Help with my tank?

[PhantomGremlin]

I have my ten gallon freshwater tank and it's established. I have 3 Platys, 2 Otocinclus, 2 Neon Tetras and a Black Kuhli Loach. I had two Gouramis, but an aggressive algae eater ate the tails off of both, and they died. So after getting rid of the algae eater, my tank has become overrun with algae. Can someone please suggest some freshwater fish that will help solve the algae problem and possibly one or two other interesting fish to spice things up a little? I don't have unlimited resources as I am in college, but can someone please help me?

 

[JokerWx13]

3 platy, 2 otos, 2 neon tetra and a kuhli loach sounds kinda stocked to me...and kuhli loaches and otos enjoy groups of at least 3 and neon tetra likes schools of at least 6. if you want an algae eater, take out the 3 platies to free up some space in your tank, and then add shrimp, they eat leftover food as well as some types of algae. snails do the same as well. 6 neon tetra, 3 otos and 3 kuhli loaches with a handful of shrimp and snails would make it. sorry if my advice didn't let you get another fish and i even told you to get rid of some but i'm just looking out for the fish, that's all. you don't wanna live in a cramped house, now would you?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Welcome to AA!
The best thing to do is to address why the algae is forming. First what kind of algae.
http://www.aquaticscape.com/articles/algae.htm
What is your lighting?
How long is it on per day?
Does the tank get any direct or indirect sunlight?
Do you have live plants?
What fertilizers, if any, do you dose?
Do you have co2?
Dose excel?

 

[PhantomGremlin]

It seems to be spot algae and beard algae. I have two flourescent mini bulbs that seem to do the job nicely. The light is generally on for about 10 hours a day or so. The tank is in our kitchen, so it gets indirect sunlight for most of the day. No live plants of fertilizers. The levels of everything are normal from what I can tell and the people at petsmart tested it when I bought some gravel from them.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

It seems to be spot algae and beard algae. I have two flourescent mini bulbs that seem to do the job nicely. The light is generally on for about 10 hours a day or so. The tank is in our kitchen, so it gets indirect sunlight for most of the day. No live plants of fertilizers. The levels of everything are normal from what I can tell and the people at petsmart tested it when I bought some gravel from them.

What's the wattage and 'k' rating on the bulbs? Try cutting back on the light to 6 hours a day and try keep the blinds closed so the tanks not getting any sunlight. An old credit card works well to remove spot algae from the glass. You can dip decor in a 1:9 bleach water solution to kill the algae on it. Make sure to rinse it really well with heavily dechlorinated water before returning it to the tank.

 

[PhantomGremlin]

I have two of these: Walmart.com: Lights Of America 10 Watt Mini Fluorescent Aquarium Bulb, 1ct: Fish
They seemed to do the trick and were better than the incandescent lightbulbs that came with the tank kit originally. Usually I just clean the decor with hot water and a toothbrush and the works. And I'll try the credit card! Thanks! In the meantime, any advice for fish? I'm most likely going to get rid of the loaches as I hardly ever see them except glimpses when I turn the light on in the morning.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Kuhlis do better in groups of 6 or more. The more kuhlis and the more hiding places the more you will see them. That being said, the minimum tank size is 20g for kuhlis so it would best to remove yours. The neons belong in schools of 6 or more. They are naturally shoaling fish so feed more comfortable in larger groups. I would think once you rehome the loach and up the school of neons to 6 the tank is fully stocked.