Adding a pleco to plant only tank

[MeCasa]

I have a 10 gallon tank with just a touch of brown algae, it's nothing major and I control it well with Excel and lighting but I was thinking that a small bristle nose or Siamese would that help keep the algae in check.

I could add some nerite but I occasionally throw an assassin in this tank and I'm not sure that would work.

Thanks

 

[MICEY]

it should work , the brisslenose can get to 4-5 " but if it is the only fish it would be ok , it might eat some of the plants but if there fast growing types they will out grow what he eats

 

[emilygupps]

You could also just remove the nerite snails and put them in a mother tank if you have one going, while the assassins do their thing.


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[Mebbid]

Plecos get too big for a 10g and the same goes with most algae eaters. The only algae eaters that aren't snails or shrimp would be oto cats which are fairly difficult to keep alive. Your best bet would be to reduce the number of hours you keep you light running down to around 5 - 6 hours daily.

 

[MeCasa]

I have bristle-nose in my other tanks and they don't hurt the plants, I was really wondering if feeding them would be counter-productive for getting rid of the algae? Would they survive on the algae alone, once the algae is gone or they get too big I would move the bristle-nose to another tank. (I have big tanks)

I never had nerites but this is my grandaughter's tank and she would like to have snails as long as they didn't become a nuisance which shouldn't happen because they need brackish water to breed, or so I've read ???

Turning the lights down anymore isn't advantageous to some of the plants which are currently growing well and showing color. (I sorta use this as a grow out tank for plants I use regularly).

 

[Mattfinn]

No the plec won't survive on just algae you'd need to supplement it with algae wafers, veggies, and have dw for it to chew on. I suggest nerites they're easiest to keep in a smaller tank environment. They won't survive on only algae either and you would need to provide cucumber or zucchini medallions and algae wafers aswell.

 

[MeCasa]

I like the idea of Nerites, something different to break it up.

How many Nerites should I put in a 10 gallon tank (soon to be 20g frameless at Christmas)

 

[Mebbid]

Its the intensity of light for plants that matters rather than the duration. Most planted tanks rarely run longer than 8 hours daily with 6 being fairly common.

 

[emilygupps]

3 would be okay


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[MeCasa]

Sounds like a winner!

Thanks

 

[emilygupps]

Yay! Some one else to the dark side of nerite snails!


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[Mebbid]

Adding nerites to take care of algae is treating the symptom rather than the cause. It would be like adding aeration to treat ammonia burns to the gills rather than do a water change.

I love nerites, but they aren't going to fix things.

 

[emilygupps]

Adding nerites to take care of algae is treating the symptom rather than the cause. It would be like adding aeration to treat ammonia burns to the gills rather than do a water change.



I love nerites, but they aren't going to fix things.

Agreed. But in my limited planted tank experience, the algae is there. I can control it with the balance of light, co2, ferts, etc. but there seems to always be a small amount and the snails do a great job eating it. And it's taken us months to find a balance, if the ottos and snails weren't around to help, our plants probably wouldn't have survived as we adjusted the variables.

So, totally figure out the lighting issue and cut back. But in the mean time, some snails wouldn't hurt. The only issue is that once you get the algae under control you will need to feed them. Mine like cucumber and zucchini.

Mebbib I mean this with all due respect, and if I'm wrong please correct me.


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[Sk3lly]

Agreed. But in my limited planted tank experience, the algae is there. I can control it with the balance of light, co2, ferts, etc. but there seems to always be a small amount and the snails do a great job eating it. And it's taken us months to find a balance, if the ottos and snails weren't around to help, our plants probably wouldn't have survived as we adjusted the variables.

So, totally figure out the lighting issue and cut back. But in the mean time, some snails wouldn't hurt. The only issue is that once you get the algae under control you will need to feed them. Mine like cucumber and zucchini.

Mebbib I mean this with all due respect, and if I'm wrong please correct me.


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Absolutely correct!! Im a plumber, and as a tradesman i will always try find a short term temporary fix whilst a long term permanent fix is found


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[Mebbid]

Absolutely correct!! Im a plumber, and as a tradesman i will always try find a short term temporary fix whilst a long term permanent fix is found


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Duct tape!

Agreed. But in my limited planted tank experience, the algae is there. I can control it with the balance of light, co2, ferts, etc. but there seems to always be a small amount and the snails do a great job eating it. And it's taken us months to find a balance, if the ottos and snails weren't around to help, our plants probably wouldn't have survived as we adjusted the variables.

So, totally figure out the lighting issue and cut back. But in the mean time, some snails wouldn't hurt. The only issue is that once you get the algae under control you will need to feed them. Mine like cucumber and zucchini.

Mebbib I mean this with all due respect, and if I'm wrong please correct me.


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Thats a good point. Its always a nightmare finding that balance.

 

[lectraplayer]

Brown algae seems to happen in the first couple months of starting a tank, then what causes it has corrected itself in my experience. I would use oto cats as my cleanup crew. Brown algae is like candy to them.