Brown Algae?

[Rodders]

I've tried it all, otos, plecs, snails, lighting. Nothing has worked but elbow grease and scrubbing everything. I'm told it happens in new tanks about 2-3 months old. Mine is about 3 months now, and I'm praying it will give up eventually. I am trying lights out on the tank for a week now, as that was another suggestion. I hope you've had better luck than I've had getting rid of it. And if you find anything that does work, PLEASE let me know.

Im with you tried everything (except snails, they work but destroy plants), but my tanks 6 months old now and i still get it

 

[OohFeeshy]

Grrrr. We went to pets at home to get some catfood, and obviously I rushed to the fish section. Guess what they had. Yep, BN plecs. I couldn't remember if I'd seen some at the other lfs, but I thought I'd get one anyway. It was tiny to say the least. About 1cm long. Took it home, put it in the tank etc. This morning? Its dead. No idea why. The cories are fine, so water isn't the problem. ph, maybe, but the shop will use the same water as me. No sign of disease, obviously it could have had something not visible. Cories wouldn't have attacked it. I'll try and get a refund later, but no more BN plecs for me. Unless I find a shop that sells good sized ones.

 

[Rodders]

Could have just been a dodgy one and no prob with your tank.
Might be worth trying again if they will just give you another in exchange for the dead one.

 

[reg2k2]

changethebulbschangethebulbschangethebulbschangethebulbs

And if that don't work...hmm.....maybe try changing the bulbs?

 

[OohFeeshy]

Yeah, I took it back and they said it was probably due to stress. Change the bulbs? What to? Get a replacement or change type? As I said, it gets plenty of light.

 

[Dorkhedeos]

if your otos died within a week, its not your tank, its because they dont have enough bacteria in their stomach to digest food. no food=dead. when otos are shipped, they arent given anything to eat, which kills off the bacteria in their stomach

 

[OohFeeshy]

I said BN plec, not oto I wouldn't buy otos, too fragile. Grr, its getting on my nerves. Not so much on the tank, but its covering all my plants.

 

[The-Wolf]

Fishy
I have found out that adding water will help control diatoms
best results ar 50/50 ro/tank water.

 

[OohFeeshy]

I can't get ro water. Nowhere does it, and i'm not getting an ro unit just to get rid of algae. It scrubs off the glass well enough, as I said, the main problem is the plants.

 

[reg2k2]

Change the bulbs? What to? Get a replacement or change type? As I said, it gets plenty of light.

Replacemt; bulbs begin to lose their spectrum at first use.
When attempting to increase the lighting, I think most look to extending the timing, or increasing the wattage. But I think replacing the bulbs is often overlooked....and seems to be the solution in my tank.

 

[Torrean]

I've read that otto's are so fragile because they are poisoned to make them easier to be caught initially. Therefore the best way to pick an otto is to go into the pet store and ask them to hold a few for you and see if they live a couple weeks before you buy them. If they won't do this then I suppose you will have to trust your lfs guy and just ask how long they have been in the tank. If it's been a while they will probably live a long and healthy life. IMHO if they are poisoned to be caught then they are little better than painted or dyed fish. If what I read is true which I don't know if it is or not, then we should stop buying them just like we do about painted and dyed fish,(most of us anyways)

 

[OohFeeshy]

Replacemt;

No need. They've only been in use for a few weeks, a month at most. Plus they are blooming expensive things.