Otto's And Algae

[SimonSays]

i've recently been getting a green type of algae in my tanks, I've reduced the lighting to a minimal to try and stem the growth however what puzzles me is that my otto's don't seem to eat this type of algae, it comes up as green spots on my tank, I also have a different type of algae that's brownish but the otto's seem to love eating that type. Can otto's not eat this green type?

 

[rdd1952]

Most likely the green stuff is blue-green algae which isn't an algae at all but an organism called cyanobacteria. No fish will eat it and it is extremely difficult to get rid of. I have gotten rid of it with a 3-day blackout (cover the tank with a dark cloth for 3 days so it get no light at all) but it came back. Some people have also had success with using a medication, maracyn I think, but I don't like using medication unless the fish are sick.

 

[SnBMeg]

Same thing here. My ottos never touched the stuff, and I was always scrubbing it off every week. However, I had a recent infestation of pest snails that, surprisingly, actually reduced it down to a minimum. That's the only thing I've found that'll get rid of it, aside from manual removal.

 

[KimA]

Hi,

I had a problem with this in both my tanks at the same time - found the best way to clean it off was with an old credit card, but appeared to finally get rid of it by changing the times my lighting was on/off (4 on, 5 off, 4 on ended up working for me).

 

[fishboy619]

i sometimes get a bit, either use the cretid card way, or sometimes my common snails can be seen eating it i think. ottos only really eat brown algea.
the greenish algea is usally cause by over lighting.