Are there any brackish water algae eaters? I have a brackish tank with puffers, they are messy eaters and the tank always gets dirty and full of algae really fast.
2006-12-21 01:11:42 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
Mystic Portals, why would you say that my tank is not brackish? How in the hell would you get that from what I wrote? Green Spotted Puffers are brackish water fish and I keep them in a salinity around .008. Yes, I know brackish means slightly salty. And yes, going to a fish store is obvious. I have done that, but none of them have brackish water algae eaters.
2006-12-21 01:35:42 · update #1
Mollies are brackish water fish and will eat some algae if it's available, but they probably wouldn't be too happy in with the puffers, since I think they tend to be rather aggressive. Another option is the common sleeper gobie, but again, they might be picked on too much by the puffer. Probably, as other people have suggested, snails or shrimp might be a better option...
2006-12-21 04:53:46 · answer #1 · answered by Susan 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You might want to decrease the amount of fish in your tank. Puffers are solitary anyway, and they are voracious eaters (as you know) and pollute the tank quickly. Con-specific aggression increases with age, also.
I suggest you get lots of snails. There aren't any commonly available brack algae eaters / tank cleaners that I know if. Get some ramshorm, malaysian trumpet snails, etc - they should be okay and breed fine in the 0.008 salinity and should clean up some of the detritous (and they are a tasty snack for your puffers).
You could increase the amount of cleaning you do. I don't know what you current cleaning schedule is, but if your fish are producing a lot of waste, increase to 2-3 10-15% water changes with gravel vac per week.
Increased filtration will also help remove particles before they can biodegrade in the water and feed the algae.
Try feeding your puffers a litte less. They will eat more of the food instead of just ripping it apart, if they are hungrier, and they may do a little foraging for extra bits that fell instead of just leaving it to rot.
Lastly, decrease your photoperiod to 8-9 hours per day.
2006-12-21 02:32:23 · answer #2 · answered by Zoe 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mike, it may not be easy finding a brackish algae eater, however depending on what kind of algae you are dealing with, there are several snail varieties which are great algae eaters and will do well in brackish water. Nerites would be my first choice, they usually require to lay their eggs out of the water so there is no risk of overpopulating the tank with snails... Then again if your puffer starts to eat them you may consider ramshorn snails which should reproduce easily in the tank.
You could also consider adding some live plants to assist in nutrient export, hornwart, anubias, watersprite and java ferns are a few that can be kept in brackish water.
Not sure how well a skimmer will work in brackish, it may be another option down the road to remove waste prior to it being broken down.
If you are able to identify the type of algae you are dealing with it may become easier to suggest something that eats it. For example snails to a great job on diatoms and green film...
Hope that helps
2006-12-21 01:53:54 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
put in a rock tall sufficient the position that is in part out of the water so the crab can get out of the water. upload in a large number of rock artwork and flowers for an stunning seem. Use marine salt for a brackish tank, and easily blend about 0.5, or a lot less, of what the guidelines say for marine tanks. The gobies are small and could tolerate one yet another nicely. i'd say even extra ought to fit in there, like 6. For some reason anybody says they choose a larger tank like a 30 gallon, yet I have under no circumstances heard of a acceptable reason, fantastically considering they basically get a million-2 inches.
2016-12-01 01:07:55 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Brackish means slightly salty. I doubt that your tank is brackish. Go to a store that sells the kind of fish you have, and ask them for a clean-up type fish for your tank. Sometimes the light or temperature can be adjusted to lessen the algae build up. Keeping tanks filtered and aerated can make a difference, also. Putting a few tank wall cleaners (certain kinds of fish) may solve your problem. Find out how often you should clean the tank from your pet store.
2006-12-21 01:26:18 · answer #5 · answered by TexasStar 4 · 0⤊ 5⤋