Oscar Tank -slime?

Question

How can i stop the build up of slime in my tank. Have 1 oscar and do not over feed ?

Answer 1

Is the "slime" algae? Or is it a bright (almost neon/fluorescent blue-green)? See photo at this website: http://www.aquamax.de/Shop/Artikelbilder/Zusatzbilder/Algen%20im%20Aquarium_Blaualgen%20-%20Cyanobacteria_STUG_cyano1.jpg. If it's the last, this is cyanobacteria - a bacteria. You can use a siphon to remove as much as possibly physically, but will need an antibiotic (erythromycin - based) to get rid of it completely. The down-side of this treatment is that it will wipe out any beneficial bacteria in your tank and you'll have to cycle your tank again (including more frequent water changes till the ammonia and nitrite levels go to zero).

If this is a darker green or brown, it probably is algae. Algae needs two things to grow - light and nutrients. No direct sunlight should hit the tank - move the tank to a new location if this is happening. If you have lighting over the tank, make sure its on 12 hrs or less (you can cut the time back even more till the algae starts to clear). Nutrients can only be removed by water changes or with plants (no possibility for you of having plants in an Oscar tank!). Do you vaccuum the gravel in your tank? This, plus doing 25-30% water changes each week should keep the nitrates down. You can test this yourself with a kit (or you can take a tank sample in a clean container to a local pet store - there may be a small charge at some) you can have your water tested. Ideally, you should have ammonia and nitrite = 0 and nitrates <40 (even less is preferred). This will give you an idea of the source of your problem. I don't like to recommend drops or tablets to control algae as these are only a "temporary" fix and don't address the cause of the problem, so the algae would keep coming back.