Diatoms?

colinsk

colinsk

On the fringe...
Dec 18, 2008
444
0
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Ca
www.designerinlight.com
I have a two month old tank. It is mostly cycled. It does not quite keep nitrites at 0 (more like .10 to .25) on it's own but it is pretty close. It has lots of fish (see my tank setup). For the last couple of weeks I have been getting diatoms starting to grow. The rate is accelerating.

What are they eating? My nitrates have been staying at about 10 because of all of the water changes I have been doing for nitrites. Ammonia is always 0. I have no plants but I am planning the tank next week.

How do I starve them out of existance?
 
I had the same thing when i started in sept 2008, after about 1+ month everything started to get brown.. :-(
They say it is from the new glass/gravel..
Anyway i waited sometime and it did not go away, and i read somewhere that some one had it for 7 months before it finaly disapeared.

So i finaly got me some otto fish. 4 of them (55 G tank) and they eat and eat and in 3 days my tank was no longer brown. I still have the otto's they look healty and fat, not sure what they eating now but there is no brown stuff in my tank no more.

These otto fish are realy cute fish. I realy happy with them.

If you also go for otto's be carfull the first week they say that they are sensitive fish and could die in the first week.
I was realy carrfull with them, super slow acclimized them. I had no losses and they are still fine..
 
You can usually just wipe them off, especially on the glass. However wiping the gravel and decor can be a little difficult. Ottos should do the trick but you have to remember to feed them once they have cleaned up the tank. Some cucumber or other veggies should do the trick.
 
jm1212 said:
dont add a fish just to get rid of algae, especially a temporary algae like diatoms.
Click to expand...

However, I think Otto's are agreat addition and will keep algae in check. Just remember to supplement their diet when their done cleaning house.
 
NO OTOS! OP's tank still is not fully cycled! Otos need a very mature tank to live optimally. Some will not accept supplimentation from veggies or prepared foods and will only eat algaes. Putting otos in OP's tank is a certain death sentence. I agree with jm1212. Fixing algae problems are your responsibility, not that of a fish.
 
excuzzzeme said:
Diatoms are also an indicator of over-feeding.
Click to expand...

But, they are so cute when the come to the side of the tank to ask me for food...

:o

Adding fish at this point is not an option. I need more time to recover from my last addition of 4 Lemon Tetras. I am going to add some plants to see if I can absorb some nutrients. Since diatoms can utilize sugar or light they seem to be pretty self sufficient.
 
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