I Need An Algae Cleaning Tank Mate

[Kairi]

Leon's tank is a wonderful growing area for all kinds of algae. He's in a 5 gallon hex tank, he isn't really aggressive towards me, but he flares at his reflection daily and builds bubble nests like crazy.... what can I put in there that will get rid of the algae in his tank?

 

[summerdragon]

For semi aggressive Bettas in a smallish tank I would use a mystery snail or two (plecos get too big to quick).... I have recommended the snails to a few friends with Bettas and it has worked out surprisingly well.... Keep in mind however if your Betta is too mean (as I have seen once) it might harm the snails feelers, and snails don't seem to survive that..... If you think your Betta is on the nicer side of things, I prefer ottos for algae (as per my profile I LOVE my ottos), but they don't deal with stress and being nipped at, and should be in a planted tank.... Depends on your bettas personality so good luck.....

 

[Glod]

What kind of algae is it ? If it's brown and soft then a couple of otocinclus may be an option in the short term. Brown algae usually clears up by itself over a few weeks tho. If it's the green stuff on the glass then your best bet is probably a snail of some kind if your Betta won't attack and kill it. Nerite snails are supposed to be good for this as they cannot breed in fresh water.

If it's hair algae or black brush algae then you could try shrimp (e.g. cherry shrimp or amano shrimp). If it's dark green and smelly sheets of algae then you have BGA, the best way to get rid of that is completely black out the tank for 3 days. No peeking.

Good luck with it.

 

[Kairi]

it's not stinky algae, but it's green and in slimey sheets. does that mean he doesn't get food for 3 days??? i might try that, what if i gave his tank a good de-algaeing today? ... should i wait til it comes back first before doing that?

 

[Glod]

http/www.floridadriftwood.com/algae_identification.html

That's a good link for identifying your algae. It has some treatments listed aswell. If the tank is not planted you may prefer to go with a treatment instead of a blackout.

 

[OohFeeshy]

An algae scraper or wipey item works better than any algae eater.

 

[Kairi]

the algae brush doesn't do much for this stuff... it just skims right over it as it's slimey.

 

[jollysue]

Magnets, almond stone sponges (on glass), algae mitts,etc (on acrylic), snails, light schedules, plants, all are in the bag of tricks. I don't rely on algae eaters. Magnets are a wonder.

 

[Vicky99]

I have a 6 gal which is intended for a betta. It currently has a couple of amano shrimp and a golden apple snail. The betta is arriving next week!! Both the snail & the shrimp are supposed to be good algae eaters but the tank still has slimey algae on it (and I have live plants in there) - I'd go with the wiping the glass technique - I just wipe it every time I do my water changes & gravel vac!!

Vicky.