Algae eaters for a betta tank?

[mythonis]

I have a 5.5 gallon planted betta tank (all set up and cycled and currently housing 1 male veiltail betta) and the algae is out of control, growing all over the tank walls and the plants and decorations. I wipe it off as much as I can whenever I do water changes but I'm assuming that's not exactly the best method of algae control. I've tried vacuuming the gravel more, making sure I get uneaten food out of the tank (also trying not to overfeed in the first place, there's really not much in the way of uneaten food when I go to clean it up), and it's not making enough of a dent. I really don't want to have to use chemical treatments if I don't have to.

I was hoping to get suggestions for small algae eaters that my betta would get along with. I know any species of pleco is going to be too big for a tank that small but I'm not very familiar with algae eaters aside from plecos, so I could use some suggestions.

I've been thinking about getting a 10 gallon, really, mostly to make room for more plants, hehe; the ones I have are growing a little too successfully, they're outgrowing the tank.

 

[Coryluv]

Nerite snails would be a safe bet, though no one animal eats all kinds of algae.

Can you post pics so folks can recommend a targeted approach?

You are addressing waste. You next need to look at lighting. Tell us more about your lighting.

P.S. The two kinds of "algae" that I can think of that wipe off are diatoms and cyano. Diatoms will go away on their own in time. Cyano needs more effort and nothing eats it.

 

[ImACoolguy]

My money is on the lighting. No more than 8 hours a day.

Algae eaters? Can't beat Otocinclus.


Caleb

 

[Coryluv]

2nd PS. All plants outgrow the tank. There is no plant that doesn't need to be pruned, plucked, or replaced sooner or later. Planted tanks are never static and are ever works in progress.

 

[biondoa]

As well as too much light, you may be feeding too much. I have a betta male in a 5.5g tank also, and it is the cleanest tank all the time. No algae or slime bacteria. Bettas are known to be overeaters and will eat way too much if you let them. I feed New Life Spectrum Betta pellets to my guy; 2 pellets in the morning and 2 in the evening. He is doing fine and there is no algae. You don't want to keep your light on for more than 8 hours, but with the algae problem you have, you should turn it off for 3 or 4 days, do lots of water changes and feed less. The loss of light for a few days will not harm your plants.

 

[TMRC Exotics]

A 5.5 is tiny in terms of an ecosystem. Definitely sounds like too long of a photoperiod as well as possibly excessive waste nutrients feeding the algae. Is the tank fairly new? Silicates from the substrate could be leaching feeding diatoms. I wouldn't add any fish to combat the problem as it could be a nutrient based issue which more fish would make worse or a lighting issue which more fish wouldn't affect.

 

[Fel]

You can always try snails/shrimp. Just make sure you research them a bit first and see what kind of algae they eat, or if they eat it at all.

I've also read places that having a siesta of sorts can help curb an algae problem. Try having your lights off for an hour or two in the middle of the day. Haven't had a chance to try it however.

 

[ImACoolguy]

You can always try snails/shrimp. Just make sure you research them a bit first and see what kind of algae they eat, or if they eat it at all.

I've also read places that having a siesta of sorts can help curb an algae problem. Try having your lights off for an hour or two in the middle of the day. Haven't had a chance to try it however.

Algae is more prevalent in planted tanks. Many of us including myself have one or more siesta periods to help keep algae at bay. Good suggestion.


Caleb

 

[fishenthusiast]

Reduce your photoperiod to 6 hours, scrub the tank, do a water change, and see what your lighting is. It may be too much for the plants that you have. Do you have good filtration? Maybe clean out your filter. That is something that many people usually don't think of when it comes to algae.

 

[ImACoolguy]

Reduce your photoperiod to 6 hours, scrub the tank, do a water change, and see what your lighting is. It may be too much for the plants that you have. Do you have good filtration? Maybe clean out your filter. That is something that many people usually don't think of when it comes to algae.

And tank circulation on top of that. Algae loves stagnant water.


Caleb

 

[Chels10117]

I second an outocinclus. Great fish and they only get 2 inches.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[mythonis]

Wow, that's a lot of advice thanks. Um...

Yes, it's a newer tank. I had tetras in it before but they got moved to a friend's tank and once they were gone I boiled out the tank, the heater, the filter, and the gravel, so it was functionally a brand new tank when I set it up for the betta. The betta setup has been going for about 3 months, 8 weeks of which was just letting it cycle fishless. Pimpernel's been in there for about 4 weeks now. He seems to be doing fine, still eating and making little bubble nests and flaring whenever the dog goes over to look at him, hehe.

I think it's brown algae that I'm having the problem with. There's some bluegreen on the decorations but the brown is what's all over the walls. I don't think it's because of nitrates, the nitrates are ok (above 0 but not higher than 10 which is normal for this tank the day before a water change).

The circulation seems ok. The tank is a topfin starter tank and I'm still using the HOB filter that came with it (I've got one of the plants in front of the outflow to keep the current from being too strong for my fish). I clean it out (just rinsing and getting the gunk out) when I do water changes, otherwise it has a tendency to get clogged.

Pimpernel's getting fed Tetra BettaMin Tropical Medley flakes right now, just a tiny pinch once a day. It used to be twice a day but that left a bunch of uneaten food so I cut it down to once a day and that fixed that problem. Pellets sound way more manageable, though, I think I'll switch to those.

The lighting is a daylight cfl. I probably do have it on too much, so I'll turn it off for a while and see if that helps. The tank gets a tiny bit of sunlight from a nearby window but it's only about 20-40 minutes in the late afternoon. My blinds don't keep the sun out very well unfortunately (and I live in an apartment so I can't change them to better ones).

Nerite snails sound like a good plan. I'll see about getting one along with turning off the tank light and making sure I keep up with water changes. Hopefully that sorts it out.

 

[ImACoolguy]

Wow, that's a lot of advice thanks. Um...



Yes, it's a newer tank. I had tetras in it before but they got moved to a friend's tank and once they were gone I boiled out the tank, the heater, the filter, and the gravel, so it was functionally a brand new tank when I set it up for the betta. The betta setup has been going for about 3 months, 8 weeks of which was just letting it cycle fishless. Pimpernel's been in there for about 4 weeks now. He seems to be doing fine, still eating and making little bubble nests and flaring whenever the dog goes over to look at him, hehe.



I think it's brown algae that I'm having the problem with. There's some bluegreen on the decorations but the brown is what's all over the walls. I don't think it's because of nitrates, the nitrates are ok (above 0 but not higher than 10 which is normal for this tank the day before a water change).



The circulation seems ok. The tank is a topfin starter tank and I'm still using the HOB filter that came with it (I've got one of the plants in front of the outflow to keep the current from being too strong for my fish). I clean it out (just rinsing and getting the gunk out) when I do water changes, otherwise it has a tendency to get clogged.



Pimpernel's getting fed Tetra BettaMin Tropical Medley flakes right now, just a tiny pinch once a day. It used to be twice a day but that left a bunch of uneaten food so I cut it down to once a day and that fixed that problem. Pellets sound way more manageable, though, I think I'll switch to those.



The lighting is a daylight cfl. I probably do have it on too much, so I'll turn it off for a while and see if that helps. The tank gets a tiny bit of sunlight from a nearby window but it's only about 20-40 minutes in the late afternoon. My blinds don't keep the sun out very well unfortunately (and I live in an apartment so I can't change them to better ones).



Nerite snails sound like a good plan. I'll see about getting one along with turning off the tank light and making sure I keep up with water changes. Hopefully that sorts it out.

That much sunlight won't have much of an effect. My 75g gets an hour or two now that summer has rolled around and barely gets any.

Just keep your lights on less than 8 hours and it should be fine.


Caleb

 

[Coryluv]

Info about Nerite snails and the algae they eat.

Nerite Snails: Algae Eating, Care, Lifespan, Eggs - Video

Nothing will eat blue-green algae aka cyanobacteria.