Slime in my grass

Jeffed76

AC Members
Feb 16, 2019
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I started this tank from seed and cycled it with no fish. It’s a 20 gallon long. Now I have a small school of glow light tetras and SLIME! What is it and how do I get rid of it?!?!?
224474
 
Probably reduce the light so algae won't bloom in the tank that much.
 
It's just algae, it's a normal thing in new tanks before a good balance is created. Carpet type plants aren't the easiest, they need time to pick up and establish and in that time algae take over.
 
Oh...and what seed? There are LOTS of places the sell 'aquarium seeds', but I've yet to find ANY that sell seeds for a true aquatic plant. So...most likely...those plants aren't going to make it.
 
I’m not doing any co2 or fertilizer. Is there a fertilizer you recommend that won’t hurt the tetras?

And as far as the seed is concerned, i guess I’ll have to just cross my fingers :(. They seemed to be doing well once I flooded the tank.

Do shrimp help with the algae? I have some on order.
 
Shrimp can help, depending on the species. Some tetras will nip at shrimp, as well, and of course, something like a bamboo shrimp won't help at all (and really, aren't great for new tanks).

Controlling nutrients and getting the plants growing is the best option--knowing what plants you have will be critical. Where did you get the seeds? Most commonly, the places selling it claim it's dwarf hairgrass or something similar. It will survive submerged for a few months, but ultimately dwindle and die. To be quite frank, I would count on this happening, and advise you to remove it now and replace it with tissue culture plants. Yes, it's a pain, but it will be less painful than dealing with the mess.

There are a number of safe fertilizer options. Look into Thrive--it's simple to dose, and quite helpful.
 
Does 'flooded the tank' indicate some sort of dry start to the fauna?

If so, the seeds being for terrestrial plants will do then, but will start to die if they do not have an aquatic form.. even if aquatic, leaves will die off as they switch to their submerged form.

And I will say Thrive is great, developed and sold by an ex AC member too. But watch your pH, it is a bad thing if it's too low..

To use any excess nutrients in the water, add a few fast growing stem plants until the grass starts to grow better.
 
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