algae problem/full tank?

[mtdewlover]

I have a ten gallon tank. It has a male betta, and three little white cloud fish. I had a huge algae problem before and tore down the tank etc. Then I got these fish. Well the stupid algae is back. I have green algae on the sides and brown algae on the bottom. I hate algae! :mad2 When I first tore down the tank I thought it was getting too much light, so I moved the tank somewhere else and decreased how long the light stayed on. Nope didn't work, algae is back. The temperature is high, could that cause algae break out? If so can I reduce the temperature w/o hurting the fishies?

Also, I had a small clown pleco who did nothing but hide. So..I got a regular pleco. Now on top of my betta and clown fish I have two small plecos in the tank. Is that ok? I kind of wanted to get a couple more fish and get rid of the clown pleco. Is my tank full as it is or do you think I could add a couple more small fish?

Thanks!

 

[Raskolnikov]

You are extremely overstocked with just the common pleco. When full grown, the only way to physically fit a common plec in a 10g tank would be to run it through a blender.


I'd advise getting rid of it as soon as possible.




.

 

[Harlock]

Algae has to have a food source. If it is coming back then you are feeding it, although inadvertantly. What is your feeding routine like for this tank? How much and how many times per day. Also, do you feed everyday, every other day, 6 days a week, etc. I would get the plecos out ASAP. They are well known for their ability to produce massive amounts of waste, and really, they are not the solution to your problem and are in fact most likely to be compounding it.

 

[mtdewlover]

Hmmm...the Clown pleco I definitly want to get rid of. The common pleco is cleaning the green algae off the sides. I rather not get rid of him yet.

As for feeding, I feed them just about once a day. Sometimes I forget before the light turns off. So it's probably about 5 times a week. I feed them a pinch full and they eat it all right away. I feed them small pellets. Sometimes I drop a little bitty piece of algae waffer in the tank for the clown pleco.

I have really hard water, the PH is on the high side. The temperature is also pretty high. I think it's aroun 78.5ish? I have rocks in it and a palm tree ornament.

 

[Harlock]

I know you probably feel you're not overfeeding, but again, the algae is getting nutrients. I would cut back on the size of the pinch and number of pellets. I feed my fish twice a day with one random fasting day a week. I only provide what they can woof down in 30 seconds. After a fasting day I will drop in an algae disc and then usually about 2 days later provide another algae disc.

You could cut back to every other day feedings for a while and see if that helps. If you want an algae eater I suggest Otocinculus catfish. They remain small and do not produce the waste a Pleco would.

 

[mtdewlover]

I tried to get Otto's. One pet store in the area has them. And the tank that they are in has Gourami's. There is always dead fish in that tank. It makes me so mad, I'd buy one but there is at least like four dead fish. I'll keep an eye out though. Thanks for the advice.