I have a 10 gallon tank with 1 betta and 5 hatchet fish, and I have some brown algae that grows in some places. I was wondering if I should get a snail for cleaning? Would a mystery snail work? Would snails live off that stuff or eat special foods?
Yeah, I'd just stick with manual algae removal. Snails are a pain to clean up after. It's easier to clean up after the algae itself. Not to mention the havoc they can possibly wreak with the water parameters. I just have never had the patience or time to be balancing my tank's cycle back out after adding one.
Brown algae is diatoms, not the same stuff as traditional green algae. One snail will jot make a difference in a ten gallon unless it is one huge snail. Snails do poop a lot though, so make sure you have gravel vacuum. Nitrite snails are the best for diagonal and they can't produce in freshwater, so your tank won't be overrunned by snails.
Just get one, as once there is no algae at ll you need to feed the snail algae waffers.
If snails are too messy, is there anything else that can do the job? I know I can't keep a school of any more fish :P If there is nothing else, I don't mind scrubbing it off.
I don't suggest a mystery snail (? actually I heard mystery snails ARE apple snails D: i'm confused, the brown one didn't make it), the water quality I had or not enough calcium caused my mustery snail to die. So far, if you do go get a snail: my golden (yellow) snail has been amazing and I love it. Fish may get at its antennas a few times and they grow back, it's been left alone since then and likely will feel the water current when the betta gets near ^_^
I guess I will not get an algae eater and just wipe it off instead:P I have something in the top and middle of my tank, it would be nice to have something on the bottom though :D
I don't think I can get adfs again because my tank is pretty full, so I'll get them when I get a different tank or something. If snails are too dirty, would it be better to get ghost, cherry or amano shrimp? My hatchet fish do miss quit a bit of food so would shrimps be a better choice? Which one of those shrimps are the best?
After having a few snails for the last several months, I agree with people that say that they are messy. Plus I noticed they aren't really cleaning algae very well. I had some otos that were doing that job pretty well but they died. Decided cleaning myself was the best way to go. I've even decided a little bit of algae build up isn't so bad. for awhile LOL.
I still have 2 snails and feed them algae wafers and they enjoy those and are getting big LOL. They share a 10g with my betta Sayid.
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Not to mention the havoc they can possibly wreak with the water parameters. I just have never had the patience or time to be balancing my tank's cycle back out after adding one.
