Any Slime Eater That Won't Provoke Bettas?

[K.J.]

I have a female in a 2g tank and a male in a 2.5g and they have mild slime problems. I do 100% water changes every four days, but it keeps on getting slimy. Is there a small slime-feeding critter? Or even one that eats food off of the bottom of the tank? That can be an issue too because at every feeding their hunger rate usually varies and I end up giving each one of them one too many pellets. Just a snail or something, that could do that, would be great!

 

[lisie]

In tanks that small, you're really maxed out as far as space goes. From what I understand, snails are pretty big waste producers. The only thing you might be able to have in there in addition to a betta are shrimp, and I don't know if they do the things you're looking for.

If the tanks aren't filtered, getting small filters for them is probably your best bet.

 

[Boxermom]

Slime? What kind of slime?

 

[bettas4me]

Could it be algae?

 

[K.J.]

The slime isn't noticable visably, but it's jus really slippery when you run your hand across the side of the tank.

It might be algae, but I'm not really sure if algae is always visable or not. It seems to make the water a bit murky, but I just changed her water this afternoon so it's clean, at the moment.

 

[Boxermom]

Is it brown?

 

[K.J.]

Is it brown?

No, it's translucent - you can't see it, you can only feel it.

 

[Boxermom]

Are you using any sort of stress coat additive or anything to treat the water?

 

[K.J.]

Are you using any sort of stress coat additive or anything to treat the water?

I just found out they needed it, so I started when I changed the water this afternoon. Other than that I use salt.

 

[Gankutsuou]

I know EXACTLY what you're talking about.

You have the same slimey stuff as me.
I do have some kind of snail in mine, it doesn't do much.
But i'll say this, if you leave an objectl ike a tube in for two weeks, it shows the clear slime as brown and visible. So you are dealing with brown slime, you just can't see it now.
You just need to up the water changes, and when you do full ones, wipe that tank with a towel.

 

[BWBettas]

I only get this when i dont change the water in my tanks for a few weeks. I got his after i was on a 2 week holiday

Bret

 

[Gankutsuou]

Well see, the thing is, I got this only on the air tube. it was on nothing else in the tank. Probably because i never disconnected and throughroly cleaned it....

But the airtube is gone

 

[K.J.]

Ahh. The females thank is the worst, and she had an air tube until about a week ago, so I guess I never thoroughly cleaned it.

 

[Boxermom]

The brown stuff is brown diatoms, many refer to it as brown algae. Very common in new tanks, will go away on its own.

Fish do NOT need a stress coat additive to the water except in very rare circumstances. Stress coat stuff irritates the skin of the fish, making their bodies produce more slime coat. A simple declorinator that removes chlorine and chloramines is all that is needed. Salt is also not needed unless you are treating for ich.

 

[wodesorel]

Brown algea will go away in a cycled tank, but not a betta bowl that gets 100% water changes.

I would just keep cleaning the bowl and get any kind of gravel/decorations out in the meantime. It'll stay attached to anything that doesn't get cleaned thoroughly, including some on the betta itself. Keeping the water changed and the tank wiped clean will evetually get rid of anything that may have been left on the betta, and then the cleaned decorations and new gravel (can't really clean gravel all that well) can be put back in.

I have seen ghost shrimp pick at this stuff before, but they really can't do much to it. As for leftover food, yeah, they work great and hardly make a dent in water quality. The only problem is that they're impossible to remove when doing water changes. I usually fish five or six out of the buckets when I gravel vac, and even then they can fling themselves over five feet when out of water. (The cats really like ghost shrimp as snacks, so I barely ever get there in time to save them. )

Snails aren't a good choice as any type of apple snails needs 2.5 gallons, at least, of their own. They are great pets, but they're not to be used as a clean-up crew. They are WAY too messy. You'd have to do water changes at least once a day to keep up with their waste production when they're fed correctly.