how do i get of algae in my fishtank?!?

Question

i have a 55 gallon fishtank, 4 goldfish and 3 fancy goldfish. i change 25% of the water every week or sometimes two times a week. lately i've notice the glass has something growing on it, which cause the water to look a bit cloudly. what should i do?! what kind of algae eat should i get that wont harm my fishes?! and how many should i get that would do the job in my 55 gallon tank?! oh and what does ghost shrimp do? HELP PLEASE!!!

i really dont think my fish tank is overstock..yeaa i have 7 fishes, but they're all so tiny! they're only about 2 inches long.

Answer 1

For algae I suggest getting an algae scrub. They almost look like scrub pads but won't scratch the glass. It will take off the algae on the tank. As well, I suggest getting some bottom feeders and algae eaters such as ottos and cori's. They will keep your tank a little more clean. As well, the cloudy water could be because you are feeding them too much and it is dissolving/decomposing. Bottom feeders will eat excess food.

Answer 2

Less light would help -- algae loves light.
The scrubbers work well but might need to be used regularly.

Please don't buy more fish. You're already overstocked. Even if some people tell you that you can keep your water crystal clear with that many goldfish in there, it will take a lot of work on your part, and your fish are still going to end up stunted due to lack of space, which means they will not live as long or grow as big as they could. It's mean to the fish. It's just irresponsible fishkeeping.

And if DO decide to buy an algae eater, check this page out carefully: http://www.thekrib.com/Fish/Algae-Eaters/

Chinese Algae-Eaters are commonly mislabeled at pet stores and they WILL grow large and aggressive and hurt your other fish. The best distinguishing factor is the stripe so pay close attention to that in the illustrations before shopping.

Answer 3

Don't get an algae eater - although many algae eaters will nibble on algae, mostly they just need to be fed like any other fish. And none of them will clean the glass for you. Aside from being useless, they also need much warmer water than goldfish do. Goldfish need about 68-72F, whereras plecos, cories, otos, algae eaters etc need more like 78-80F.

Ghost shrimp are detritous eaters. They scamper around on the bottom of the tank and eat bits of fish food. They do not eat algae. There are many algae eating shrimp, but they won't clean your glass. They eat hair algae and that sort of thing, not gunky glass algae.

I would suggest that you cut back on your fish. Your 55 gallon tank is enough room for 3 fancies, but not near enough room for 4 common goldfish. Commons can grow to 18" or more, and they really ought to live in ponds. They are causing an excess of nutrients in the water which is contributing the algae problem. Also try feeding less - only feed what your fish can eat in about 30-40 seconds, twice a day.

Other than water and nurtrients, algae needs light to grow. Is your tank near a window? Algae LOVES sun. If so, move the tank or cover the side that faces the window. Is your light on for too long? 10-11 hours is enough, if your light it on any longer than that it also contributing the algae problem.

For the time being you will just need to wipe the algae off with an algae sponge, a magnet sponge or an algae mitt.

Answer 4

First off, what kind of algae? Knowing algae will grow means you have a "healthy" tank per sei. Red, Stag, green. Just as you should know what is wrong with your fish you should know the exact problems as well. If you are having a red algae problem, thre are phosphate pads they sell in the store to correct this problem. (Foreget chemicals and algae eaters)

Do you have plants? this can be staghorn algae
The water may be too hard and alkaline. The NO2, P and Fe level was also too low. Basically, people consider similar values as a starting point for other algae to grow. They are not.
Algae is generally a good sign. When you have algae growing in your tank, your tank is capable of supporting life on it's own, and that life is finding its way into your tank. However, many people do not like to have a coating of algae on everything, as it detracts from the appearance of the tank and makes it difficult to see and enjoy the fish. So, people ask us how they can control algae growth in their tanks.

Scrub the sides of the tank as needed to remove algae, scrub immediately before water changes, so that free floating algae can be removed with the dirty water. Additional free floating algae will be removed by your mechanical filtration.
Do regular water changes, 10-15% once a week. This can remove free floating algae, but will also remove phosphates and Nitrates that contribute to algae growth.
Make sure that the tank receives no direct sunlight. Direct sunlight, even for a short time or only on part of the tank will encourage algae growth, especially where the light hits the tank.
Don't overfeed the fish. (Your fish should be fed once a day, and should completely consume all food in under two minutes.) Excess food will provide nutrients for algae and will contribute to poor water quality and poor fish health.
Set the lights on a timer, about 12 hours a day (about 14 hours a day if you have live plants), this time should roughly coincide with real time.
Provide filter maintenance when needed (changing cartridges, cleaning gravel, etc.)
Make sure that any additives you are using in the tank do not contain phosphates or Nitrates, there is enough phosphate in your tap water, and any fish in your tank should provide sufficient Nitrates.
Keep your tank population under control. Overpopulation will contribute to increased waste levels in the tank, resulting in increased maintenance, poorer fish health, and algae growth.
Live plants will also help deal with algae. A healthy community of live plants will be much more efficient at extracting and using nutrients in the water than the algae, and can actually starve the algae. To keep your plants healthy, you will want to provide 12-14 hours a day of light, and you will want to use high-quality plant lights designed for aquarium use, or full-spectrum aquarium lights. Using power compact or VHO fluorescent lights will also enhance plant growth.

Even with live plants it is very important to provide regular tank and filter maintenance to control algae. Your plants also need to have clean healthy water to survive.

Answer 5

okay, so my fiance has a 55 gallon tank and for all of those commenting to cut back on ur fish in the tank, thats NOT what you need to do. in his tank, my fiance has 3 irridescent sharks, 2 black finned sharks, a pictus catfish, an albino catfish, countless guppies, 3 rainbow mollies, 3 silver mollies, 3 tuxedo platys...and 2 HUGE algae eaters.

his tank is clear as day...not cloudy in the least...granted this is his fav hobby and takes care of it every single day which is a good thing. he always checks the water levels for ammonia levels, nitrite adn nitrate levels, and all that good stuff. he has 2 filters in it now and constantly cleans them out to make sure nothing is getting stuffed up.

algae eaters work WONDERS! he has NEVER had an algae problem in his tank and the algae eaters are always on the sides at night (since theyre nocturnal) cleaning the tank off.

he just recently bought three algae-eating catfish that also do the same thing. i would suggest buying algae eaters although check how large they can get. the catfish ones dont get bigger than an inch or so but they dont do much in a 55 gallon tank. the ones that my fiance have are about 8 inches long now and can get huge...he will be getting a bigger tank here shortly, but they do an awesome job and it has taken them 2 years to go from about 2 inches to 8 inches.

o yea! he also has some ghost shrimp, which just kinda chill and eat some things on the bottom, they just float around and look cool to be honest.

GOOD LUCK! hope this helps!

p.s. check out this website...its got a list that may help you!!!

Answer 6

I did have fancy gold fish in my 55 gal tank .I also changed my water weekly.I went through three pleco's before giving up on them my water levels were always right.I talked to a girl at pet smart who said pleco's and other algae eaters not only eat the algae off the glass and drift wood and plants they also eat the wast of the gold fish that is normally large.Which eventually kills the pleco's taking about two months to kill them it did with mine any ways.I suggest getting this algae scrapper they sell at pet smart it has a long white handle with a red scrubber pad on one side and a white soft sponge on the other.at the end of the handle it has a forked end that is use for planting plants.They cost about $5.00 and last forever.

Answer 7

At any fish supply store you should be able to buy a glass scrubber, it's like a stiff sponge that scrapes the algae off. Algae cannot hurt your fish, and some fish like to eat it. but do not let it grow too thickly, because then it could start consuming a lot of oxygen out of the water, and the fish will have a harder time breathing. Simply snails eat algae, but you should still clean the glass in your tank, don't leave it all to the snails. Every month or two, you should do at least a 75% change of your water, as well.

Answer 8

Clean your tank glass areas with a magnet or algae srubber sponge, change at least 50% of your water, and then completely cover your tank with a blanket or towel and keep well away from light for at least 72hrs. Algae needs a dirty tank and light for it to thrive.

Answer 9

To get it off the glass, you need one of these little gadgets:
http://www.magfloat.net/

There are others, usually with a string attached to one side, but the ones my Dad got for his aquarium always had the string break on them...... so last time he sent me out to get one, I got the mag-float instead on the basis there's no string to break = one less thing for the old git to get in one of his stupid bad tempers about.

The rest of it (growing on structures), it seems to be easier to just pull it out by hand as on previous occasions my Dad got fish for this purpose (Black Molly + I think possibly a catfish) they proved as much use as a chocolate teapot.

Answer 10

Buy a plecostomas (pleco) or two. They are excellent at keeping tanks clean and they aren't aggressive at all. Be careful though, they can grow to be 2 feet long. I have one in my 20 that is 10 inches long but I never have to clean my tank.