Interesting Problem(s)

[iroc]

Ok in a nut shell here is the issue

My 20gal after many months has begun to show some alge 9 I spoke way to soon for those of you who commented that i didn't have any ROFL) anyway there isn't to much on the glass but some of the plants have the thin hair kind. Also my snail issue is still there since I had a clown loach in the tank and I saw none for a little over 2 weeks but as soon as I moved the loach they reappeared. Now for what I have tried to do and where I am now

I need the alge to go away so I bought 2 rubberlip plecos however A. they don't clean very well ( I didn't know that when I got them due to misifomation I got ) so I have been feeding them alge wafers, but the snails are also attached to them and they seem be be getting lots of food from them cuz they are getting big at a rapid rate.

Sooooooooo

Here is what I was thinking and ppl can tell me what I should do.

I AM getting another clown loach becuase the one I have is lonely, however I could get one and 1st stick him in the 20 gal for awhile to clean up the snails?

What about some shrimp to clean up the plants? what kind is good for that? and if I did put the clown loach in the tank would he eat the shrimp?

I tried the lettuce method, however the lettuce was destored by morning and I read that rubberlips like lettuce as well so that is an issue


any ideas or comments would be great.

 

[Tiggle]

Hi Iroc!

have you had a look at the pinned topic in the plant section on algae in the planted aquarium? http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=106371

What kind of snails are you talking about? the normal run of the mill pond snail? personally ive found their numbers tend to coincide with the amount of food in the tank. once you get the algae problem under control youll likely find the number of snails will also drop. i havnt found they cause any major damage to my plants either. when they first appeared i wanted them gone as well, but have since decided they can stay since they havnt caused any damaged and probably help clean up any uneatten food.

as for getting another clown loach, well thats up to you. personally i wouldnt get another one to control the snail population, but if youve got the room, and you want another then you may as well take advantage of their snail eatting appetite.

hope that was some help
Tara