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View Full Version : Algae control in 5G dwarf puffer tank


Criada
06-11-2008, 11:34 PM
A month ago I bought a 5 gallon bowfront and started cycling it with Eco-Complete, water from my 20G, a bog log, and a bunch of plants. In only a couple weeks, it was cycled and I put a dwarf pufferfish in it. He's doing great, but I've got a major algae problem. I've been doing 25% water changes weekly until today, when I did another change (figuring I'd do it twice weekly here on out). I swapped out the light that came with the tank with a stronger one. My ph is stable at 7.6. I feed him a couple bloodworms and a tiny pond snail once a day.

Green spot algae dots the acrylic, but I'm most concerned about the brown algae covering the plants. I've got foxtail and wisteria, so I can't easily clean off the leaves. They seem to be doing well except for the fact that they're slimy. As soon as I scrub the glass, it comes right back!

Just now I dropped in a few Malayan Trumpet snails from my other tank. They're young (about a 1/2" long) but I'm hoping they're big enough the puffer won't eat them, and maybe they'll do some work.

Is there anything I can do? I've heard that puffers get along with otos, but I understand I need at least two otos to keep them happy, and I'm not sure how many fish I dare cram in my 5 gallon, even if the puffer's only an inch long. Maybe a shrimp? Or would my puffer peck it to death?

SchizotypalVamp
06-12-2008, 12:02 AM
diatoms tend to come soon after the cycle;). Wait it out, it'll be fine.

PS a planted tank/puffer tag isn't ness. I don't mean to be the police on this, especially since I am not a mod, but keeping tags standardized and relevant will make them more useful:). We have a planted tank section, so if we tagged everything with planted tank it would be bad! Also, the saltwater section has algae discussions, which is why algae problems in fw are generally tagged under "freshwater algae". Sorry to bug you, I hope you don't take offense.

Click on the diatoms tag that I just put for more threads on diatoms.

PS I don't think I welcomed you-welcome!