Ergh, Algae!

[Sheldon31]

My tanks about 4 months old now and I've got a bit of a green algae problem. It's 20gallon with Kyon, 4 bronze cory, 7 neon tetra and an assassin snail. I'm just wondering what would be a good course to go down?

A moss ball, a nerite snail, an algae eating fish like a bristlenose pleco or a group of otos or just wiping it off the glass.

Params are.. PH 6.8, Ammonia 0mg/l, NitrIte 0, Nitrate .25ish.

What do you guys think?

[tpocicat]

My personal favorite algea eater is the bristlenose pleco. They stay small, and do a great job eating the algea. If you get one, just remember to add algea tablets to the menu once he/she has eaten all the algea.

[JKfish]

Check your lighting. If your photoperiod is more than 10 hours, algae tends to grow too well. A little bit of algae isn't bad at all, I have a very thin coat on the walls that sort of blurry them faintly, so I just wipe off the front wall every other week if I notice it.

[jeffegg2]

The albino long-fin bristle-nose pleco is a nice algae eater!

I have an albino, but want the long-fin....

Jeff.

[teeneythebetta]

Nerites can eat A LOT of algae, maybe get a few of those? They sell tiger nerites at most petcos. They dont get very big- only about 1 inch in diameter.

[teeneythebetta]

Originally Posted by JKfish

Check your lighting. If your photoperiod is more than 10 hours, algae tends to grow too well. A little bit of algae isn't bad at all, I have a very thin coat on the walls that sort of blurry them faintly, so I just wipe off the front wall every other week if I notice it.

OMG I love your pixel betta in your signature! AWWWW! Did you make it youself? :)

[Bombalurina]

My choice is always wiping the algae off. I'd never get an algae eater purely for the purpose of cleaning the algae, since I know that I can do a better job. However, if you want an algae eater because you love that type of fish/snail, then go for it. :)

[JKfish]

Snails would only be a good idea if you have medium to hard water. If you have soft water, their shells will deteriorate over time.

Haha, thanks Teeny :) I made it myself, it's Kaimar, one of my betta boys... That was my first attempt at pixel bettas, and it took about an hour maybe two to do.

[Sheldon31]

My water is perfectly in the middle. It's something my area is know for. Something to do with the perfect cup of tea or something (haha I'm so british!). Other half and I have agreed to see what the LFS has when we go next week. I want a bristlenose anyway because I love their unusual faces especially on males. I love albinos. Dan like snails like apple and assassin. We want a few more assassins anyway so we'll be picking some up then so if they have Nerites we'll pick some up. Are shrimp good algae eaters?

[JKfish]

Cherry shrimp are supposed to be really good. Just remember if you pick up a lot of algae eaters, you'll need algae tablets and veggies to feed them in the long run.