Tank Cycled

[wolfrad]

I have a 5 gallon aquascene tank cycled for about 7 weeks with a dwarf platy, the only thing is it has green algae on the inside of the tank. I was thinking of getting a couple of oto's for this problem would this be O.K. or would the tank need to be cycled a few more months to add them, I heard that sometimes oto's are harder to keep in a newly cycled tank. Also any other recommendations for an algae eating creature or fish would be greatly appreciated, I've even wondered if a large snail would work?

 

[newtotropical]

Hi You would be better off sorting the cause of the algee. Ottos need a mature tank.

 

[wolfrad]

The only thing I can think of would be the light, I usually turn the light on about mid morning and then it goes off around 8 p.m. if it gets turned off.

 

[newtotropical]

Thats your proplem then mate! 8-10 hrs is about it if you have real plants. with a break of 1 hr in between ie on 4 off 1 on 4. This helps stop the algee from growing!

Hope this helps

Ps if you cover the tank for a few days to cut out the light, the algee will die off.....

 

[wolfrad]

Thanks, I think I'll do that this weekend. Now when the algae dies off does it fall into the rock to be syphoned out or does it just kind of disappear into oblivion. Also I was curious I want to add some other fish or amphibians, thought about a snail or a dwarf frog or a shrimp or 2 to make it a little more interesting to look at. I only have artificial plants in the tank at the moment and there might be a good chance we will be moving out of state in 5-6 months so I kind of wanted to wait until then to add any kind of live plants. I guess it might have been smart to wait until mid Summer move to start my tank, but Oh well---Petco said they'd take my fish if I couldn't take them.

 

[mikster]

If its the green spot algae on the glass then you will need to scrub it off most likely and if your lighting regimes are good and you have plenty of plant growth then hopefully it wont return, if the problem persists i would say the most suitable algae eater for your tank is a nerite snail, probably only need one as they are very good at eating green algae.

 

[newtotropical]

If its the green spot algae on the glass then you will need to scrub it off most likely and if your lighting regimes are good and you have plenty of plant growth then hopefully it wont return, if the problem persists i would say the most suitable algae eater for your tank is a nerite snail, probably only need one as they are very good at eating green algae.

Even better advice than i could give!!

 

[Dave Spencer]

A black out will only work against BGA, which is a bacteria. Plus, there is no specific evidence to suggest that an ON/OFF/ON period is effective against algae.

A Nerite Snail should do a good job, but some people have had problems with their egg laying, which is hard to clean off, apparently.