General stock questions, moss is out of control and a little bit of algae

[Nadoot]

Hi Fish Friend’s,
This is my 20 gallon tank currently stocked with 17 rasboras ( espei and hengeli) and probably about 15 shrimp ( blue dream and red cardinal). Heavily planted, parameters are stable. It’s my first tank.
Do you think it is fully stocked or can I ad say another 5 rasboras?
Also the moss is totally growing out of control, I keep trimming it but it’s winning the fight.... do I worry about, leave it be that or should I try and scrape it off?
Last question, what do you guys use to scrape the algae off the drift wood, I was using a soft bamboo toothbrush but that doesn’t even touch it.... like at all.
Thanks for any advice in advance and sorry for so many questions! I’m a rookie still!
Cheers

 

[KevinZ]

You will never win against any type of moss when they fully established to the environment. All you can do is trim again and again. I got a bucket of moss every 2 weeks. ",
I can't suggest you anything about stocking idea. Not really great at this thing.
The algae is a part of a healthy tank.
If you dont like how it looks you should try to reduce the light & nutrients in the water column
Scraping algae is the last options IME. because they can cause stress to shrimp & Bottom dweller fish. (idk where i read it, and yes. It's proven by Scientists)

 

[Nadoot]

Thank you!
I had a feeling the moss would win, I might just have to trim it and embrace it....

 

[Byron]

That is a very lovely aquarium indeed. Nice job.

I agree with other members that algae is natural and to be expected in a healthy aquarium. When you have live plants, you need to keep the algae in control so it does not begin to encrust plants which will kill them. But algae elsewhere is not a problem and should not be removed.

Keepiong it in control requires a balance in the light/nutrient area. Light involves intensity and spectrum, then duration (the latter does not compensate for the former), with sufficient nutrients but no more than the plants can easily use. I don't see problems yet, but keep it under close observation. Algae can quickly spread from hardscape to plants if something is encouraging it.

To your question about more fish, yes you have space for small-sized species. More of the two Trigonstigma species (T. hengeli, T. espei) is one option, or a third very similar small peaceful fish is another. What about the dwarf rasbora in Boraras, like B. brigittae? A nice shot of ruby red would look stunning here, a group of 12-15 of this species.