I just don't know!!!

T

TKOS

Registered User of Fish
Feb 6, 2003
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tkos.unsta.com
So my 5 gallon betta tank has 15 watts of light (flourescent) and has just 1 betta and 1 rams horn snail. I feed the betta once a day a pinch of freeze dried blood worms and every 2 weeks or so some frozen brine shrimp. It is all he wants to eat so I give him what he likes.

The tank has a floating lily plant and some water sprite. The problem is that I get brown algae on the plants and rocks and a wierd dark green algae on the rocks. I gravel vacuum and water change once a week and it still comes back. The platy tank which is exactly the same has no algae anywhere.

I knwo the light is 3 watts per gallon but since there is little excess food and a very small bioload why is there so much algae forming and what can I do about it?

Thanks
 
I don't keep them, but aren't platies big vegetarians? That could be the difference in the two tanks.
If it is a couple of Otocinclas would do wonders for your betta tank.
I use Mollies to help control algae in a few of my tanks. They(especially the females) really do a good job.
Len
 
It will be a few months before I move and have access to new fish that aren't from walmart so until then I was hoping to figure out why this is happening. But I will look into ottos when I move.
 
Originally posted by djlen
I don't keep them, but aren't platies big vegetarians?
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Pffft! Tell that to my platies! I think they nip at things just to please me, but they don't even make a dent in algae!

I agree though that this could be the reason the platy tank is algae-free. And you also have to realize that tap water itself has plenty of algae-frendly things in it, so your feeding probably isn't to blame. And what did you mean "some" water sprite? Like one or two scraggly strands? Cause that's pretty much useless. Load up on water wisteria and hornwort, as well as more water sprite. Easy, pretty and cheap nutrient-sucking plants. I don't now if you keep planted tanks, but you could do something really nice with a small tank and lots of light.
 
There was a whole bunch of small water sprite plants but I will try stuffing some more in the tank. I have a medium planted 10 gallon so I can steal from it. As walmart is the closest place I have right now the water sprite will have to do until I get myself back to the big city.

Thanks for the help.
 
Originally posted by TKOS
It will be a few months before I move and have access to new fish that aren't from walmart so until then I was hoping to figure out why this is happening. But I will look into ottos when I move.
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Apparently Wal-Mart has caught on to Takashi Amano's recommendations for everything except for shrimp--every single one seems to have Ottos now...
 
Not the WalMart near me. They have some CAE's and common plecos. Neither a good choice for a 5 gallon, though I am sure that people do buy them for those tanks.
 
Special orders

I believe that Walmart will do special orders. Some clerk mentioned that once.

You might try ordering and then being sure to be at the location when the fish are delivered, so you can take them out of the shipping bags.

I just got Petsmart to order some skunk cories for me and I was able to get 6 in the original shipping bag. One had to be returned as it had minor malformations (a second fin on one side) and when I got back with it, the other cories had already been added to their tanks. I got another 3 that had only been in their tanks for about 20 minutes.

They all seem happy in the Q tank, 24 hours later.

I know this goes against most of the advice you'll see, but in this case, I know there is a guarantee and I think the fish are more likely to make it in my tanks than in theirs with their central filtration and overcrowded tanks.
 
Definitely don't buy any CAEs. If anything you want SAEs, but they would get too big for your tank.
I always wait at least a week after they come in to buy Otos, but if they have a guarantee and you can special order them that would be the way to go I guess. Otos are funny fish. Some usually have a difficult time adapting to new conditions, but if you can get them through the first few weeks they last a long time and do a great job on algae. Try to pick the ones that are clinging to the glass with the biggest bellies rather than the ones that sit on the bottom of the tank.
Len
 
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