I have 2 questions

[Luvbugz]

Okay here they go:

1. Why does everyone freak out about algae?? I understand the aesthetic reasons for wanting to get rid of it. Looks ugly. But is it actually determental to the fish?? I have a eclipse and like everyone has commented the front glass gets alotta algae growth because of the flow from the biowheel being directed towards it. I usually scrape most of it off, but leave a little patch for my babies to pick at and eat. They seem to like it. Should I be doing this?

2. At what age can livebearer babies be visually sexed?? Right now all my guppy babies look like girls. There have gotta be some males in there somewhere!!

 

[OgreMkV]

As far as I can tell, it's mostly an aesthetic thing. AS you mentioned it will clog pumps and filters if it can get in them. I'm not totally against it at this point as my algae eaters are some of my favorite fish.

Haven't a clue about the other thing.

 

[Featherfin]

youre right- its not all that bad, and in small amounts is natural. but a lot of it is the sign of an unbalanced eco system, and is therefore an indicator of other problems, i e, too many nutrients. personally, i think a little bit of it 'around the edges', so to speak, looks good because it looks for realistic.

 

[Luvbugz]

Yea, my baby tank is the only tank I get algae on. It is probably a combo of the eclipse system, the nutrient rich water, and the nice plantgro bulb in the hood. (I am trying to grow some java moss on their coconut hut) I feed the babies 4 times a day to increase their growth. Don't worry I do 50% water changes daily as well

 

[ct-death]

My guppies are 3.5 weeks atm, and I cannot be 100% certain yet as to their sex, but I would imagine by 4 weeks its not going to be hard. I'm also sure that if I netted them so that I could examine them without them swimming all over the place I could probably do it know...?

 

[jm1212]

i would also say that 4 weeks is a good time. separate them ASAP though once you can tell the difference between males and females, otherwise they will breed.

 

[enrique4jc]

i would also say that 4 weeks is a good time. separate them ASAP though once you can tell the difference between males and females, otherwise they will breed.

Unless of course you really wanna build that army

 

[rhardy]

High algae growth indicates a tank imbalance. In your case it probably indicates overfeeding for the fry. As long as you are aware and do frequent water changes everything should be fine. You should be able to start sexing your guppys now. You will probably be able to sex a few every day. When you can you should separate males from females because when you can sex them they can breed.