I have 2 jack Dempsies in my tank. They are very aggresive which is why i like them. Problem is they kill EVERYTHING even my algae eater. What can i do to help keep the algae down?
2007-05-20 11:10:41 · 5 answers · asked by ? 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
You will need to control the algae by controlling it's food source. Be sure to do large weekly water changes and clean the gravel with a gravel siphon as you go. Also control the other thing the algae needs, light.
Be sure no sunlight hits the tank and keep your tank lights on for only about 8-10 hours a day.
Between these things you should be able to keep the algae in check and at least presentable. Granted, it won't completely eliminate the algae, but almost.
I would strongly advise against using algae control products in the tank. Even if they work, and few enough do, the end result is simply more nutrients in the water for more algae growth. In the long run they are a viscous downward spiral and just bad news for your tank.
MM
2007-05-20 11:18:05 · answer #1 · answered by magicman116 7 · 4⤊ 1⤋
Leave the aquarium lights off at all times except when you are there to actually view the tank - the fish can see and live just fine with ambient room lighting and this will slow algae growth immensely.
Make sure the water doesn't get too high in nitrates, phosphates, and other elements that algae thrives off of. This means no overfeeding, avoiding messy foods like beef heart or fish, and provide a respectable amount of water volume for the fish (hopefully your tank is 50 gallons or larger for these two)
But in the end algae is a normal part of a healthy aquarium. Keep on top of it by spending a few minutes each week scrubbing it off. Human care is the best algae control available. If you have wood and rocks in the tank, learn to like the algae growth on them - it looks natural and like everything belongs there, unlike in a clean, sterile tank.
2007-05-20 18:21:12 · answer #2 · answered by Ghapy 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
add snails you can get them free a you LFS they multiply like crazy so even if some get eaten there will be more.
another option is live plants they will out-compete algae for nutrients and the algae dies off but a large amount of these are necessary and you dempseys might eat them.
a third option is to do water changes more often to remove nitrites ammonia and nitrates which all contribute to plant growth. on the flip side this may over stress your dempseys and very frequent water changes may lead to their ultimate demise.
a large algae eater may also be purchased, too big for the dempseys to kill.
your best and cheapest option is the snails.
I had a out of control algae problem until I added snails, and live plants. I had algae eaters but it was beyond there power to control. now I have almost forgotten how much of a bother algae can be.
good luck.
2007-05-20 18:22:12 · answer #3 · answered by CZAR 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Remove the JD's from the main tank for a few days. add a large pleco the larger the better, then reintroduce the JD's into the main tank. If all goes well having been reintroduced the pleco will be seen as part of the set up and not a new fish. it works sometimes.
2007-05-20 18:44:35 · answer #4 · answered by andyjh_uk 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Keep the water clean,the lights low,the feedings small,and maybe get a phosphate test kit.
2007-05-20 18:21:10 · answer #5 · answered by PeeTee 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋