HELP! The algae is taking over!

[adblair]

:eek: My daughter has had an aquarium for over a year - this is our first. We haven't had any new fish (with the exception of a pleco) in at least 9 months. About 4 months ago we started having a serious algae problem at which time we added the pleco. He didn't eat the algae and he died (I guess of starvation). Someone told me after a week that maybe he wouldn't eat the algae off the gravel because he didn't like the texture, so I thought maybe I should feed him algae chips so he wouldn't die. Needless to say he didn't eat them either and they just made my bad problem worse. I've tried the "algae destroyer" and it doesn't work AT ALL. I am afraid to get another pleco because I don't like being responsible for their death. What can I do to get the scum off my tank? My tank inhabitants are 2 neons, 2 smallish black tetras, 2 cory cats, and 1 iddy-biddy upside down catfish. I do not have any live plants, just a few plastic ones. :eek: :eek: :eek:

[OrionGirl]

What size tank is this, how often do you feed, how much do yu feed, how frequently do you do water changes, how much water do you change out at a time? Also, water parameters (ammonia/nitrites/nitrate, pH, GH and KH) would be helpful to know.

Algae is usually the result of overfeeding. Unless this a less than a 10 gallon tank, your bio-load is fairly low (though a pleco of most types would be way too much--the common ones hit 12 inches within one year), so you should only be feeding a small amount once a day, and skipping days is not a bad thing.

If you're doing lots of water changes, and the algae still is growing, you may need to check your water and food for phosphates, as they will promote algaes.

Adding some low light plants will compete with the algae, manual removal with eash water change will help. Don't get an 'algae eater'--many are not appropriate for small tanks, most won't eat algae throughout their life, and few eat just any type of algae, but prefer specific varieties.

[adblair]

:hi: The tank is 15 gallons. We feed a "pinch" every other day - this is hard for me because I feel like I am starving them on the days I don't feed so about once a week I sneak and feed them on an in between day. My pleco was about 2 inches long and he lasted about 3 weeks. I do a 25% water change every other week. My ammonia is great, I have no idea about nitrates/nitrites, pH, GH or KH (I don't even know what the last two are). What plants do you suggest? How do I check my water for phosphates? Also I have another "off topic" question. Sometimes my fish "zombie out" and they all go to the bottom of the tank and "tread water" - all facing the same way(front of the tank) just kind of wiggling back and forth going nowhere. This usually lasts about 10 minutes or so. When they are in "zombie mode" they won't even eat if I feed them. What in the heck is wrong with them and why do they all do it? Are they mocking me?:confused: :confused:

[Prometheus]

Originally posted by adblair
:hi: The tank is 15 gallons. We feed a "pinch" every other day - this is hard for me because I feel like I am starving them on the days I don't feed so about once a week I sneak and feed them on an in between day. My pleco was about 2 inches long and he lasted about 3 weeks. I do a 25% water change every other week. My ammonia is great, I have no idea about nitrates/nitrites, pH, GH or KH (I don't even know what the last two are). What plants do you suggest? How do I check my water for phosphates? Also I have another "off topic" question. Sometimes my fish "zombie out" and they all go to the bottom of the tank and "tread water" - all facing the same way(front of the tank) just kind of wiggling back and forth going nowhere. This usually lasts about 10 minutes or so. When they are in "zombie mode" they won't even eat if I feed them. What in the heck is wrong with them and why do they all do it? Are they mocking me?:confused: :confused:

Ammonia is the first byproduct of fish waste, decaying food ect.

For a long time ( basically the first year or so I was in the hobby), I thought if my pH and ammonia were ok, the tank was perfect... I was wrong...

Bacteria breaks down the ammonia (highly letha)l into Nitrites (still very lethal) which nitrifingbacteria break down into Nitrates (only harmful at higher levels). A proper cycled tank should always read 0 ammonia 0 nitrites... Nitrates should be kept around 20ppm (40 is 'ok' above that causes stress and above 100ppm will eventually kill fish and increase the likelyhood of disease).

The only two way I know of to removes nitrates is through regular water changes, or live plants which can prolong the duration of water changes somewhat.

I've never had a planted tank, and from what I read here it takes a little more work ( or atleast knowledge anyway), someone else can answer that for you.

The high nirtate levels in my first year of the hobby caused my fish to do the same things at times, and also made them look like they were stuggling to breathe and kept their fins drawn close to the body... Once I figured out that cycle, I couldn't believe how much more lively and beautiful my fish became.

As far as the algea problem... I found that I got some growth when my pH dropped too low or went to high (brown vs. green algea)... Keeping my pH away from the extremes and constant has basically eliminated that problem...

I did have a tiny algea out break shortly after setting up my 55 in a new location. It was very localized and it appeared almost overnight... A small 'crack' in the blinds was allowing the moning sun to hit a 1" by 6" section of my tank... and boy did that stuff grow quick ;) I fixed it and no problems since...

The gh and kh are general hardness and buffering capacity, general hardness is how 'hard' or 'soft' your water is, buffering is the waters ability to keep a constant pH... I don't concern myself with them (as a rule) since my water is even steven on both, so I don't know much more than that...

Hope that helps.

edit:
I forgot to say that high Nitrates cause / stimulate algea blooms as well.
Also, your fish are the best indicators if something is wrong in your tank (labored breathing, drawn fins ect.) never ignore it start testing asap.

[adblair]

:D Thanks!!! I noticed that you have ghost shrimp. I have tried and tried to keep those things! I will get 3 or 4 of the little buggers and they just disappear usually within about a week. Do you think my fish eat them? They are cute while they last, but I hate to buy anymore if my fish just eat them - that would make me an accessory to murder!:shake:

[Prometheus]

My six range in size from 1 1/4" to 1/4" (the LFS had the same price no matter the size so I said some of every size :cool: ) I've had them for about 3 weeks, durring which time the largest one has 'shed' it's outter shell like some kind of snake... but it's doing fine (normal I think).

I don't have any aggressive fish per sey, so they do fine.

I got them because some of the shrimp pellets matter I feed the pelco and cory's would sit way down in the gravel, the shrimp can get to it perfectly...

They are so cool, the biggest one will grab a shrimp pellet and haul butt across the tank with it saying "MINE MINE MINE!!!"... well, if I could hear it it'd be saying that... alot of character in those guys... and susposedly the eat some algea too... :D

[adblair]

:D That's so funny about the shrimp! Maybe I will try them again. They are pretty cheap thrills - I think they run about a quarter each here and most are 1/2 inch to 1 inch. I didn't think I had anything aggressive in my tank either, maybe I just don't have enough stuff in there for them to hide in. I haven't been feeding anything in the way of pelleted food though. Do you think maybe they starved to death and were eaten or sucked into the filter?
My project for tomorrow is to clean out the aquarium and try to get rid of most of the algae. I'll test my water beforehand to see what kind of levels I have and then I will try to keep tabs on it to see what develops.
I'm so glad I found this site! The nearest LFS here is 30 minutes away and is WALMART - so there isn't a lot of GOOD information around here. Thanks for being so helpful!;)

[Aquarius0015]

I don't think Wal-Mart should even count as a LFS, but maybe that's just me.

[adblair]

You are probably right... ;) BUT if I don't count WalMart, then the next closest LFS would be PETSMART which is about 70 minutes from here. There is a little old lady here in town who sells fish and supplies, but I think she is a little nutty. I don't really count her as a LFS either. I have bought 2 fish from her (when we first started our tank) One had ick and she didn't tell me and I didn't know what it was until I took it to the vet. (No the vet didn't think I was crazy, his wife is my friend so he already knew that about me - he also sees my dog and guinea pigs) It ended up dying even though I tried to treat it. The other one died mysteriously in the 5 minute car ride to my house. She didn't give me a refund on either one. AND she denied that any of her fish had ick even though I pointed out some others in that tank who had it. Anyway, around here Walmart is sort of the lesser of the evils.

I still haven't gotten my tank straightened out. The flu has hit here and my 2 year old and my 11 month old are BOTH sick. I just popped in to let everyone know I haven't had a chance to get anything done yet, so you wouldn't wonder why I haven't given you an update. Who knows how tomorrow will be.... but I will try to get back here and let you know when things are less crazy around here. If not tomorrow then hopefully Wednesday.

Night ya'll!

[adblair]

:) :) :)
Well. I tested my water for nitrates and nitrites. My nitrites were fine, but my nitrates were up to 80! After a discussion with my daughter we have decided that we probably had been "double feeding" (I fed, she fed). Anyway, I took some more of your advice and went to a FANTASTIC fish specialty store while I was in Nashville yesterday. I picked up some floramax substrate (?I think that is what it was called - I threw the bag away already) and a few plants and also picked up a couple of otocinclas and a couple of Siamese algae eaters. The difference those little guys have made in my aquarium overnight is unbelievable! The back wall of my aquarium was almost covered and today it is probably 60% clean! They are really small little guys - all probably under an inch each. I hope they don't get too big for our tank. If they do I guess we will just have to get a bigger tank. :D
Thanks for all your help!

[mtdewlover]

How bright are your lights? And how long do you leave them on? Lighting can be one problem that leads to algae. Maybe try another algae eater. Thats weird your pleco didn't eat. Mine eats everything no matter what gravel he is in. Bristlenose plecos are good and stay small. Ottos are good cleaner upers too and they are small and adorable. Or maybe just a snail.