What to put in a 10 gallon tank

[Byron]

No it's not algae because it doesn't spread. It only grows on the drift wood. It doesn't need sun(I don't think) it is growing there because the wood is releasing carbs. To me it just looks really ugly and is annoying because the duck weed sticks to it. I read that many algae eating fish would eat it and that in some cases it was good for the aquarium. I don't really know how to get rid of it though because I took it out and scrubbed all the fuzz off it but it grew back the in the same amount, same spots, and then it stopped growing. It doesn't spread. How do I get rid of it?

It is spreading, I can see tufts of it on the plants in the background. And fungus is white, not dark green. This is algae. A form of brush algae by the looks of it, though the photo is not in focus.

Light and nutrients is the only way to deal with algae. On wood, I leave it alone as it is natural and fish will find microscopic food critters in it. It is when this spreads to plants that we have real issues.

 

[Creepy the Crayfish]

The reason i said it wasn't spreading was because I've had it in there for months and the only thing it's on is the wood. Plus it isn't green it is sort of a light gray I think it is fungus because the wood is darker and most of the pet stores wood that has fungus have lighter wood which makes it appear white mine is darker so I think it appears darker. But it probably could be algae too I've just never seen any algae like it. I already have limited my lighting and don't think I can limit it anymore I'm not using any fertilizers so if it is algae I don't know what could cause it.

 

[Byron]

The reason i said it wasn't spreading was because I've had it in there for months and the only thing it's on is the wood.

But it probably could be algae too I've just never seen any algae like it.

I have had this in many tanks over the years. Brush/beard algae has several forms and it is the only "problem" algae I have had to deal with (fortunately). What is on the wood in the photo, and what I can see in patches on the plants behind, is this algae.

Plus it isn't green it is sort of a light gray I think it is fungus because the wood is darker and most of the pet stores wood that has fungus have lighter wood which makes it appear white mine is darker so I think it appears darker.

Brush/beard algae is technically a red algae, but it usually appears as dark green, grey, black, or very dark brown, or a combination of these shades. I have seen it red (not a bright red, but a black-red) in photos but not in my tanks. Fungus is always white or light toned depending upopn how you view it, but not this dark.

I already have limited my lighting and don't think I can limit it anymore I'm not using any fertilizers so if it is algae I don't know what could cause it.

All algae occurs because of nutrients (organics primarily) and light. When we have live plants, we try to provide an intensity and duration of light that benefits the plants--and every species can have slightly differing requirements--with nutrients to balance (natural such as from the fish and water changes, and sometimes fertilizers depending upon the plants and what they need); the aim is to provide what the plants need but also can use up, and algae is then disadvantaged. But algae is natural and is present in every aquarium (no algae would mean an unhealthy tank) but we keep it under control when we have plants so the plants benefit.

Light duration can sometimes fix problems, but the intensity to begin with has to be balanced or the duration will not make much if any difference. But as long as this or other algae is only on the wood, be happy with that; if it begins spreading over plant leaves, then you have a problem.

 

[Creepy the Crayfish]

Ok that is good to know, does it spread fast and if it does how do you keep it off plants, does it always start on wood first and if it does why doesn't the other piece have it?

 

[Byron]

Ok that is good to know, does it spread fast and if it does how do you keep it off plants, does it always start on wood first and if it does why doesn't the other piece have it?

I have never come across anyone's attempt to explain why algae might appear in this tank and not the one next to it when everything is much the same in both. Nor why algae may colonize one surface and not another. What we do know is that light and nutrients promote algae and the only way to keep it in check is by providing the right balance of light (intensity and duration) with nutrients for the plants. I never worry about algae on wood; but obviously there are nutrients in the wood it can use.

 

[Creepy the Crayfish]

If I remember right you said that when it dies it turns red. My beard algae might be dying but not in the way you said it is sort of flaking off kind of like dead skin, is this normal? I put a picture below of what It looks like.

 

[Byron]

If I remember right you said that when it dies it turns red. My beard algae might be dying but not in the way you said it is sort of flaking off kind of like dead skin, is this normal? I put a picture below of what It looks like.

No, it does not turn red, it is technically a red algae. In my tanks when it is on wood and obviously dies it still looks much the same, whatever shade of grey/dark green/brown it was. It just comes off easily if you grab hold of a tuft, though it can then float all over the place and make quite a mess.

In the photo, the fluffy dark algae on the piece of wood is what I have been referring to as brush/beard algae. I cannot tell from the photo if it is alive or dead; as I say, it looks the same either way to me.

 

[Creepy the Crayfish]

Ok so is it normal for it to flake off by itself?

 

[Byron]

Ok so is it normal for it to flake off by itself?

No. I have never seen this; this algae (the fluffy dark green on the wood, I've no idea what that is on the rock) attaches firmly to surfaces and needs some effort to pull it free, even after it is dead, though it comes off much easier but still needs a little tug. The water changer will not dislodge it alone.

 

[Creepy the Crayfish]

So I''ve noticed that after it flakes off it doesn't float it just falls to the ground also there is no algae on the rock so that's probably why you can't tell what it is. Should I just let the algae fuzz stuff fall off on its own andtake it out or what, I have no idea what to do.

 

[Byron]

So I''ve noticed that after it flakes off it doesn't float it just falls to the ground also there is no algae on the rock so that's probably why you can't tell what it is. Should I just let the algae fuzz stuff fall off on its own andtake it out or what, I have no idea what to do.

Siphon out whatever it is.

 

[Creepy the Crayfish]

So I have had 8 chili rasbora in the tank for probably a couple months now. I noticed that they have grown and gained a little bit of color but not as much as they should have. I feed them regularly more pellet food than live food though the parameters are right its not too bright for them and I slowed the flow of the filter down as I have noticed they are not very good with too much water flow. Anything I'm doing wrong? Anything I should change?

 

[Essjay]

Shops near me often sell Boraras urophthalmoides as chili rasboras, and these fish are not a highly coloured as B. brigittae. Compare the photos of the two species on Seriously Fish just to make sure you actually do have B. brigittae.
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/boraras-brigittae/
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/boraras-urophthalmoides/

 

[Creepy the Crayfish]

I know they gave me chili r asboras because they have the markings of chili r asboras also at the time I bought them there was another tank with exclamation point r asboras in it. Is there a possibility that there aren't enough chili r asboras in my tank and that there too stressed?

 

[Byron]

I know they gave me chili r asboras because they have the markings of chili r asboras also at the time I bought them there was another tank with exclamation point r asboras in it. Is there a possibility that there aren't enough chili r asboras in my tank and that there too stressed?

Eight is a decent number for this species. I would probably have gone with 12, but 8 is not going to cause them serious stress. Nor should the water if the GH is around 4 dGH as was worked out earlier in this thread. These will be wild caught fish so far as I know, and they need soft or very soft water, so that should not be problematic. What is the pH running now?

There are six (to date I believe) species in Boraras that may get confused by stores or importers, and common names are frankly useless in identifying species. I have known local stores make up names just to market a species; I always ask for the invoice to see the scientific name (most importers/distributors use scientific names) if I am in doubt. The following excerpt from a profile of these species I authored a few years back may help in identifying.

All six species in this genus have a distinctive colouration and patterning. On a reddish background, in B. maculatus, B. micros and B. naevus there are three roundish black/dark brown blotches, one being a shoulder patch that is larger than the eye, a second at the origin of the anal fin, and the third on the caudal peduncle (at the base of the caudal fin). On B. brigittae and B. urophthalmoides there is a black/dark brown mid-lateral stripe and the caudal fin base blotch, and on B. merah there is an elongated blotch of the same colour on the anterior third of the body and then a much narrower mid-lateral line leading to the caudal fin base (Conway & Kottelat, 2011).

In the first phylogenetic analysis of the species in Boraras, Conway (2005) established the monophyletic lineage of this genus. Dr. Conway noted that the interrelationships of the five Boraras species remains unresolved, and no evidence was found to suggest that Boraras and Trigonostigma are closely related. However, more recent work by Tang, et al (2010) has clarified the phylogeny of the genera in the monophyletic subfamily Danioninae that includes the species within Rasbora, Boraras and Trigonostigma. Monophyletic means that all species are descended from a single common ancestor included within that clade.