Do I need an algae eater

Don't put the tiger barb in the small tank. They are too big of a fish. Plus the reason they go crazy is that they are a schooling fish and need the company of friends. They will probably also pick on or try and eat teh guppies.

In smaller tanks the best algae eater is a scrub brush. They sell alage scarpers. Most algae eaters get too big except maybe otto cats. Plus alage eaters don't eat green water. Do a search on green water and you will find lots of threads on the subject.

As for the tank with disease well it is hard to say as you don't say what disease they had. But I would suggest reading 2 things - 1 the article in the article forum on ich and 2 the sticky int he newbie forum on cycling.

My tank had an ich problem recently. I treated the water for a week, then did a complete water change as well as cleaning the gravel. My fish have been fine since. I caught it early on my baby pleco. Sadly he has passed.

TKOS said:

In smaller tanks the best algae eater is a scrub brush. They sell alage scarpers. Most algae eaters get too big except maybe otto cats. Plus alage eaters don't eat green water. Do a search on green water and you will find lots of threads on the subject.

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ah my favorite algae eater, i have nice pretty blue one at home.

ok, you have alot of issues here, First, all the fish you had are schooling fish and should be kept in groups of at least 6 , The barbs, will be aggresive if not kept in groups of 6 or more, The neon tetras and the zebra danios also should be kept in groups of 6, or they will be stressed to much. and the 2 Gal. is almost useless for anything besides a betta. and as far as the disease in you 10 Gal. we need to know what it was, before we can lead you further. Did the fish have White spots? were they bloated? were there fins alright or did they look like they were shredded? and as far as the green water, The main cause of green water Is Light and heat, it is more or less a rapid growth of algae, and is very hard to rid the tank of. you can starve it by leaving the light off for several days and doing a water change each day of about 25 -30% , not one you have it taken care of you need to eleminate the source which is probaly light, from the hood or a near by window you should not have direct sunlight on your tank at all, and you should have your hood lights on no more than 12 hours per day.

Actually the main cause of green water is excess nutrients and a lack of balance. I have had green water in a fairly dark tank. Light and heat may make algae grow faster but without food they won't do very much. Anyways there are tons of threads on that subject.

The 2 gallon may be fine for a sick tank or a betta but really is just too small for almost all fish.