Algae Controll

[markandhisfish]

could it be due to uneaten food in the substrate? it only forms near the entrance to the kribs cave which is a rock with a small hollow in the underside that they have dug the gravel out of and heaped it up at the entrance. they dont tollerate any fish near their cave and i try not to disturb this area too much as id like them to have a successful clutch of eggs ( so far they keep eating them) . i deep clean my garavel elsewhere but only go over this area very lightly .

 

[Truck]

this may sound stupid but can you give us an ammonia reading?

 

[Nick16]

well you might have to start finding something that will eat it. i recommend snails.

not the pest types that breed so fast. get 1 apple snail so it cant breed, thats what i do, then get a good handful of nerites, say 10 and they should keep the alage down. not sure if they will eat BGA though.

how much water do you change per week? 50%?

 

[minxfishy]

Unfortunatley the poor snails would be munched pretty quickly by the cichlids though. They wont actually eat them, but they will kill them.

 

[Nick16]

ahh shame. well tbh you will have to either put up with it or find the cause. it may well be the chemicals in your water.

 

[markandhisfish]

i change 30 to 40% every 7 days would the kribs tollerate the snail. im not certain its blue-green its just the closest match from, link. its dark green like fine carpet of short hair. ammonia is always zero truck altho i will do a quic test to confirm

 

[Nick16]

if it gets to a stage where it is getting annoying, i would do about 30% twice a week or perhaps one 50%.

another option is do a black out, turn the lights off for about 2 or 3 days and then cover the tank with something dark, like bin liners taped together. then the algae should die.

 

[Truck]

ammonia is never 0 in a tank, there are always undetectable amounts in a tank, and ammonia is one of the most common algae triggers

 

[minxfishy]

Whilst true Truck, if its undetectable by a test kit, he can only tell you its 0. Whats your nitrAtes Mark?

 

[Truck]

yes i know what you mean, but say the reading was 0,25 ppm, then that could have been a cause.

 

[markandhisfish]

amnmonia/nitrites reads zero using api liquid drop kit . i have to be honest m,inxy i dont test for nitrates ( slap my wrist i know i should) will invest in a nitrate kit . i will up the weekly water change would rather do 1 bigger change than do it twice a week. may get an apple snail as i dont really want to go for the blackout option as the algae isnt exactly going crazy

 

[Truck]

contrary to belief nitrates nor phosphates cause algae

 

[markandhisfish]

so its just as important to test for nitrAtes as it is ammonia/nitrItes then yes? also would the kribs tolerate the apple snail being close to their cave? as if not then its pretty pointless getting 1 wouldnt you agree?

just read minxys post re the snails so thats that 1 out i guess i need to find the cause

how about another small plec that would eat it ?

 

[markandhisfish]

ok so we have eliminated light and ammonia i will get a nitrAte test kit i dont over-feed so thats out too could temperature be another possibility?

 

[minxfishy]

Dont think temp will effect it much, what temp you at?

Not sure on a plec that would eat it, aside from a BN, but again its dependent on what algae it is. If it is what you think, the link suggests a 3-4 day black out, cant hurt to try.