One tiny snail and ALL that algae...

[BettaMomma]

I just got little Gary the Snail a few days ago.
He's been eating cucumbers and dropped food like crazy in the tank.
I have live plants in the tank (which he's also eaten a TON of - grr!) including cabomba which is floating. I leave the fluorescent lights on around 8 hours each day, give or take a little. Which means that on the slate and cave, etc. in the tank there is quite a bit of algae starting to build up. Should I assume that he'll eventually be able to run around the tank and start eating up some of that algae or is it just too monumental of a task for him? And I should just take that stuff out and scrub it down myself?

It's a 10G cycled female betta community tank and he's a little apple snail about the diameter of a quarter.

 

[freddyk]

I'm afraid you'll need to deal with the algae yourself. Perhaps you can add some Otos to help out, but in the end we need to put some elbow grease into it.

 

[Synirr]

If you stop feeding him cucumbers he'll eventually get around to eating a lot of the algae, but he probably can't take care of it all by himself... maybe you should get another snail!

 

[BettaMomma]

OH my god another snail?
It was quite a monumental event when I got Gary - he shook things up in the tank.
All the girl bettas are quarelling - I think they've all got the hots for him.
I can't imagine doubling that. lol

I have 6 female bettas in there.
Would adding some otos overcrowd my tank?
How many would i have to get to make them comfy - as in schooling and such? Do they even need to do that?

 

[wrs]

well my ottos never school. Just get two, and maybe move one betta out. If the tank was bigger you would be able to get a nice small pleco species that eats algea, appart from the otto.

 

[BettaMomma]

I can't really move one betta out - I don't have the right tank setup for it to maintain her being healthy.

I think I'll just go ahead and start scrubbing them with a nice new (unused) toothbrush. I'm not opposed to that

 

[RandomWiktor]

I've found that, for the amount of POOP they make, snails really are not efficient algae control. They seem to only eat the stuff as a last resort, and for every mouthful of food they take in, they seem to pour out about 5x's that in fecal waste.
I would say get an algae eater, but you'd need to get one of those liiitle tiny ones that only get 1.5-2 inches long for it to work in the tank. I have a feeling the betta girls would look at him and think "lunch;" I know at least one of your ladies is very agressive, no?

What I do periodically is pull the caves and silk plants and give 'em a good boiling. The gravel can be vacced usually to clear up surface algae and keep it to a minimum, and you can rub glass algae off with your finger right before a water change so it gets sucked up/washed away along with it. Its a good deal of work, but it doesn't involve more fish or snails, so that's always a plus.

 

[Raechal]

What about a bulldog plec? They're pretty good at hiding and with all the hiding spots in your tank I am sure the girls would forget about him within a day or two. I have one in my 120 gallon with my 11 females and they leave him a lone. I've had him for about 6 months now and he is still under 2 inches long.

 

[Dwarfs]

well my ottos never school. Just get two, and maybe move one betta out. If the tank was bigger you would be able to get a nice small pleco species that eats algea, appart from the otto.

Just because otos don't school doesn't mean they don't like being in large groups The minimum amount of otos that you should have is 4, and more are better. The otots will feel more comfortable in their environment and may even eat more algae if they are not alone.

 

[Grey Legion]

Well one snail does not stay one snail for long, what kind of snail did you purchase?

"Gary" I see you watch the squarepants !!

Snails are great !!!

 

[freddyk]

One betta won't make a differnce here or there, so don't worry.

For some reason I got the feeling this was an apple snail, in which case it takes two to tango.

I'm keeping 4 ottos now, but I started with 1, and I never noticed a difference in their behavior, stress levels, or eating habits either way.

 

[Iron Man]

I have never had a problem with apple snails not eating algae or making a lot of poop. They are far better than any pleco at efficient algae control without the mess plecos will make. Typically, nothing is going to eat algae if you feed it something better and it knows to expect regular feeding of it. Stop feeding it cucumber and overfeeding your fish to where its dropping on the substrate...and he'll come around. One snail for a 10 gallon tank is PLENTY. I currently have 3 in my 55 gallon and they are doing excellent. My tank is only a few weeks old so without these...I would be in major trouble with algae. Also, apple snails are male and female and will not reproduce by themselves.

Also, if its eating your plants you might have the plant eating kind instead of the kind that typically searches out algae only, though in the USA that is unlikely. I use pomacea bridgesii and they've never once touched a live plant. They will however eat the algae off of your live and plastic ones...if they're light enough to go up there without bending it over to the tank bottom.

You can learn more about snails here;

http/www.applesnail.net/


Good luck.