Algae question

[thinksincode]

Hi all,

I've got a small 5.5 gallon tank in my cubicle at work, with a crowntail betta and a emerald green cory. (I used to have two cories, but one succumbed to fin rot ).

Anyway - I have a real problem with algae growth. I scrape it all clean, and within a few days it's back. It's the brownish-green algae that sticks to the glass. I have a problem with it at home, too, but I'll save that for a different post.

I've let it go for a week or so now, this time - been busy at work - and I've noticed that the algae has started to disappear in the middle. Are my fishes eating the algae?

And if so - should I just leave it there for them instead of always scraping it off? Is it harmful to the fish to have too much algae or is it just unsightly for us who want to have a pretty tank?

I attached a picture of the tank so you can see what I mean - the brown algae with the "eaten away" looking part in the middle.

 

[theotheragentm]

Scrubbing is just taking the spores off the glass and putting it into the water column. It will resituate itself on the glass after. When you scrub, you should be doing a water change.

How much light is the tank getting? Can you cut that back?

I see plants in the tank. Are you dosing fertilizers? If you have an imbalance of fertilizers, the algae will take the nutrients in rather than the plants.

An option might be a snail to crawl the glass and snack on some of the algae, but with Bettas all tankmates are a potential target for them.

 

[thinksincode]

I have those "No More Algae" tablets that I try to use, too. After I scrub the algae off the glass, I drop in one of the tablets - are these useless? It seems to have no effect.

Also, those are fake plants, so I don't dose them with fertilizer

 

[squawkbert]

OK - w/ fake plants, you should do what you can to see that no sunlight hits the tank and that the tank light is on only when you're around.

Other measures to consider:

Asking your local pet store employee if they can spare you one or two Malaysian Trumpet snails. They are the cone shaped ones. They're nice to have around because they clean algae off of stuff, mostly come out at night, burrow in your sand/gravel during the day (helping to prevent deas, anaerobic pockets of nastiness from building up), bolt for the tank rim if your water is in need of changing, reproduce parthenogenically & via live birth (no slimy egg sacs) - so if you start getting lots & lots, you know you're overfeeding.

Algicide - not my 1st or even second choice...

Magnafloat - they make thses algae scrapers in a "plastic safe" version.

 

[Purrbox]

How old is the tank? Does the algae brush off of the walls easily? If it's a fairly new tank and it brushes off easily, you're dealing with diatoms. This generally goes away on it's own after a few weeks.

 

[QTOFFER]

I second the idea that you're dealing with diatoms. It's harmless and only mildly annoying since it wipes off so easily. Like Purrbox said, it will go away on its own after a few weeks.

BTW, I would avoid using any algae destroying product unless you've exhausted all other options. These products contain chemicals that are lethal to invertebrates and very difficult to completely remove from the tank. Once you use it, it's unlikely that you would ever be able to keep shrimp or snails in the tank. Just a heads up to anyone who is contemplating using these products for an algae problem.

 

[thinksincode]

Hi all,

Been away for a few days but I'm back now. To answer Purrbox's question, this is not a new tank. The tank in my cubicle here has been running for several months, and my 10 gallon tank at home (in which I also have trouble with the brownish algae) has been running for about a year and a half.

The algae does come off rather easily, though.

Could this still be diatoms? It's been a very long time so they most decidedly aren't going away on their own... what else can I try?

P.S.: I unfortunately used some of the No More Algae treatment on my home tank before reading QTOFFER's post about lethality to invertebrates. I have a little shrimp that lives in the tank! He seems to be doing OK though - I only did one treatment, and won't be doing any more.

 

[Purrbox]

It sounds like you could still be dealing with diatoms. While it's less common in mature tanks, it does happen sometimes. Most likely there is a source of sylicates in your aquarium that's keeping them around. Could be coming in with your water or leeching from your decor. Since your aquariums are in two different locations but suffering the same problem, I would look at anything common between the two as the most likely culprit.

 

[thinksincode]

Could diatoms still be around in a mature tank if I constantly scrub it off the walls? Usually I just scrub it but, like some of you had said, it just removes it from the wall and stays in the water.

 

[Purrbox]

If it is diatoms, then it shouldn't make any difference whether you leave it alone or brush it off the glass, plants, etc. I do prefer to do a water change after that type of cleaning just so I don't have to look at it floating around the aquarium.

 

[thinksincode]

Would a live plant help to reduce algae?

 

[Purrbox]

A single live plant would be unlikely to make much difference one way or the other. Live plants also have very specific needs that if not met will mean either poor growth or death. While a heavily planted tank that is properly taken care won't have much algae, it's not as simple as just dumping the plants in and watching them grow.