Brown algae cleanup -- many questions

[myriam]

This past week there has been brown algae growing like mad, but for some reason, only towards the front section of my tank. The middle to back areas are algae free. The glass on the front has a lot of it, as well as the gravel, rocks, and plants.

My tank is over two months old now and the water numbers are all good; I do a weekly 25% water change; use Bio-Safe to detoxify the tap water; add a couple of tsps salt. I feed the fish 2x/day with a rotating variety of food (spirulina flakes, bloodworms, and Nutrafin flakes).

My HOB filter (a TopFin 20) is set on high, and combined with the airwand on the back wall of my tank, the water distribution seems pretty strong and even.

I just bought an algae scraper and it came with a sample bottle of Algae Destroyer Liquid made by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. The active ingredient is Simazine (2-chloro-4, 6-bis-(ethylamino)-s-triazine)--.60%.

1) Do you think it is wise to use this stuff in a young tank? I am worried it will un-cycle my cycled tank. I also have 10 molly fry, and I'm worried it might affect them somehow.

2) I haven't done a gravel vac for a couple of weeks because I'm not quite sure how to do it without my Python sucking the fry right up with the goo. Any ideas on this?

3) I'm also considering getting a Pleco if it really will keep my tank algae-free. It's a 20G tank and I need a Pleco that won't grow bigger than a few inches. It's also got to get along with my mollies, platies and 2 cories. Any suggestions?

 

[ferret]

rubbernose or bullpit pleco (Same thing, just two different common names)

 

[Capt.Gorilla]

Bristle noses are also seem to be a nice smaller pleco getting to about 4".
Some people think they look kinda funky though...

As for your fry, if they are very small they probably could survive a trip through a syphon but I wouldn't recomend it. If you can see them just try to avoid them at all costs.

 

[sweetsuvvyb]

I'd steer clear of any algacide (if it's toxic to algae, its probably toxic to fish too...the idea generally is that at low levels, it won't harm your fish as much the algae), and look for more natural ways to clear up the algae. My bet is that the lack of gravel vacs that have caused an excess of goodies for the algae to munch on.

 

[Allivymar]

*nods and agrees with sweets*

Forget the algacide. Nasty stuff.

You might want to buy a cheap, narrow regular siphon to use while the fry are in there; you need to get the detritus off the bottom, and its easier to control then the Python when dealing with fry.

Also, does that section of the tank get any sunlight? I had a similar prob in my 10g; at first I couldn't figure out why only one side of the tank was covered (and I mean covered...I couldn't see thru it. The I realised one day, the morning sun came thru and hit that side of the tank for a couple hours and thats what it was (even tho the tank is NOT directly in front of the window).

I wouldn't get a plec for your tank; I actually suggest a few otos. They inhaled the brown algae, remain small and are not the plant killers plecs can be.

 

[tsonnenl]

I second the ottos. I was constantly fighting the brown diatom algae for the first few months after setting my tank up, and they took care of it. Diatom algae tends to fade away after the first few months anyway, so don't do anything drastic like add any chemicals. Giving it time and adding a few small ottos will take care of it.

I finally saw a bristlenose pleco at the LFS the other day. 29 bucks?!? Forget that.

 

[myriam]

Alli, I'm gonna take your advice (like usual ) and lay off the meds. It is kind of a spooky name, Algae Destroyer Liquid!

The tank is on the back wall of the kids' playroom, and that side of the house faces west, and there are a ton of trees, so that side of the house is fairly dark most of the day (which is why we are moving this summer!). But I suppose any bit of light could do it.

I've never heard of ottos! Something to research, how fun ("honey, I have more fish-related stuff to do on the Net..."), hehehe. Can I just get one otto, or do these need a few to be happy? $29 for a pleco?! Yikes, that will break my fishy budget.

Ok, so I'll just clean the gravel well and stick to the natural ways of algae-fighting, and hopefully it will clear up soon enough.

Thanks everybody!

 

[Allivymar]

Here's a link to the lil buggers: http://www.planetcatfish.com/cotm/1996-12.htm

I think they're adorable. I have 2; I think thats a minimum for otos, although 3 is prob a better number. You really want to add them to a mature tank; they don't do well in new tanks, but I don't think it'll be an issue for you as your tank has been around for a while. They aren't very expensive usually either.

My guys INHALED the algae within 4 days...it was GONE and I could actually see thru the glass on that side for the first time in a month. One thing to be aware of; like all suckermouth catfish they POO like crazy. Do keep up the gravel vacs; you'll need to with these guys. Heh, I have black sand in my tank, its the only downfall to having otos, as the poo is REALLY visible. A lil bit of driftwood is suggested as well, although I have to admit I have never seen the otos on the piece in my tank.

 

[BrianNY]

Ottos only get an inch long. I've got 7 in my 55 and brown algae is all gone. Oh, and I paid $2.49 each for them

 

[grimlock3000]

I paid $6 for a nicely sized Bushy Nose Pleco, all depends where you go. There are a lot of Plecos availible that stay small, so shop around for a Bushy/Bristle Nose, Rubber, or Clown Pleco. Those are just three of the more common small ones. It is very unfortunate that most pet stores only care "Common" Plecos that can get up to two feet long.

Oto is short for Otocinclus, the type of catfish they are. You would need more than one Oto for a 20g tank. They are very small, and usually get to be 1.5 inches long and very slender. It does take them some time to eat the algae compared to a Pleco, but only because they have little mouths. Four Otos would be good for a 20g I think, and make sure you have plenty of dark spots in your tank for them to hide. I have two in a 10g, and they will stay close to each other and hide in the shadows all day long. Otos are great little fish but they are generally more difficult to take care of compared to Plecos. In particular, they are not good in new tanks since they need an established source of algae to live. They can be pretty picky too! My Otos will not eat anything except for algae on the plants and glass. I have not once seen them eating anything on the bottom of the tank, they even snub algae wafers. My Otos were getting sunken bellies while fresh algaes wafers waiting ont he bottom of the tank for them. Now I just leave my tank lights on for a bit extra each day to make sure that algae grows and they have something to eat.

 

[Allivymar]

Oh, I should mention, unlike grimmies otos, mine DO eat algae wafers. They seem to prefer the Hikari Tropical Sinking Wafers, and its what I fed them while they were in QT (there was no algae in there). While there is always a lil algae in the tank, I do supplement it with one or 2 wafers a coupla times a week. I also do catch em cruising the substrate. But as they say, your mileage may vary

 

[grimlock3000]

*Sneaks into Allivymar's house and trades Otos*

Seriously though, once my Otos ate all the alge in my tank, I tried everything to get them to eat something else. Four kinds of veggies, two kinds of algae wafers (one was Hikari), and they would not even think about eating algae that was on the rocks in the tank

 

[Allivymar]

I'm watching my guys REAL careful grimmie *stern look* besides, good luck trying to CATCH anything in that tank LOL took me 4 days to catch a sick neon; all the damn plants make finding and catching anything near impossible.

Did you try the Tropical Sinking wafers or the standard algae wafers? I found my guys could care less about the algae wafers, although the gouramis found em delicious. But if I add the Tropical ones, I'll find the otos on em about 10 mins later. I just bought Bio-Blends herbivore stuff; gonna try it tomorrow nite and see if they like it. I'll let u know.

 

[myriam]

The otos look cool; thanks for the link Alli. I will check out some LFS to see if they've got some. I'll go for 3-4 of them, grimlock.

So they won't have issues with my 2 bronze cories?

And why do they need driftwood? What will a piece of driftwood do to my tank parameters and my other fish (platies and mollies), if anything?

 

[grimlock3000]

The driftwood provides a nice place for good algae to grow. I am not sure if Otos eat driftwood or not like some other Catfish, but mine certainly spend a lot of time sitting on the driftwood.

Driftwood can possibly lower your ph a bit. If you do not go overboard with a huge piece, and do regular tank maintenence, I do not think this would be an issue. It could stain the water a bit too, but you can avoid this easily by prepping the wood before putting it in your tank.

Alli, I tried to standard algae wafer, not the tropical ones.

 

[myriam]

Ok, grim, my next question is: how do you "prep" a piece of driftwood? Do I need to get driftwood from the LFS, or can I just get a piece on the Oregon coast?

And good info on the sinking/algae wafers! I will try this out.

 

[grimlock3000]

Well, when you first get driftwood, it will bleed color into the tank, float, and could be harboring bacteria. The goal is to have all of those taken care of before the wood his the tank.

First, soak the wood in some dechlorinated water until it stops bleeding color. Every day or so, drain and replace the water. Depending on the piece, this could take a while for the water to run clear. While this is going on, the driftwood will suck up water, which will help it stay down more easily in the aquarium. Obviously, you can just weigh the piece down with rocks, but it is much easier to just start with a piece that is already waterlogged when you add it to the tank.

After that, boild the piece in some dechlorinated water. This will kill off anything that might be living in the wood.

You can use wood from the coast, you just need to be much more carefull that you are not getting something with foreign matter on it, or another life form. There are also some regulations that prevent you from grabbing wood from beaches as well, though I have never heard of anyone getting in trouble for it. With wild found wood, there is a higher risk of getting something that was in someone's gas can, used for a fire, picked up acid rain... Wood will absorb and hold things that woudl potentially be poisonous to a fish, and sometimes you just never know where the wood has been.

Not like that type of stuff happens off, just stuff to be aware of

 

[myriam]

Ok grim, I finally got my driftwood, a small piece from Petco. The dude there just told me to boil it for 1/2 hr, but I'm going to follow your advice about soaking/draining it for awhile because I don't want my water to turn yellow!

Thanks again!