Brown Algae

[bunnies&bettas]

I have a new 10 gal. tank that has been running for 2 months now after fishless cycling. It is heavily planted and has 1 betta and 6 Harlequin rasboras. I have not had much algae and have been able to keep it clean with weekly water changes & scraping glass, wiping ornaments. However, in the last few days the brown algae has covered most of the plants and ornaments (2 resin branches). I wiped much of it off the plants and glass and got a timer so I can cut back on light hours. I have been looking in all my books and have not found the answer to my question which is: with less light, will the algae die back and disappear on its own or will I have to remove it all? Because the tank is so small, I can't add any algae eating fish.

Here's a picture taken after cleaning this morning. Before, the plants were more brown than green. Any advice is welcome!

 

[mike455555]

its a new tank and its still changing... the algae is diatoms. you could get a couple of otocinclus they love the stuff and will love that tank as well, its got lots of broad leaf plants

 

[JohnDyer]

I agree with mike, Otos would eat the algae, and they would love that tank. They don't grow very large either, so you might be able to cram a pair in. Nerite snails will also eat it. In my experience, the algae will go away by itself eventually, but the plants might be damaged.

 

[bunnies&bettas]

Thanks for the responses. I'll see if I can find any otos and consider adding a pair. Will this not be too many fish for this size tank? I heard it is best to have added any other fish before the betta so he doesn't become territorial and attack new arrivals. I had the harlequins in tank first. Will it be ok to add new fish now?

 

[mike455555]

otos are really peacefull fish i think you will be fine with them and the betta

 

[asheyna]

otos are really peacefull fish i think you will be fine with them and the betta

I've considered getting them for my 35gal as I also have currently battling brown algae. I do have some loaches though and I've been told they eat algae. We'll see. With my current planned setup I DO have room for 2 or 3 of them.

 

[TekFish]

I wouldn't recommend Otocinclus as a pair, only as a group of 5. They like the company.
However you could get 2 Pitbull Plecos, or Pleci or whatever the plural of Pleco is.

TekFish

 

[ZoddyZod]

I wouldn't recommend getting any fish for the algae at all. The brown diatoms are simply a fact of life for a newly established aquarium - give it time to settle and they will dissapear on their own.

 

[asheyna]

I wouldn't recommend getting any fish for the algae at all. The brown diatoms are simply a fact of life for a newly established aquarium - give it time to settle and they will dissapear on their own.

That's good to hear! It's so unsightly I've been doing my water changes and scrubbing anything that has algae on it with water and vinegar and then giving it a REALLY good rinse before putting it back in the tank. It does seem to be helping a little.

 

[TekFish]

It shouldn't really affect it but if you have low kH or gH the acetic acid in the vinegar might lower the pH, I wouldn't worry just watch it.

TekFish

 

[asheyna]

It shouldn't really affect it but if you have low kH or gH the acetic acid in the vinegar might lower the pH, I wouldn't worry just watch it.

TekFish

I'm pretty OCD about rinsing. Haven't checked the tank's pH in a while but I'll do it when I get home. The fish all seem happy so I don't think it's an issue.

 

[Dan-CR4]

Im getting this at the moment, ever since I did a rescape in my tank. Added all new plants, so its quite annoying, this tank has been running since feb, but rescaped it 3 weeks back and now this. hope mine goes away. keep us updated on yours.

 

[bunnies&bettas]

Thanks for all the responses. I think considering everything, I'll hold off on adding fish for now and wait for it to go away on its own. I'll still be cleaning some of it off leaves and glass until that point, but that's a small price to pay for how much I'm enjoying this tank. I may have to replace some plants, but it's a work in progress anyway.

 

[Cazgar]

I wouldn't recommend getting any fish for the algae at all. The brown diatoms are simply a fact of life for a newly established aquarium - give it time to settle and they will dissapear on their own.

+1 Oto's or any other algae eating fish won't completely solve an algae problem

 

[Dan-CR4]

I wouldn't recommend getting any fish for the algae at all. The brown diatoms are simply a fact of life for a newly established aquarium - give it time to settle and they will dissapear on their own.

+1 Oto's or any other algae eating fish won't completely solve an algae problem

+1 on the above comments, I got 3 lovely otos and I still got the brown stuff, they do try but they are not eliminating it. so dont buy these fish as a cure.