algae and a little snail

[Vic112]

I have a 40L cold water tank which contains 6 Danios, a loach and two real plants. I gave the tank a good clean recently but within a week there was a build up of algae, especially across the bottom and on the glass (it is quite a bright green). This is not normal in this tank and I'm after some advice on what to do to get rid of it.

Also, I noticed a tiny snail on the glass the other day (I'm pressuming it came in on a new plant) and as I've never kept a snail before I haven't got a clue whether this is a good or bad thing.

Can anyone offer any advice on either of the above problems?
Thanks.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Welcome to AA First, algae is generally caused by overfeeding and/or excess light. How much/often do you feed? What kind of lights do you have and how long do you have them on? Is there any direct sunlight hitting the tank?

As for the snail, it really depends on what you want. If you overfeed, snails can get out of control. More than likely, if it came in on a plant, its a pond snail. They will multiply big time if you feed too much. Google pond snail and see if thats what it looks like.

 

[Vic112]

Thanks for the welcome!
Have removed the snail and donated it to my Mum's pond.
As for the other problem... I usually feed them every 4 or 5 days with a few flakes and an algae wafer for the loach. The light is built into the lid of the tank and its usually on for 5 or 6 hours in the evening. The tank is not in direct sunlight either.
I've done a water test and that appears to be ok. Any suggestions?

 

[BigJim]

What exactly did you test the water for and what were the readings? Excess phosphates can be a cause of algae, but most aquarists usually don't test them.

As far as light, is the tank in a brightly lit room, you'll be getting more light than you're accounting for. I've also come to question some algae wafers. It's seemed to me that I've gotten algae blooms after feeding the wafers. I have cheap wafers, so they may be releasing stuff that causes the algae to explode.

 

[mfdrookie516]

what kind of loach is it? i would be tempted to quit feeding the algae wafers anyways and switch to a sinking pellet of some sort, suitable for the loach

 

[IslandHopper]

I'm surprised the loach didn't find the snail!