how to get rid of algae when you only have a air pump

[hillary]

how to get rid of algae when you only have a air pump ?
right now I am currently fighting with algae in my ten gallon pregnant crayfish tank which only has an air stone pump in it which at one point I thought she was starting to get lonely before she was in another ten gallon and that tank had 5 glow fish 3 well 2 danios now thanks to my blue lobster and one gold Chinese algae fish and one opaline gourami fish but while the fish were in with her I notice that they were bothering her and starting to pick on her eggs that had fallen and this is my first time so I kind of am just going by the internet and from what other crayfish breeders have told me and I've heard that Crayfish are pregnant for 22 weeks

 

[Retired Viking]

Every tank will eventually have some algae, it is only natural. I have nerite snails that help keep it under control and I use an aquarium cleaning brush/sponge to clean the glass. Cutting back on how long you light the tank can help reduce it along with cutting back on how much food you put into the tank. Weekly water changes can also help.

 

[hillary]

yes I know but there is no algae sucker fish I could put in the tank I use a sponge when I clean the tank but I also don't wanna stress out my prego cray

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Try to limit the lighting in your tank by 2 hours each day. If your tank is by a window, move it, bad idea to have it their. Don’t get a fish for your algae problems, that’s a bad idea.

 

[utahfish]

Could be a number of things but with your fish in a 10 gallon im guessing the main problem is excess ammonia. If one doesnt have plants to absorb the nitrates then the only thing thats going to feed on it is algae. If you do have live plants add more and less fish.
Crayfish are dirty as are chinese algae eaters not to mention they dont eat algae. An opaline gourami gets relatively big and needs more than a 10 gallon.
If you dont have any live plants and you have a light over the tank all the light is doing is growing algae. Turn off the light do weekly partial water changes decrease feeding and algae should decrease.

 

[hillary]

Could be a number of things but with your fish in a 10 gallon im guessing the main problem is excess ammonia. If one doesnt have plants to absorb the nitrates then the only thing thats going to feed on it is algae. If you do have live plants add more and less fish.
Crayfish are dirty as are chinese algae eaters not to mention they dont eat algae. An opaline gourami gets relatively big and needs more than a 10 gallon.
If you dont have any live plants and you have a light over the tank all the light is doing is growing algae. Turn off the light do weekly partial water changes decrease feeding and algae should decrease.

 

[hillary]

I only have the female crayfish in a tank by herself and the other fish are with my blue lobster and he doesn't mind the fish at all. I recently cleaned both tanks the gravel everything and I've been noticing the algae Chinese fish barley do anything expect clean 30% and hide under rocks would a air stone help with the algae or could it make things worse

 

[hillary]

I would never get a fish just because my tank is having algae problems right now

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I would never get a fish just because my tank is having algae problems right now

Good, some people think, “If I have an algae problem, I’ll get a pleco to eat the algae.” Which isn’t a good idea.

 

[Retired Viking]

I have nerite snails to deal with algae and currently do not have an issue but I also watch how much food I feed my fish and how long I leave my tank light on.

 

[utahfish]

I only have the female crayfish in a tank by herself and the other fish are with my blue lobster and he doesn't mind the fish at all. I recently cleaned both tanks the gravel everything and I've been noticing the algae Chinese fish barley do anything expect clean 30% and hide under rocks would a air stone help with the algae or could it make things worse

Chinese Algae eaters are useless fish. They dont eat much if any algae and will feed off the slime coat of other fish. They should be banned from the hobby. Id take them back or rehome them. Air stone as far as i know wont increase algae.

 

[hillary]

I have nerite snails to deal with algae and currently do not have an issue but I also watch how much food I feed my fish and how long I leave my tank light on.

and they will help with the algae and they would mess with the crayfish

 

[hillary]

Good, some people think, “If I have an algae problem, I’ll get a pleco to eat the algae.” Which isn’t a good idea.

got a baby pleco last month not even a day that thing only lasted 2 mins before my cray ate it

 

[Colin_T]

Can you post a picture of the algae so we can identify it?

If you don't have any live plants and you have a light over the tank all the light is doing is growing algae. Turn off the light do weekly partial water changes decrease feeding and algae should decrease.

This pretty much covers it.

Algae grows anywhere there is light and water. If you have live plants in the tank, they use nutrients and reduce the light getting into the water and compete directly with algae.

Do big regular (daily if needed) water changes to reduce nutrients in the water and this will limit the food for the algae.

If you don't have live plants in the tank, then reduce the lighting. Aquarium lights are for people to view the fish when it's dark, and to encourage plant growth. If there are no plants in the tank, there is no need to have a light above the tank.

 

[TheTenthDoctor]

My algae removal goes something like this. Cleaning the glass then vacuming out what ever I can. Employing nerite and ramshorn snails for algae control as well as continual maintenance and not letting it get out of hand