First tank, algae, and more fish.

D

Darwins_Dog

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Nov 15, 2007
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Newmarket, NH
I just got a 5 gallon tank, and I have had 2 starfire red goldfish living happily in there for about three months. Recently the algae (thread algae I believe) got so bad that I had to move the fish and scrub out the sides of the tank. What can I do to keep the algae down? I have read that some species of barbs will eat the algae and I would like to get some anyways. Will they get along with the goldfish? Should I consider something else to keep the algae away?

The light in my tank is also broken so I am using a lamp for lighting. Could this be making things worse?

Thanks for the help.
 
Welcome to AC!

Are you leaving the lights on for any long periods of time? If you are lighting the tank for a long period of time (lights are on, not only dring the time of feeding) and if it isn't planted, you would suggest that you wouldn't need to keep the light on. It could also mean that there is an excess of nutrients in the water (which is used by the algae to grow/develop).

Would you be able to display the exact numbers for each parameter: ammonia, nitrite, nitrate?
Is the tank cycled (which can be determined by the parameters given)?
What sizes are the goldfishes?
 
definitely don't add any more fish to your tank. goldfish, even though they start out so small and cute, will reach 7-8" or more if they are round-shaped, and a foot long or longer if they are the skinny kind. a 5g tank is not appropriate for them for any real length of time.

do you do water changes on the tank? fish, especially goldfish, produce a lot of poop and waste. these wastes (plus light) are food for algae. reducing light to 6-8 hours or so, and weekly water changes of 50% or twice-weekly changes of 30% each will remove fish wastes and starve the algae. not completely, but to a less obvious and reasonable level.

if a tank has an algae problem, adding more fish to take care of the problem is almost always a mistake. a fish that eats is a fish that poops, and even if algae goes away at first from being eaten, more of it will be able to grow because more of its food will be present in the water. not only that, but barbs are semi-aggressive fish with the potential to nip and harass your little goldies to the point of death.

so:
decrease lighting
increase water changes, including using a gravel vaccum
don't overfeed the fish
start saving up for a more appropriately-sized tank, and check ebay and craigslist.org for local deals on fishtanks. a 55g tank would allow you to keep 3 goldfish for life, if they are the fancy round-shaped kind.
 
Okay first off, I misread the card at the pet store. They are Glofish not Goldfish. I'm told that they are genetically modified zebra fish. Oops. They are each about 1" long.

I was leaving the light on during the day, I thought I was supposed to. Should I only leave it on while they are eating? That brings me to another question, how often should I feed them? I have been giving them a pinch of flakes in the morning (I was told to give them what they can eat on about 3 min.), but is that too much or too little?

I will buy a kit to test the water composition (no one said there would be science involved :P), and I'm not sure what you mean by my tank being cycled. There are no live plants either (that's what you mean by planted right?)
 
Glo-Fish?! in that case, get three more. still gotta do the water changes to remove nutrients and keep the water clean, and test kits are a good thing to have. the more light the tank gets, the more time algae has to grow. if you are home during the day, it may be beneficial to turn the light off for an hour in the middle of the day, then turn it back on until bedtime. i have heard from others that this interrupts the growth cycle of the algae. it's something to try anyway. honestly though - algae is a completely natural part of fishkeeping. there's always going to be a little in there. it would save you time and trouble to just clean the side of the tank you look through, and let the algae grow on the other sides.
 
So I decided to get three neon tetras. They caught my eye.

I also tested the water, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate were all at or near zero. Chlorine was zero, hardness was around 50 ppm, alkalinity was about 40 ppm, and pH was 7. Are these good numbers to have? The bottle says that alkalinity should be around 120-180.
 
Not sure about the zebra danios but for the neons, don't start adding hardness. They will thrive in a relatively soft environment. Do you have a heater to keep the tank temperature up? With winter coming on in here in the north, they may need a heater to keep the tank above 70F. For most tropicals, what you have, a minimum of about 72F is needed with many fish actually liking it as high as 80F. Most community tanks are run at least at 75.
 
I do have a heater in there, and I try to keep the tank at about 75F. From my reading that is a good temperature for both types.

Ghjhreed, you say not to add hardness, should I remove some? What about the aklalinity? I'll search the forums for more answers, but if anyone out there knows, then I would love to hear about it.
 
just leave the hardness and alkalinity alone. with the fish you have there is no reason to mess with it.
 
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