algae control with dwarf puffers

[DrwHem]

I have a small 5 gallon planted aquarium at work. It has a blacked out back but it is near a window. Normally, I have the blinds closed all day to prevent excessive sunlight but I am still having an issue with the algae that grows on the side of the glass.
Before I added my puffers, I had a fairly large snail population and as a result I had no algae at all. Now that the puffers have eaten all my snails I have patches of algae on the glass, its it also completely covering the leaves of my Anubis.
I currently have 1 Anubis, 1 piece of driftwood with java moss. Two strands of anacharis. three bunches of valsneria, and four short leafy plants that i forgot the name of.
Is there any sort of algae eating fish or critter that I can add that the dwarf puffers will not kill?

[TMaier]

Amano shrimp do the job well and so far my puff has left them alone.

[drjallen3]

Nothing! I'm going to quote the title of a book "Everybody Poops". Any creature that eats algae will eventually make their own waste that will eventually turn into nitrates. Nitrates are plant food. There is no critter that won't produce as much algae as it eats.

Originally Posted by DrwHem

I have a small 5 gallon planted aquarium at work. It has a blacked out back but it is near a window. Normally, I have the blinds closed all day to prevent excessive sunlight but I am still having an issue with the algae that grows on the side of the glass.
Before I added my puffers, I had a fairly large snail population and as a result I had no algae at all. Now that the puffers have eaten all my snails I have patches of algae on the glass, its it also completely covering the leaves of my Anubis.
I currently have 1 Anubis, 1 piece of driftwood with java moss. Two strands of anacharis. three bunches of valsneria, and four short leafy plants that i forgot the name of.
Is there any sort of algae eating fish or critter that I can add that the dwarf puffers will not kill?

[Brookster123]

I was just cleaning my sump.. it was gross. It was just nasty really... I had to get in there and take everything out, scrub and remove all types of crud.. then I found the grave yard.. all the fallen soldiers that had been deployed to clean the sump while I caught up on Westworld.. They were all dead and pinned in one spot. Probably the reason the sump got so gross?? Best way to keep your tank clean is clean your tank!!

[drjallen3]

Originally Posted by Brookster123

I was just cleaning my sump.. it was gross. It was just nasty really... I had to get in there and take everything out, scrub and remove all types of crud.. then I found the grave yard.. all the fallen soldiers that had been deployed to clean the sump while I caught up on Westworld.. They were all dead and pinned in one spot. Probably the reason the sump got so gross?? Best way to keep your tank clean is clean your tank!!

Exactly!

[DrwHem]

I do 50% water changes every friday and wipe off the scum on the glass but I have a larger tank at home that never gets green or scummy and requires less work. so there is a way to maintain them and it was working well before i got the puffers. I just cant seem to get anything in there that they wont kill and eat (including each other).

[drjallen3]

Puffers are territorial. They also wind up needing hard things to eat like snails, crabs, mussels, and so on as they have the genetic problem of teeth overgrowth...eve to the point where they can become unable to eat. Some of the food pellets may be hard enough...I don't know. But when it comes to snails, algae eaters, and Plecos, they really are going to produce as much algae as they eat in the long run.

Originally Posted by DrwHem

I do 50% water changes every friday and wipe off the scum on the glass but I have a larger tank at home that never gets green or scummy and requires less work. so there is a way to maintain them and it was working well before i got the puffers. I just cant seem to get anything in there that they wont kill and eat (including each other).

[Brookster123]

Get a larger tank? Smaller than 10 gallons is a challenge to maintain, especially with a messy puffer. What's on there for a light?

[TMaier]

Ya know what is great about Amanos with a puffer...they clean out what the puffer left behind in the shell. My puff never eats the shells. He yanks what he can out when the snail is out of the shell.