algae?

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0scar

ichthys enthusiast
Feb 16, 2003
41
0
6
San Francisco, CA
Okay, I know it's just algae in the water, but is this a good, bad, or nuetral thing? It matches the lifestyles of their home, algae in the water like back at home in the wild, but I can't see anything farther than 8 inches past the tank's glass. I don't know if they like the algae 'cuz it's natural to them, or if I should clean out the tank and make it clear again. I have a lot of plants, and this happened shortly after I uprooted some of the plants to remove them from their small pots. My Pl*co seems happy, but I've also noticed all my fish have become a bit more territorial. I don't know if it's 'cuz they can't see eachother, and are bumping into each other, or if the "natural" atmosphere is bringing out the "natural instincts" within the fishes... Can someone advise me if it would be better to clean out my tank, or let them be? Or will the algae eventually clean itself?
 

OrionGirl

No freelancing!
Aug 14, 2001
14,053
342
143
Poconos
Real Name
Sheila
Are you referring to green water, or algae that is attached to objects? Green water isn't really that great for your fish, in addition to being unattractive.

Algae in large quantities indicates too many nutrients (overfeeding is often a culprit), lots of light (either spectrum is wrong, no plants, or the photo period is too lung), are a combination. The tank shouldn't look like a swamp, after all!
 

djlen

Fish?.......What Fish?
Aug 19, 2002
3,515
0
0
Somerdale, New Jersey USA
I agree with OrionGirl. Not a good condition. I'm assuming you have no plants in the tank with the fish you name. Something is out of balance. Too much light, over feeding....something.
My first inclination is a series of large water changes in the next few days paying close attention to the substrate and cleaning it up. The algae will probably not clear itself up. You need to clean up the water table and try to figure out what you've done to create the present situation.
Len
 

TrashmanTodd

AC Members
Jan 27, 2002
125
0
0
Reno, NV
I had the same problem in my tank. I just lowered the amount of time the lights were on by about two hours. Then I raised my ferts a little bit. The algae then cleared right up in a couple of days.

Todd
 

0scar

ichthys enthusiast
Feb 16, 2003
41
0
6
San Francisco, CA
No, I have lots and lots of plants, and I like them 'cuz I know my Oscars love to redecorate. I figured the algae in the water, green water, grew 'cuz I put in algae flakes, a cuccumber, and uprooted most of the plants from their pots to allow the oscars to redecorate easier... My filter already cleared about half the algae from the water, hopefully it'll clear the rest over time, and if not by the next time i'm scheduled to clean the tank, I'll just do a 50% change... thank you, besides... my brothe said it might choke the fish if it's too thick, so that scared me even if it's not true...
 

nvision

what the heck is a pl*co?
Dec 11, 2002
381
1
18
Sunnyvale, CA
jau.smugmug.com
7" oscar and 6" pleco in a 20g? tank a bit small. is your filter enough to handle the bioload? oscars produce a lot of waste, and maybe an ammonia spike is causing the green water...
 

wetmanNY

AC Members
with lots of plants, 'cause the Oscars love to redecorate...

uh-huh.

I'm interested each time I hear the phenomenon of green water following a gravel stirring, because silt in my substrates is binding phosphates I'm sure, and if I gave my "gravel" a good stir (heaven forfend!), releasing phosphates into the water, green water might become an issue for me, too...

Does this make sense to anyone else?
 
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