Please help I made a silly mistake

[Sdimatties]

I've been reading about how nerite snails clean the glass and for some reason brown algae all of a sudden came into my tank. It cleared away on its own but I figured three snails would keep it away. My yoyo loach has decided to eat one. I've never seen it like this before. Will this get him sick? Do the snails give off some type of slime because now he has sand stuck to his fins. Do I take the others out?

 

[cgthebeast]

Circle of life here in the works. All loaches eat snail, so no worries though I would take the rest of the snails out

 

[Legit Fish]

yea many loaches in the botia family eat snails man. i would just leave it there for it is a good diet for the loach.

 

[Rivercats]

Snails are a natural part of many loaches diet and they will not get sick from them. If you don't want the other 2 nerites eaten then I would remove them.

 

[Sdimatties]

Thanks guys. I got them out. My loach is now the fattest I've ever seen. I put some plants with little pond snails in there and haven't seen them. I've had shells just appear out of the sand and then disappear. Maybe this explains why.

 

[Sdimatties]

So quick question- how can I get rid if the little bit of brown algae? It's not much but the glass isn't as clean as it was.

 

[cgthebeast]

Hmm I know Otos are great alage eaters and are not a food source for loaches though they feed mainly OB bio film found on plants. Also nothing beats good ole elbow grease

 

[Rivercats]

Do you have a picture of the algae so proper identification can be made?

How old is the tank? What kind of lighting do you have and how long do you run it daily?

 

[Sdimatties]

Do you have a picture of the algae so proper identification can be made? How old is the tank? What kind of lighting do you have and how long do you run it daily?

Here are se pictures I just took. The tank was started in June after being cycled. I run the lights from 10 am to 7 pm. Not sure what bulbs I have. I recently changed them but I forget to what. About a week after I added the moss ball and that is when the brown algae started.

 

[Rivercats]

Can you take a close up of the algae itself as I still don't see it in the pic's (and I even have my bifocal's on... lol). Plus you do know that moss balls are actually a type of algae. Most likely you brought in some type of algae on the moss balls so for now only run lights 6 hours max and see if it goes away. Or if I can see the algae it may be the kind that can be spot treated with peroxide or Excel.