Brown Algae

[tetraqueen]

Since i have had back trouble and not spent time on the tank I have noticed how quickly this brown algae is growing it was not there before I put a plant on bog wood in. It is in the oscar tank so other threads of putting ottos in are out. What can I do ?

 

[Colin_T]

make sure you do regular water changes and gravel cleans. Excess nutrients will encourage algae problems.
If the algae is on the glass wipe it off with a clean soap free sponge or algae magnet/ scraper.
Chinese algae eaters grow big 10-12inches) and are tough enough to live with an oscar. Put a few hiding places in the tank and within a short time it will be keeping the tank nice and clean. Rainbow, redtail and black sharks will all do the same thing. Black sharks get big tho (up to 18inches) so depending on how big the tank is and what else is in there, you might want to avoid them.

 

[tetraqueen]

Anyone had experience with chinese algar eaters and oscars ?
The tank is a rio 400 and with two almost certainly going to be one soon. I cannot understand they are great 95% of the time the other bit seems either the male wants the female and she is not willing or they are starting to pick fights. so far no damage. Just lots of flaring and moving out of the way. The larger of the rwo rolls on her/his side???

The questions are will it work?
How many to buy?
what do they eat? algae wafers?

Thanks for your replies and I just want to make sure as I may have stars at the side but I am very much a beginner.

 

[celaeno]

oscars are slow moving fish, so the cae might capitalize on that. would bristlenose plecs work?

 

[rdd1952]

CAEs are also very poor algae eaters. After they get a little age, they will pretty much stop eating it altogether. As celaeno mentioned, after the CAEs get a little ag on them, theymay harass the ocars and try to suck the slime coat off them. SAEs are a better option but I'm not sure about the compatibility with oscars. I would think the danger of the oscar eating them would be about the same as with the CAEs.

 

[tetraqueen]

Thanks I have read they are not compatable. red tail or black shark ? do they really eat algae would they not get too large also.
Sometimes i feel people set me up to fail

 

[rdd1952]

Black sharks (or are you talking about a redtail black shark) get very large, up to 24". RTBS stay about 4". As far as algae is concerned though, I've never heard of either of them eating it.

 

[tetraqueen]

make sure you do regular water changes and gravel cleans. Excess nutrients will encourage algae problems.
If the algae is on the glass wipe it off with a clean soap free sponge or algae magnet/ scraper.
Chinese algae eaters grow big 10-12inches) and are tough enough to live with an oscar. Put a few hiding places in the tank and within a short time it will be keeping the tank nice and clean. Rainbow, redtail and black sharks will all do the same thing. Black sharks get big tho (up to 18inches) so depending on how big the tank is and what else is in there, you might want to avoid them.

The above posts seem to say none of this would help.

Thanks RDD I need a solution but will keep water changes and scraping a lot.

 

[rdd1952]

Have you IDed your algae? Below are 2 pretty good sites to help you identify it and offer causes and/or methods of removing it.

http/www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm

http/www.floridadriftwood.com/algae_identification.html

 

[tetraqueen]

looks like new tank syndrome I guess when I cleaned it all out however apart from cycling it I am surprised it has happened after the Oscars as the ammonia reading is clear.

 

[rdd1952]

If it's just the brown algae as in new tank syndrome, it will clear up on it's own. It comes from the silica leeched into the water from the silicone that seals the tank. Even after a tank has been running for a while, it seems if you take it down, clean it and start over, it does the same thing again. At least that was what I experienced when I had to redo my 29 gallon after nearly a year of running with no algae. I got the same brown algae again. Otos are extremly good at cleaning it up but I guess they could eventually become food for the oscars.

 

[Colin_T]

The above posts seem to say none of this would help.

What does that mean? My information has been rejected. I'm going home to sulk.

Rainbow or ruby sharks, red tail sharks & black sharks are all algae eating fishes. Look at their little sucker mouth. As with all algae eating fish they are highly territorial towards intruders coming into their algae patch. So they might chase the oscar away sometimes, but they are unlikely to do any harm to a big oscar.
I recommended them and the Chinese Algae eater because they are cheap to buy and are tough enough to live with a full grown oscar, (assuming they aren't 1inch long and the oscar is 10inches). They will all graze on algae and pick up excess food the oscar doesn't eat.
The other option is to get a plecostomus or gibbiceps catfish. They are a bit more expensive but naturally occur with oscars in the Amazon. They eat algae and excess food. And they grow to over 12inches. Big enough not to be eaten by the oscar.

 

[Bignose]

While the rainbow shark and the red tail black shark are largely herbivorious, they don't have "sucker mouthes" There have mouths like the rest of their cousins in the barb family, tiger barbs and goldfish, etc. They have noticable barbels, but the definitely do not have a sucker mouth. The plecostamous has a sucker mouth. Ottos have sucker mouthes. The rainbow shark does not.

The problem with recommending a CAE is that while they are decent algae eaters when young, they become a lot less interested in eating algae when they are older and more interested in eating the slice coats of other fish. Even if an oscar would be big enough to handle this, the CAE won't be eating algae, so what's the point?

I like the suggestion of a pleco. They are found in similar habitats as the oscar, and go grow big enough not to be harassed too much. And they are excellent algae eaters.

 

[tetraqueen]

The trouble is I get attached to whatever I get and find it hard when they are so big they need to go.

I loved my plec but in the end was told he was too big.

Please do not get upset its all suggestive anyway. Who knows a mice can live with a cat etc etc. I would never ever sulk. lol I do but I really did not mean offence I just want everyones opinion as one will say fantastic another will like me say oh dear.

CFC has fish he is welcome too and he will probably laugh when I say I really like my neon tetra's.

If I had listened to him in the beginning I would not have had the Oscars and i can see one eating the other and me having nightmares. RTBS sound too aggressive to me but perhaps oscars leave them alone.

 

[Colin_T]

if plecostomus get too big try a gibbiceps. Same sort of fish but doesn't get as big.