Hi! I'm new to this forum so I wasn't sure as to where I should ask my question so I gave up and decided to ask it in the general chat. I've had a 20L aquarium for two years now, and I assume it's well cycled (currently battling blue-green algae :') need help with that too btw!! Using Tetra AlguMin, but hasn't worked that well, it keeps coming back...). Anyways! I've had my chili rasboras in this 20L tank for over a year now and they can't sees to get their proper colour;( Is this a maintenance problem or a nutrition/food problem?
I need help!!
- Thread starter gnarf3000
- Start date
If I'm being honest I don't measure my water parameters... Maybe I should give it a shot. The only thing I can tell you is that the temperature always lies around 25 °C. And I live in Norway so I'm guessing the water isn't too hard based off of what I know. In my city it's around 1-1.5 dH.
Blue green algae is a photosynthetic bacteria and algicides won't touch it.
It grows in water with lots of nutrients, lots of red light, low oxygen levels, and slow water movement. Dry foods regularly encourage it.
To treat it you usually do big regular water changes (preferably daily or at least a couple of times a week).
Reduce the dry food going into the tank and use live or frozen foods.
Increase aeration and water movement (if the fish can take the extra water movement, don't increase it if they can't).
Clean the filter and gravel clean the substrate.
Make sure the lighting has a Kelvin rating around 6500K.
If that all fails get some of the stuff at the link below.
It grows in water with lots of nutrients, lots of red light, low oxygen levels, and slow water movement. Dry foods regularly encourage it.
To treat it you usually do big regular water changes (preferably daily or at least a couple of times a week).
Reduce the dry food going into the tank and use live or frozen foods.
Increase aeration and water movement (if the fish can take the extra water movement, don't increase it if they can't).
Clean the filter and gravel clean the substrate.
Make sure the lighting has a Kelvin rating around 6500K.
If that all fails get some of the stuff at the link below.
Ahhh I see, thank you! I got this stuff from the pet shop because they told me it would work, even though I had done research in advance and was skeptical towards it.
Yeah I do have low water movement in my aquarium, but that comes from when I had floating plants - for some reason they did not take that well. I'm guessing it's because of the little size of the tank and they got "stressed" from that.
And about the lighting: I'm not sure how to find out its Kelvin rating.
Are you sure its BGA and not plain old algae - which is all I see in the pic? Try reducing your lighting period by an hour and see if that helps. You will need a few weeks so don't just keep reducing if you see no immediate improvement. 1 dGH is pretty much perfect for your chili rasboras. As @Colin_T says don't feed flakes if you do have BGA. I found the chilis really enjoy this
It's blue green algae (Cyanobacteria). You can tell by the black edge around the leaves and black smear across the leaves. The OP can check to see if it wipes off in a film and smells musty/ mouldy. If it does then its blue green. But it certainly looks like it to me.
Yeah it is BGA because when I have removed it earlier it comes off in a film and it also covers big parts of my substrate sadly;( I think it came from a plant I bought a while back... Even though I washed thoroughly. I can send a picture of it later today.
This is what it looks like;(
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