Besides an algae eater, what else is good to help with algae??

Question

We have a 5 Gallon tank at work that sits under floresent lights 24/7.. we have a chinese algae eater and I have used the clear water drops to help with the algae.. Does anyone have a suggestion was to what else to use.. Also in the tank we have a cloud fish and a neon i think.. thanks so much in advance

if we to the snail.. does the tank have to be completely closed in.. and with all the light would they benifet from haveing a cover draped over the tank at night.. bc that tank is at work and we cant turn that light out.. i change the water and filter regualarly.

Answer 1

The algae is growing from too much Nitrate and too much light. Doing all you can to reduce either or both of those will reduce the algae. Take a thick heavy towel with you to work and cover the tank overnight each night, that will cut the algae quite a bit. Changing the water a bit more often will help also. A little bit of floating plant like Bladderwort, Crystalwort, frogbit or jave moss will help as well.

As you may have noticed, the chemical "cures" don't work well at all and chinese algae eaters usually would rather eat fish food than algae.

MM

Answer 2

You have a few issues to deal with here -

Algae needs 2 things to grow - light and nutrients.

LIGHT: Your fish need a day/night cycle. Turning off the aquarium lights for 12 hrs. will help both. A timer will help keep things on schedule - it doesn't matter when the 12 hrs are - if you sleep days and are up nights, set the timer to come on around 6:00pm (or whenever you're around to see the tank).

NUTRIENTS: If your fish are full grown (or when they are) you'll have too many for a 5 gallon tank. The Chinese algae eater will get 5" and these don't eat algae all that well - and only when they're babies. As adults, they'll take more of a liking to your other fishes' slime coats and bother them possibly to the point of killing them. These fish will also put out a good deal of wastes, giving your algae nutrients to grow.

I'd suggest taking your algae eater back and trading him in for something else - possibly a snail, or if your tank has been running for 6 months or longer, an Otocinclus catfish. These are excellent algae eaters, won't bother your other fish, and stay small: http://www.fishlore.com/profiles_otocinclus.htm

You can reduce the nutrients in your tank by doing weekly water changes of about 1 to 1 1/2 gallon and making sure you don't feed mor than your fish will eat in 2-3 minutes.

ADDITION: A cover over the tank at night would help. You would want the tank as dark as possible, so that would include the sides. To make it easier, you could get some aquarium backing (bought by the foot at pet stores) and cover the tank on three sides, so you only have the top and front to worry about. If you get a snail ,it shouldn't bother it to have the cover over the tank - just be careful that whatever you would use as a cover doesn't get into the water - you wouldn't want to come in the next day and find that it wicked all the water out of the tank. A glass cover made for an aquarium or even a board or couple of (clean) rulers would help keep the cover out of the water.

Answer 3

24/7 lights are not necessary and are, in fact, not good for the fish. Fish need their nighttime too. If you can't turn off the light, you must cover the tank each evening if for nothing else, the fishes' sakes. Also, if you have it by a window, this will contribute to algae growth. The other thing that is difficult to understand is that the cleaner a tank is, the more quickly algae will grow. Algae growth is a natural, normal process in any aquarium. For instance, if a section of the ocean floor is swept completely clean of life by a hurricane, the first organism to start growing back is algae. When you clean your aquarium and all of the decorations bright, squeaky-clean, algae grows back more rapidly than it would if you left a small amount of algae somewhere in the tank. This is especially true if you have white coral or gravel or other decorations that reflect more light. If there is no algae left in the tank, there is no competition for nutrients that the algae feeds on. If you leave a few rocks or pieces of coral in a tank with a good growth of algae on them, that algae will consume nutrients in the water, which helps to control new growth. In highly planted aquariums the live plants compete with algae for light and nutrients. Algae is a relatively primitive organism and doesn’t stand a chance when it has to compete against more advanced plants. So, it is actually better for your aquarium to allow some algae to exist somewhere in the tank, especially if your aquarium has chronic algae problems. Adding a lot of live plants will also help.

Answer 4

I would reccommend a snail. Does your tank conain live plants? If so, I don't know if that would be such a good solution for you. Your tank is fairly small so a chemichal may be a better choice for you. Certain chemicals, however, will not be good for plants. Check out Petsmart or Petco if there's one near you. And always check the label on the bottle! You can also buy a small gravel vaccuum, that works by siphon or via a faucet attachment, and clean the tank once a week. This will cut down on nitrites and nitrates (wastes) that feed the algae (it's a plant). You can also remove any food that your fish haven't eaten in 2 mins (they only need a very small pinch since you have tiny fish. A fish's stomach is only about as big as its eye!). Another important thing to consider is leaving the light on in your aquarium for lesser periods of time (if you have one). Leave it on for no more than 8-12 hrs. a day. Hope this helps! ^_^

Answer 5

I was just told at the pet store 2 days ago that some Chinese algae eaters do not really eat algae at all. This I believe because I've had 3 of them and only 1 actually ate any algae. He said that some were actually "false" algae eaters. I had never heard such a thing but I will pass it along to you. Another fish that is supposed to eat algae is an otocinclus catfish. They are pretty small and would not tax your 5 gallon. Also, you should change your filter insert every month and maybe do more frequent water changes as well. Hope some of this helps.

Answer 6

Well the first problem is too much light. Don't keep the lights on 24/7. The fish would benefit from having "lights out" time to rest and having light on for so long encourages algae growth. Also how often are you doing water changes? you should changing at least 30% of the water once a week. This will remove the chemicals that build up from decaying fish pee, poo and uneaten food all of which is food for the algae. Also make sure not to feed you fish more than they can eat in a couple minutes. Most of the smaller fish have stomachs that are only slightly larger than their eye. They really don't need a lot of food at every feeding.


Mark R - the ick tablets are not for algae, it is medication for a disease called "ick" that looks like salt sprinkles on the side of your fish. It is a parasite that spends part of it's life cycle in encysted in the fish's skin.

Answer 7

A combination of steps can be used to reduce, you will never totally remove, algae. 1. Mechanically clean the inside glass surface with a scraper to remove the built up algae. 2. Do your water changes (40-50% every other week). 3. Keep lighting the tank to a minimum.

Answer 8

You've gotten a lot of good information from the other answers. The most important thing to do is water changes and not overpopulate the tank. I too like Plecostomas. You can also take a sample of your water to a fish store and they will be able to tell you what the different levels of nitrates, etc, are in your tank to help you try to balance it out.

Answer 9

Snails and Frogs eat algae too. See if you can get some for the tank. But ask the person at the pet store if it's ok first.

Answer 10

firt off change your filters they need to be cleaned/changed monthly second off they sell something at wal-mart called ick stopper its a tablet you drop in the water helps with alage also a good idea to do before any of this is to remove some water and add some fresh water how big are the fish? the general rule is one gallon of water per inch of fish ie 5 inches of fish equals five gallon tank also when you do this check your ph level a tank with tol low of a ph level will cause alage to build quickly these kits can be bought at any pet store or wal-mart good luck p.s. i have 5 tanks running now one 300 gallon one 250 gallon two 200 gallon and one 400 gallon all crystal clear all with at least ten fish in each