Nerite Snails to remove algae

[Cornstar]

So it seems as every time I turn on my lights for 5-8 hours a day, my tank grows algae. I then have to keep it pitch black for the algae to slowly die down.

This is a 55g tank with java fern and anubias nana. There is a pair of kribensis along with 30 kribensis babies, an albino bn pleco and a L144 pleco, a pair of golden mystery snails and their 40 babies and a lot of malaysian trumpet snails.

I feed about 3-4 times a day for the baby kribs, I put small amounts of food on top of the water and see that the kribensis will go up and eat them all. I make sure there are no food that hits the floor.

I do a 30%-50% pwc every week. My current filtration is an aquaclear 110. My parameters are as follows:
ammonia: 0ppm
nitrite: 0ppm
nitrate: 20ppm

The algae grows on my rocks and ornaments. It used to grow on my tank wall but not so much anymore. Would nerite snails be a good add to get rid of this algae? Or would kribensis attack them?

 

[MABJ]

I think nerites would do well. I will also recommend ramshorn snails.

Actually, what are your lights and how many plants do you have?

 

[Cornstar]

I think nerites would do well. I will also recommend ramshorn snails.

I have some ramshorn snails but I don't think they do much.

Also my light are fishneedit lights. 2x54w one actinic and one white.

 

[MABJ]

I have some ramshorn snails but I don't think they do much.

Also my light are fishneedit lights. 2x54w one actinic and one white.

They're probably the ones cleaning your glass lol. But add two nerites and see what happens? You never know.

I don't think your lights are overkill. What kind of plants do you have? If you added CO2 your plants would flourish and algae disappear.

One other thing to consider is the addition of Marimo balls. If you had like 10-50 in your tank, I can guarantee they would out compete some algae for nutrients.

 

[Cornstar]

I heard Marino moss with kribensis is not an option. I have 5 of those in my shrimp tank.

Also I am not sure if the ramshorn snails are much help. The algae on my ornaments haven't stopped growing instead it grows at a really fast rate.

I also read ramshorn doesn't eat this kind of algae.

 

[MABJ]

I heard Marino moss with kribensis is not an option. I have 5 of those in my shrimp tank.

Also I am not sure if the ramshorn snails are much help. The algae on my ornaments haven't stopped growing instead it grows at a really fast rate.

I also read ramshorn doesn't eat this kind of algae.

It's quite possible :/ I'm not sure what type you have. Between my RCS and my ramshorns, I don't have any algae at all lol.

I haven't heard that about Kribs, but I'm glad you noted and remembered it. They really are cool little plants. Well I hope you find some success, but I'd at least try two nerites. They probably will have steady food sources. And they're pleasing to the eye . If they get eaten, it'll be unfortunate, but not a huge loss.

Is your tank near direct sunlight?

 

[absolutangel04]

Nerite snails do not go as far out of their shells as mystery snails do. If you have mystery snails with the kribs, nerites will be fine with the kribs.

 

[Coursair]

Are you just feeding Flake ? I'd read an article a while back about someone that couldn't get rid of Algae. So they stopped feeding Flake and started feeding Frozen or live food.

Perhaps feed more variety and not all flake ??

Found this via Skeptical Aquarist ;

"Phosphates. The phosphates in feed are the main source of phosphorus entering the aquarium ecosystem. They come from fish bones and scales and cartilage that get ground up along with flesh and viscera when fish are turned into fish meal. Fish meal is generally the major ingredient of flake feeds, even, as I read in the table of ingredients, a vegetal flake like Tetra's Spirulina Tropical Flakes.

Though phosphate is essential to make fish bones and cartilage, fish aren't able to directly recycle the phosphate in fish meal. Most of it passes through their systems to fertilize algae and plants and so works its way back up through the food web in organic forms fish can process.

Reduced phosphate flakes. Recently, aquarists have become more aware of the role that high levels of phosphates play in encouraging unwanted algae. The feed manufacturers are responding to these concerns with flakes that contain reduced phosphate. Flakes with reduced phosphate, like Nutramin Max, use hydrolized fish protein, supplemented with some herring meal. In the hydrolizing process, whole fishes (by-catch of industrial fishing) are liquified in a vat of enzymes. The bones and scales are discarded. Then the slurry is passed through a spray dryer. The result is extremely digestible but contains no ash or phosphate. Similar enzyme reactors break down krill to "pre-digested plankton" in other fish feed; essentially it's a high-protein natural product, which retains the krill carotenoids essential for fish colors of red, orange and yellow."

You may also want to try twice weekly PWCs to see if that helps.

No direct sunlight correct ?

Add more plants perhaps also.

 

[Cornstar]

My tank is actually in indirect sunlight, it is sunlight that is reflected off the floor and onto a part of my tank. But I do not see any difference in regards to algae from that part to my whole tank.

Also, I feed NLS growth pellets, I am not sure if that is considered flake food. I also occasionally feed frozen bloodworms as treats.

 

[Cornstar]

I have about 50-60 stems of java fern and 15 rhizomes of anubias nana barteri with about 6-8 leaf of each rhizome.

 

[Coursair]

My tank is actually in indirect sunlight, it is sunlight that is reflected off the floor and onto a part of my tank. But I do not see any difference in regards to algae from that part to my whole tank.

Also, I feed NLS growth pellets, I am not sure if that is considered flake food. I also occasionally feed frozen bloodworms as treats.

Check the phosphorus content. That should be a better food than Flake.

Try putting a background on the tank and on the sides. Black construction paper perhaps ?? See if it helps.

Try a floating plant like Amazon Frogbit. See if that will compete with the Algae. Hornwort works, but it might outcompete your other plants.

 

[jetajockey]

Nerite snails eat much more than algae in the tank. So do otocinclus, everyone seems to omit that part though.

I agree with using a background, construction paper works good in a pinch plus it'll give you an idea of what it'd look like if you actually painted a background on without having to commit to it.

 

[Autumnsky]

I just bought a Nerite yesterday and he ate a ton of algae off on a Zen type glass panel decoration in my Edge, it is directly under the lights so grows a little algae. Last night I saw snail trails through it, this morning its gone. I am afraid he will run out of food by tomorrow!!!lol

Also I would try Hikari foods I have had many negative experiences especially with flake but also other foods, they are my very favorite, very "clean".