algae control

[alphabetta]

I have a 10 gall, almost done cycling, going to house 1 male and 3 female bettas. (Relax, theres a divider.) I was just wondering what I could put in there with them that would help keep the algae down. It would have to be something(s) small, dont want to overload. And something that wouldnt eat the plants too.
thnx for da help

 

[pinballqueen]

For a 10 gallon, there might be some merit to adding a snail to the tank. Snails don't add much to the bioload at all when you're talking about ones the size of a quarter and smaller and would be a unique addition to this setup, in my opinion I'll let one of the snail-owners here tell you which ones do and don't eat algae/plants though, because I've not had a snail in ages, and had fake plants with the one I had.

To be honest, if you don't want a snail, your best bet is probably going to be to keep the tank out of direct sunlight, don't leave the lights on for any length of time, and just scrape any algae that comes up.... most fish that eat algae get really big or need friends to thrive, and you will need 2 of whatever you get with a divider in the tank.

Good luck, and hope this helps a little

 

[dethjam316]

www.applesnail.net ....the ones they sell at petsmart are usually the good ones...they're called mystery snails there, but their actual name is pomecea bridgesii (sp?).

truth be told, though, they don't eat a lot of algae. they eat some...but it never makes a difference for me. i have them because i think they're cool, not because they're particularly utilitarian creatures.

your best bet is using less light...cut the light down to like 10 hours a day and no more. how much light do you have? if you have a ton of lighting on that 10g, that could be the cause, as well.

 

[alphabetta]

Ok thanks for the replies guys.

its not a big light in there at all, only 15 watts. I've been leaving it on 12-14 hrs per day because that is what I read to do for good healthy plants. They are however only java ferns, so you think they will be ok going on 10 hrs a day of light? And the tank is already out of sunlight.

And since you say snails wont eat a lot of algae, how about shrimp? I really would like to put something in there, whether it be snail or shrimp or whatever, just to add interest to the tank. I have read in the past that some shrimp do eat algae but some kinds are hard to find. And I dont know which kinds are the ones I would need.

And its not a bunch of algae, its just white spiderwebby looking stuff growing on a couple of the javas.

Well I appreciate the input!!

 

[dethjam316]

yeah, cut back your light to 10 hours a day. the java fern won't care too much! 15w on a 10g is decent lighting, and 14 hours a day is contributing to your algae for sure. i would suggest 12 hours a day as a maximum. anymore than that is not typically helpful.

you still could add a mystery snail, and it *would* help, just don't expect it to eliminate your own algae scrubbing! as for shrimp, see if your LFS has amano shrimp or anything labelled as algae eating shrimp. these will eat algae. ghost shrimp will not...they'll just climb around on it.

 

[alphabetta]

Thanks dethjam, I will cut the light hours back to 10 a day and see if that helps.

And I prob will get a snail or shrimp or 2. I don't expect them to eliminate the algae (I;m not afraid of a little scrubbin) but it would be nice if they would help out.

And hey that snail llink was good, more in there about snails then I will EVER need to know!!

Thanks for you help.