A Big-Small Problem

[AstonN24vantage]

hi all. i have moderately planted my tank, and there are some snails and ghost shrimp in there, and mollies, to take care of some algae issues. i have algae that looks like hair. great. so now im assuming you're thinking "pleco, algae eater, otos.... what is the problem with this idiot? how can he have 1200 posts and not know of any algae eaters?" the problem is: tank size. 7g. ive heard that maybe i could squeeze an oto in there, but even so ive heard that they need to be in groups of at least 3. any ideas?

 

[drobbyb]

What color is it? You should check out Algae Guide. You need to find out what is causing the algae so that when you do get rid of it, it won't come back.

 

[AstonN24vantage]

its black brush. i'd prefer to do it the natural way though, with no chemicals. i don't mind it being there, as long as it has a purpose for feeding fish or something.

 

[myrtle]

As far as I'm aware there aren't many fish that'll eat BBA. Otos are great with diatoms etc but won't touch the BBA. Manual removal is the best non-chemical thing, plus spot dosing with a liquid carbon (put a few drops directly onto the BBA). It'll obviously come back if you don't solve the cause which is normally fluctuating CO2.

 

[AstonN24vantage]

siam algae eater maybe?

 

[loraxchick]

Otos and SAE wont touch the stuff. They eat soft green algae. Keep stable readings (even small ammonia spikes can cause BBA) and increase flow if you are able. Make sure to clean up any detritus that may be leading to small ammonia spikes.
cheers

 

[AstonN24vantage]

i have a ppm of nitrite (oh #105###!) that just appeared randomly on the test today, but i just started the tank a month ago to the day, so im assuming that it should go away. it wasnt there before, but im not going to WC just in case that screws it up. besides i WCed yesterday.

 

[kribensis12]

If you did not cycle the tank, or use mature media, that would be why your tank water is off. A water change is exactly what your tank needs. It will only help. If not, the Nitrite will poison the fish.

 

[AstonN24vantage]

couldnt a water change also slow down the cycle a bit?

 

[kribensis12]

Yes but either you risk killing your fish, or you slow down the cycle. If you have any other tank running, grab some gravel from it, put it on a container of sorts (so it does not mix with your new gravel, unless you don't care) and throw that into the tank. It will cycle your tank for you. But you still need a W/C to save the fish.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Hmm, only fish I can think of that would have a field day is the Butterfly Goodeid.

Bit of a long shot, but would a Florida Flagfish eat BBA?

 

[AstonN24vantage]

Hmm, only fish I can think of that would have a field day is the Butterfly Goodeid.

Bit of a long shot, but would a Florida Flagfish eat BBA?

i wonder where i would find one though.

 

[AstonN24vantage]

alright whateves about the nitrite; its being taken care of. when its over, however, the algae will be worse than it is now and will have even more nitrates to feed from. are there any fish from the catfish family that would be of any use and fit my needs?

 

[AstonN24vantage]

do you think a bn plec would be okay?

 

[shasm]

Liveaquaria.com sells flagfish.