is on a time from 10am-9pm.

Real plants. Java Moss and Java Fern. 4 plants total in a 3 gallon tank. This is an eclipse 3 gallon w/ bio-filter wheel.

 

[Draven]

No other suggestions or help?

 

[The-Wolf]

get some eSHA protalon-707 IMO it is the
only thing that does what it says it does.

 

[tekknocolor]

You could get an otocinclus to eat the algae or you could get some chems to do it for you. You may also want to invest in an algae brush.

 

[Draven]

Can you get it in America? Every single page on google shows up as Germany or Britian.

 

[fourplayfishy]

just get an otto theyd take care of it (yes i hate chems unless something is sick)

 

[The-Wolf]

it would seem not. can you not order it online and have it shipped to you?

 

[Nisha]

Try cutting down the time your light is on. You could put it on a timer and ensure that the lights only stay on for 8-10 hours max. Cut down the time further for a few days and you should see the algae start to disappear.
I would also recommend getting Otos. They are lovely additions to the tank and will clean up the tank very quickly. Just make sure you have room for them in the tank.

 

[Draven]

I have a 3 gallon eclipse tank. How big and exactly what are Otos? I'd rather not use chemicals. I do have my lights on a timer, but I will decrease the time a few hours. Will the Oto really eat up that much?

Just to be safe, I ran a chem test and all levels show up 0.0 (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate).

 

[tekknocolor]

Here ya go, some info on Otos

http/www.fishinthe.net/html/fishguide/fi...FC=195&nl=&nt=1

 

[Draven]

Thanks much Tekkno!

 

[Draven]

Here's what I think I know about Oto's from reading in the last 15 minutes.

- They don't like salt. It can kill them very quickly.
- They should be kept in groups, of 5 or so.
- They tend to be nocturnal. So should I get some aquarium decor that they can hide/sleep in besides the plants?

Am I correct? I have a 3 gallon tank for my single Male Betta. 4 plants, 2 java ferns, 2 java moss. I currently use red sea salt, Aqua-Sol & NovaAqua water treatment. My tank has a bio-wheel and is bio-cycled.

Can I put in a few Oto's? How many is acceptable in a 3 gallon tank?

 

[Sorrell]

Draven I have the same problem as you. I have 5 betta tanks that completely fill with algae on a daily basis. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason to it either. They are in three different areas of my house, two have gravel, one sand, and two are bare. Three have java fern one a fake plant and the other is empty. It will happen whether there is any light or not. One is in my closet, so I can completely control the lighting, it doesn't matter.

I'm resorting to chemicals, so we'll see how it goes. I just was sick of doing 100% water changes daily on these 5 fish to keep them alive. I am using a chemical from the US, but I've had to remove the live plants from the tank. I'll let you know how it goes