algea problems

[CathyG]

IIRC, Otos like green and not brown algae.

Mine happily munch on anything from algae tabs to fresh veg/fruit (lettuce, cucumber, grapes, etc) I have even seen them eat flakes The tank needs to be mature, though, for at least six months in my reckoning.

They have never harmed my plants, and need to be kept in groups.

Good luck!

 

[rdd1952]

IIRC, Otos like green and not brown algae.

Mine did do a good job on the black bear/hair algae I had but they definietly (as is pretty much the case with all AEs) won't eat blue green algae.

 

[CathyG]

The only algae I have had has been soft, green, on your glass kind of stuff. I bought them to help with this, and do not have a problem with it now

 

[rdd1952]

BTW, love the tank in your sig, CathyG. Is that yours.

 

[guppy_man]

thanx for the help im not overstocking am i it should be 1 fish per gallon?
shouldnt it or is it 1inch per gallon?

im lost lol

 

[LoachLover]

it's one inch per gallon, except for some species of loach..........but we won't go into that

 

[CathyG]

BTW, love the tank in your sig, CathyG. Is that yours.

Thank you, RDD, yes that is my tank The Wisteria has gone nuts though, so I face a fair bit of pruning and disposing of, lol!

re the inch per gallon rule, I have read (and believe to be fair in most cases) that a lot of Tetra (for instance) can be kept at 2" per gallon due to low waste production, but the tank would need to be mature...

 

[LoachLover]

BTW, love the tank in your sig, CathyG. Is that yours.

Thank you, RDD, yes that is my tank The Wisteria has gone nuts though, so I face a fair bit of pruning and disposing of, lol!

re the inch per gallon rule, I have read (and believe to be fair in most cases) that a lot of Tetra (for instance) can be kept at 2" per gallon due to low waste production, but the tank would need to be mature...

Wow, I love you tank it looks really good

 

[rdd1952]

CathyG, I only hope my tanks will look that good someday. I just love the look of a planted tank with driftwood and rocks. How long have you had it set up/been working on it?

 

[CathyG]

BTW, love the tank in your sig, CathyG. Is that yours.

Thank you, RDD, yes that is my tank The Wisteria has gone nuts though, so I face a fair bit of pruning and disposing of, lol!

re the inch per gallon rule, I have read (and believe to be fair in most cases) that a lot of Tetra (for instance) can be kept at 2" per gallon due to low waste production, but the tank would need to be mature...

Wow, I love you tank it looks really good

Thank you too, Loachlover!

So a word to the wise, lol! If you think you might be bordering on overstocking...or wonder whether your maintenance routine might not be upto housing some of the more sensitive fish, and you have an algae problem - buy Wisteria!

Seriously, throw some fast growing, undemanding plants in your tank, and their demands on the nutrients will fast outstrip that of the algae, limit the lighting to about 9 hours a day (preferably in a couple of sessions (plants can cope with lighting interruptions, algae suffers)) I light my tank with a timer for 3 hours in the morning and 6 hours in the evening. There is a planted tank forum on this site, it is well worth checking out for more info! B)

<edit> rdd - this tank has been up for some time now, but only recently have I been taking the planting more seriously. Those plants had been in for no more than a couple of months by that photo, now I am having to weight some of them down to the substrate (those that are throwing out "ariel" roots - I don't know the tropical term, lol!) I was hoping that they might grow horizontally for a while, which they did, but now they are heading up again with a vengeance. Like I said, the trick is in trial and error, but starting with known hardy plants that are fast growing. I have some plants that are in that pic that have since been destroyed by my fish (notably the broadleafed plants, suspected culprits are the Plec, the Platy and Dwarf Sunset Gourami - all of which have been caught in the act!) Java fern, Anubia and Wisteria seems to hold no palatable interest though!