Help with Algae bloom

[(GTV)Chris]

Hi there,

I have 5 silver Mollies, 1 Mickey mouse Platty and 3 Guppies in a 7 gallon tank.
I have 1 Java Fern.
Problem - I simply cannot control the algae in the tank! I do water changes once a week. I use an algae controller in the water but to no avail.
The tank is near a small window in the kitchen but doesn't get the sun.
I have an aquarium light on pretty much from 8 in the morning to 11 at night.
The water is horrible and green and It really spoils the look.
I am also concerned that the fish may not be able to breathe properly?
Shouls I ditch the fern or take it out and clean it of all the algae.
What is the best route to take.

Any help appreciated.
Best wishes

Chris

 

[Nuttygal! :0)]

Hmmm, well I'd say reducing the light in the tank just for a bit at first, as light is how algae thrives. If that doesn't work, keeping the lights off all the time for a few days will kill it all off. Algae won't stop your fish from breathing properly, don't worry!
If you want, you could always buy some catfish! I have loads in my tanks and they just chomp and munch on all the algae all the time! They are lovely to watch and there's loads of different types to suit your tank!
Good luck!
Hope this has helped a bit!

NG

 

[(GTV)Chris]

Thank you for your reply.
Do you think I should cover the tank to block the light? Will the fish be able to see in the dark ) ?
What type of catfish would you recommend and would i have to buy two males or two females etc?
Thanks for your kind advice.

Chris

 

[Nuttygal! :0)]

Ok, well I'd say buy the catfish first to see if they can get rid of the algae, then if you still feel that you need to you can turn the lights off and cover the tank in a blanket. The fish will be fine, they can see in the dark, as long as they still get fed, they won't mind a bit!
Some nice catfish I'd suggest are Bristlenosed, I have a group of six, it doesn't really matter about males or females, they are quite hard to breed anyway so you can just buy a few. They look really nice and keep my tanks really clean!
I also have two other types of catfish, one are called Bronze corydoras. They swim around more but they do clean. I have another type that look like Bristlenosed but they're not, and the thing is, I don't know what they're called so that's no help!
Anyway, I'd say definatley go with the Bristlenosed. They eat any catfish food, I feed mine of Hikari algae wafers and King British Catfish Pellets, once a day.
Good luck!

EDIT: Oh, I forgot, there are also oto catfish, but they are quite hard to look after!

 

[Elisabeth83]

In my honest opinion I think your tank is overstocked I can't imagine keeping all those fish in a 7 gallon tank. What are the sizes of the fish at the moment? Mollies can reach up to 4 inches when aldut

I agree bristlenose plecos are great fish to clean algae as I have one myself but you cannot keep them in a 7 gallon tank. I have mine in a 60 gallon tank and find myself cleaning up after him a few times a week.

What is your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate??? With so many fish in such a small tank they are probably starved for air. Do you have aeration in the tank?

What are the sex of the guppies? What are the sex of the mollies? If male and female your going to find yourself over run with fry.

If I were you I'd consider getting rid of a couple of the mollies or upgrading to a larger tank because that the moment you can't add anything to the tank

Just my opinion

 

[Kinda Fishey]

Hey Chris You have a lot of fish for a small tank. Oddly enough they all like to pick at algae and green matter. The algae is just small green plants using the light, to eat up excess fish waste and uneaten fish food. If they don't eat it it becomes bacteria ( worse) If you suddenly kill all the algae, you will still have the excess waste and food in the tank, and dead algae. With java fern you can get by with a lot less light, go to 10-12 hrs at most. I have three little ottos in a 45 and they work 24 hrs a day,but I'm not sure you have room for more fish. I think you answer lies in less light, less fish, less food. and of course partial weekly water changes............................How come we can never get good greenwater when we need it ??. Hope this helps a little.....KF

 

[(GTV)Chris]

Hi

I have 1 adult Female Silver Mollie.
4 Fry
3 small male Guppies
1 adult red Platty


The little fish range from 1 inch to 1 cm

Amonia - 0.8
Nitrite - 0.1
pH - 6.5
Nitrate 75mg

I didn't think it was over stocked but perhaps I need to re think.
I want a bigger tank but my wife wont let me

Cheers

Chris

 

[Elisabeth83]

Hi again Chris, Since your fish are small they might be ok in the 7 gallon for a little while but once they get bigger your going to have to either give some of the fry to your lfs or get a bigger tank.

Your Ammonia and NitrIte should both be at 0. Your NitrAte is kinda high as well Start doing daily water changes until the Ammonia and NitrIte are at 0. If you could get your NitrAtes under 20 that would be great but that isn't always possible as some peoples tap water has high NitrAtes already.

How much are you feeding your fish? What is the temp in your tank? Fry need to be fed several times a day and like the temp to be at around 82. You might find though all the food you put in for your fry the bigger fish get. Ideally it's best to keep fry in their own tank for the first few months and then you move then back to the main tank once they are big enough.

Unfortunately if your planning on keeping the 4 molly fry your going to have to get a bigger tank. You wont be able to keep 5 adult mollies in a 7 gallon let alone have 3 male guppies as well as a platy Maybe the 7 gallon could serve as a tank for fry?? If you can't get a bigger tank you'll have to think about returning some of the fish to your lfs.

A nice 7 gallon set up could be

*3-5 male guppies and a couple small bottom fish
*2 maybe 3 female mollies and a couple small bottom fish

I say all male guppies or all female mollies because then you wont be over run with fry

These are just my opinions maybe someone else will come along and think differently but I am just speaking from experience

Good Luck

 

[(GTV)Chris]

Thank you for your reply.
I may be able to use this to my advantage, as when I mentioned returning some of the babies my wife didn't like the idea, she has become attached to them.
So maybe I can afford to get a bigger tank
What size would you recommend, and roughly how much to set one up..That's the burning question..


Cheers

Chris

 

[laboul]

Look around... the biggest tank you can afford! The changes in temp and water parameters are less drastic and they're not as difficult to keep. I got a 10 gal over a month ago, my first tank. WAY too small. If you're serious about fish I'd say at least a 30 gallon. THen your 7 gallon can serve as a fry tank or a hospital tank. I'm looking into getting a bigger one myself.

 

[Elisabeth83]

Haha..well if she's attached to the fry then this will definately work towards your advantage

Like laboul said go as big as you can afford. A 30 gallon would be perfect..not too big but not too small so you'll be able to keep a lot more fish. Could also get yourself a bristlenose pleco

I really don't know how much a 30 gallon set-up would cost. I'm over in Sweden so the prices on things would be totally different. It's crazily expensive here

You could even look in your local paper see if someones got a used tank advertised

I started off with smaller tanks and now have a 60 gallon tank because I just found I wanted to keep more fish and be able to keep some of my fry Course I still have a couple other tanks set up...because once you get hooked on tanks theres no going back and you'll find yourself getting more and more obsessed