Fertilizers to grow Algae

[nagukush]

Hey Friends,
Is it ok to fertilize the tank to grow some algae ? I want to grow some algae for my plecos and snails... Kindly guide me...
Thanks and Regards
Kush

[SchizotypalVamp]

Beware of green water. There are charts online saying the cause of certain types of algae. I would shoot to induce the one that is most tasty to the plecos/snails.

However, unless these are nerite snails, I would feed algae wafers, gel food, and veggies instead of having an algae infestation. You can even culture some algae in a jar and add it to the gel food, if you like. Scraping the jar would be hard.

[nagukush]

Hi there !

Thanks a lot for the reply... Kindly guide me on how to culture algae...

Also I have 5 huge snails (about 2" to 2.5" diameter) in my frontosa tank - just wanted to know if its safe to keep so many snails with the fronts ? I mean do the snails excrete too much and cause water quality problems ?

I think they are apple snails but I'm not sure... I'll try to post a few pics for identififcation...

Kindly guide me a little...

[SchizotypalVamp]

I don't remember how big your frontosa/its tank are, but I am willing to bet the largest waste producer is the four of them. They may get nasty with the snails later on as they grow. I am, of course, not a cichlid expert. Each of those snails has about a 2.5 gallon bioload, so you are looking at about a 12.5 gallon bioload. They are most likely some Pomacea species. I don't know what country you live in, but in the US it is most likely that they would be brigs.

If they are Pomacea then they and the plecos will be happy with gel food, algae wafers, and veggies. Remember to include protein content in their diet, and calcium for the snails. We have some great snail jello recipes here by jinkz:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135871

Also, www.applesnail.net (http://www.applesnail.net) is a great resource for snails.

Most plecos will appreciate driftwood in their tank, if you don't already have some.

[SchizotypalVamp]

Sorry for the new post. Another good resource:

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46284

Don't mind the anger, it's not directed at people like you.

[icemanx23]

Sunlight your tank. Sure way to get algae. Nitrates from fish waste will act as fertilizer for algae.

[plantbrain]

Add some Miracle grow in to a small container and place wood/rock etc in there and add water and place in the sunlight. Have several rocks/wood pieces and rotate these in/out of the aquarium.This works great.


Regards,
Tom Barr

[jpappy789]

:iagree:

Better to mess with a separate container than your tank.

[nagukush]

Thanks for the replies and for caring, Friends.. I will do that...