Newbie With A Detailed Tank Problem

[oddnoise]

Hi there,

I've checked out this forum and it seems like there are a lot of knowledgable fishkeepers around so I signed up and am hoping to find some well appreciated advice.

I have a 270 litre planted aquarium that's coming up for 6 years old. External Eheim filter, good T5 lighting, a Carbo Plus CO2 device and heating cable. I've maybe not put quite as much care in latey as I am getting frustrated by the amount of snails I have now. Easily in the thousands now and getting unsightly. I've been using an eSHa product and it controls them but doesn't wipe them out and I end up getting black algae after use.

I don't feed the fish much 2/3 times a week, but I am getting a lot of detritus and I wonder whether I am over stocked. I have 5 small plecs that will remain small, 20 corydoras, a whiptail, 15 Buenos Aires tetras, 6 Otocinclus and 5 Amano shrimps, 1 silver Gourami, 1 Hoplosternum. Things in the tank seem sluggish I get fine green hair algae of the front glass after a week and I have lost a large collection of Bacopa which was growing like mad previously, just long bare stems floating on top.

All my levels seem OK, I have nitrate and phosphate removers in the filter and don't not quite know what to do next.

I am contempleting killing off the snails first, even if I have to remove the fish, then setting to work on everything else.

If there is somebody out there who might know what I am doing wrong, I can supply more info, then any help would be really appreciated.

cheers

Andrew

 

[lilfishie]

what speicie of plec are the exactly? you maybe could invest in some snail eating fish, certain loaches do

 

[PRW1988]

Personally killing the snails would be the quickest thing IMO, however the only problem with this is that you'd have to remove all your fish and plants and gravel etc. There should be chemicals on the market that'll kill snails, however they may also be hazardous to your fish and plants.

 

[Flagfin]

Personally killing the snails would be the quickest thing IMO, however the only problem with this is that you'd have to remove all your fish and plants and gravel etc. There should be chemicals on the market that'll kill snails, however they may also be hazardous to your fish and plants.

Hi - I'm certainly not an expert but I had a similar probem and put two dwarf puffas in there - they didn;t touch the adults but I Never saw a baby snail again!

 

[bigfish138]

to kill the snails you need to remove plants and fish then use very hot water on the gravel, almost all dead snails will float to surface and you can remove them with a net the nxt problem will be u will get more because they lay eggs on the plants but you wont have to worry for a while

 

[newtotropical]

Try having a break in the lighting - 4 hrs on - 1hr off - 4hrs on is good helps keep alge down. Plecs are dirty mess producers and most get big, you need to ID them fast

 

[oddnoise]

Try having a break in the lighting - 4 hrs on - 1hr off - 4hrs on is good helps keep alge down. Plecs are dirty mess producers and most get big, you need to ID them fast

I keep just the blue actinic light on for a while in the late evenings does anyone know if this increases algae.