Some Advice Please?

[silver tipped]

Hi,

I've not been keeping fish that long and I want to make sure I get it right at least 99% of the time. I have a 65l tank, shingle substrate with under gravel filtration, well planted and everything with regard to chemicals are 0 or normal. I love this forum as everyone is friendly and the advice is great. So can you all help with these.

I have 6 silver tipped tetras (2 male, 4 female) and 6 platies.( 3 female and 3 male).

1) i have a platy who at first glance was female, however every so often she lifts her anal fin (hope thats the right way of saying it) and she then looks male. Is this normal and if so is she female or male or both!

2) I am looking for a shrimp, perferably a cherry, but do they add fish inches to the tank and if so how many? Will they get on with tetras and platies? and can they be kept as a single or do you have to have loads?

3) I did have a cae but I soon realised that grew way to big foe a tank of my size so my lfs took them back. I would like something to clean up the algea but as I don't want to be over stocked A) would a shrimp plus platy do a decent job or B) any suggestions for something small that would be happy on its own.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Me

 

[big mick]

Hello there...

1. Your platty will be a female.

2. Not sure about cherry shrimp as ive only ever kept ghost shrimp but I keep ghost shrimp with everything from angels to goldfish and have done for ages without any problems.

3.Why not look into getting a bristlenose plec. They only grow about 6" and love eating algae...they produce a fair amount of waste which is the only down side but as long as you filter is okay that shouldnt cause problems.

 

[silver tipped]

Hi,

I am glad that it is more likely to be a she, keeps my ratio better.

Can shrimp be kept on their own though or do they have to be in groups. I can't really keep more than 1 cos of overstocking.

Also I think a fish of 6" would really be out of the question. Need something smaller.

Ta anyway

 

[FBF]

there are snails on the market that will eat algae, if it was my tank id illiminate the need to have an algea eater and leave my lights on for only 4 hours a day.

 

[silver tipped]

Hi FBF

Just had a look at your profile and wow they put my little tank to shame. I have only been keeping fish for about a month and I would so like to be able to have more tanks/fish. For now though I will master the art on a small scale but who knows.

I had thought about only lighting the tank for a couple of hours but I love watching the fish, however if it means less algea its worth doing.

Any ideas on shrimps though as I would like to add some.

Ta for the help

 

[dwarfgourami]

The tank is 65 ltrs- c. 17 US gallons. Seems pretty fully stocked already- I would add the shrimp but nothing else, certainly not a pooing loricariid.

Cut down on the platies' feed and they might eat a bit of algae, though as you probably have noticed they can't clear it off the glass so you need to do that. A toothbrush is a good tool for awkward corners, and a razoe blade for the stuff that really sticks. In fact, you can do quite a lot of algae cleaning on your own; no tank has to have an algae cleaning fish.

Being careful not to overfeed helps, and limiting the hours of light- even if you don't want to go down to 4 hours a day, cutting down from 12 to 10 hours can still help.

 

[silver tipped]

Hi,

I know I am close to my limit on stocking that was why I was wondering about whether shrimp add to fish inches or not. I don't want to lose any fish due to overstocking.

My platies do indeed eat the algea off the plants, rocks and substrate. In fact I am surprise at how mush 'grazing' they do. I don't have an algea problem at the moment but I don't want one either, my thought being prevention rather than cure. I clean the glass every week or more if needed and I will definitly start cutting down the amount of time lights are left on.

 

[nmonks]

Rebecca --

The idea that plecs, or any other fish, stop algae is a myth. Even with a plec, you need to clean the glass, and plecs don't eat things like hair algae growing on the edges of leaves. Also, adding a plec adds to the amount of nitrate and phosphate in the tank (because these fish are producing waste = fertiliser for the algae).

Snails are usually useless algae eaters. While they do eat some stuff from the glass, you need a lot of them to make a difference to the entire aquarium, and they are pretty messay animals and add nitrates and phosphates to the water, just like fish. Amano shrimps can work in understocked tanks -- but not in regular aquaria. Take a look at any of the Amano-style aquaria and you'll see a tank that is mostly plants with just a handful of fish and shrimps.

If you must have an algae eating catfish, consider something small like Otocinclus. They're tetra-sized fish, but they are rather delicate and can become parasitic, eating the mucous from the bodies of larger fish. I have some Otocinclus in my tank and had to remove a large goby because it was being regularly attacked in this way. These catfish seem fine with small, fast moving things like cardinals though.

The best way to stop algae is to get your plants growing properly. It doesn't really matter what plants you use. If you're hopeless with plants and have a silly little light in the hood, then opt for Java fern and hornwort, neither of which even need gravel, let alone fancy substrates, and both do well in poor light. Hornwort is also fantastic as a refuge for livebearer fry because it is a floating plant.

Once the plants are growing, they -- somehow -- stop algae from growing. I've heard the science but I can't pretend to understand it. But it does work.

As for playing around with the light timer: the best results seem to be from having the lights on for six hours, then off for two, and then back on for six more. Plants handle this fine, but algae, for whatever reason, doesn't. Cutting down the lighting to just, say, six hours altogether per day will kill any plants but your fish won't care.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[FBF]

the plants use nitrates as a feed, same as the algae would.

 

[nmonks]

Yes, but there's more to it than that. Plants (as opposed to algae, which are not plants but protists) produce chemicals called alleochemicals. These suppress the growth of algae. I don't know whether they do this deliberately to stop algae growing on them, or if it is merely a happy coincidence and they produce these chemicals for some other reason. Someone else may know, but not I.

Anyway, the bottom line is that the more vigrously your plants grow, the less algae is a problem. This is now quite widely accepted and you will find experience aquatic plant growers putting this forward as the best way to combat algae. See, for example, this pinned topic over on the aquatic plants section of the forum:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=106371

If you have vigorous plant growth, then nitrates become relatively unimportant. I have lots of plants in my tank, and they are regularly cropped and replaced as needs be. The biggest and fastest growers are Cabomba, Vallisneria, and a red water lily, all cheap and easy to grow. Lighting is fair rather than perfect -- two 30 W tubes, with reflectors, to a 180 litre tank. I used a pond soil substrate with some coarse gravel and silica sand.

Despite the nitrates often being as high as 100 mg/litre (I admit it, I'm lazy and I overfeed the fish!) algae is basically non exisitent. There's some hair algae on the Java fern where they grow right under the light, but the glass, rocks, and sand are basically spotless. I wipe down with an algae sponge once every couple of months. By contrast, lots of tanks with much lower nitrates can have far worse algae problems.

So, while nitrates are an issue, it isn't the only one by any means.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[silver tipped]

Hi,

I have already decided that rather than just have the lights on for x number of hours to do as suggested in last post and turn then off for a few hours during the day.

My plants are growing at an astonishing rate and I do crop them regularly. In fact I have noticed that since they have become established I seem to get less algea.

I have also infested in some amano shrimp who are doing really well in my tank. I have asked 2 lfs (one of which has won many awards) if they would be okay in my tank and both have said they would. They have settled in ok and are feeding fine. I guess only time will tell if they survive but so far so good.

 

[nmonks]

Hello Rebecca --

Sounds like you're doing all the right things. The nice thing about doing the "siesta" with the light timer is that you can set the tank to be illuminated in the morning when you're about, and then in the evening, when everyone is back from work/school/whatever.

The one thing not to do is have the lights on for more than 12 hours. Strange as this seems, plants do badly if the hours are too long, and having them on for over 12 hours doesn't compensate for mediocre lighting in the tank.

The Amano shrimps will help, just not as much as their "public relations" suggests. They're fun little pets though, and a neat addition to an aquarium. That you have an award-winning LFS nearby is wonderful, and something to treasure.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[Dubby]

Rebecca, to answer your original question, you should get Amano shrimp as they are excellent algae eaters and are quite small. They will get along just fine with your tetras and platys.

They can be kept alone or in groups.