Green Algae In Betta Tank

[Mayu]

Someone told me I'd get better answers posting this question here, so here it goes... lol

I have a 15 gallon tank with a Betta fish. Really gorgeous white and blue one.

I have been having a diddly of a time with green algae lately though. I don't know why other than maybe my light is left on too long. I don't have any direct sunlight... the room the tank is in has the shades drawn pretty much all day. I keep the lights in the room off unless I'm in there... and I know I'm not over feeding

but I kept the tank lights on starting at about 11 am till about 8 or 9pm.

I've tried everything from doing half water changes, washing down the decorative silk plants and other decorations, and vaccuming the gravel. but it still comes back.

Someone told me I should add live plants and that would help, so today I pulled out the silk plants and replaced them with a couple live plants, and I'm keeping the lights off for about 24 hours (except for feeding)... but I only want to do it for 24 hours because the live plants are going to start to need to get light.

Should I add more plants or add a small algae eater like a dwarf pleco or a longnose whiptail? (I have 2 of those in my large tank and they don't get very big or take up much room, and they keep that tank pretty clean)

what else can I do?

surprisingly water levels seem good, and my betta is also doing pretty good despite the green algae issue

 

[RadaR]

Can you ID the type of algae here?

 

[Mayu]

it looks closer to the blue/green algae... not exactly, but that's the closest description.

I've done water changes, and I'm afraid of over cleaning... The last time I changed the water, I pulled everything out, cleaned it down, vaccumed the gravel, did a 50% water change, then added this algae killer to the water. (I put the Betta in a temporary tank for 72 hours)

this time I pulled out the silk plants that had algae growing on them and replaced them with live plants as someone recommended. I also pulled out a decortative rock that had Algae on it and cleaned that off...

now I have the lights in the tank off for a 24 hour black out.

I can't think of what else to do without doing another water change. Is there something I can add to the water that won't hurt the Betta or live plants?

 

[Haych]

i'm having the same issue, I have a black - coloured algae stuck to my dividers that I need to get a toothbrush in, but its hard as I cant remove my dividers.

does the algae removal meds not work then?

and can fish not be kept in their tanks with it?

 

[RadaR]

BGA, blue green algae is actually a type of bacteria that photosynthesizes. The link I posted will detail how to get rid of it.
Stay away from meds and "algae killers". Reason being, you have algae because of a particular reason. It then makes sense to correct the cause rather than searching for a silver bullet that isnt treating the underlying cause of the algae and it can simply raise it's ugly head again. In this case, BGA is caused by organic matter and undetectable ammonia being leached from decaying matter. Low circulation also has a role to play. LOW nitrates have been linked to BGA as well.

 

[Mayu]

Thanks for the help RadaR