Algae eaters! & tankmates!

[BettaMama11]

Hi all haven't been on for a while! I had a sorority set up that was going well, but two of my girls passed away while I was gone for a few days (my hubby was looking after them)...so I obviously can't just leave my two remaining girls alone in their tank...so was wondering if it was a good idea to get two more ladies??? Or would it be better to purchase some other fishy tankmates??

I also have an algae problem now...what are some good algae eaters?!!?

[Micho]

Yes you should buy two or three more new female Bettas, if there's only two of them alone, either one of them will die or get badly beaten up. . .

I recommend you just adding new female Bettas, if you're worried about algae just wipe it off the screen, algae is usually a good sign in a healthy tank, but excessive amount means something is wrong with your water chemistry.

If the algae problem continues maybe get a snail, I recommend Nerite due to them being unable to breed in freshwater. Although they don't eat all types of algae they should be able to get rid of some.

Otos are in your tank are not recommended because your tank is too small, I wouldn't recommend Plecos either because they get too big, maybe a bristlenose one but then again I have limited knowledge on plecos.

Hope that helped you.

[BettaMama11]

The algae is starting to bother me, when I had all my ladies in there, I didn't have this much of an algae problem... =(...thinking of getting my new additions tomorrow! Just hope I can introduce the new ladies to tank without much of an issue...Lily my first betta is pretty dominant at the moment!! Feel bad for my other betta :(

Thanks for the advice!!!

[Micho]

You should test your water, high nitrAtes levels cause fast algae growth if your nitrAte levels are over 40ppm I would suggest doing water changes until it lowers down to 10 ~ 20ppm but don't crash your cycle. . .

If you're having trouble introducing new females what I would suggest is to leave the new girls floating in their cups and let the two girls you have now check them out, if they don't flare and are docile enough let them out. They should establish the pecking order again.

If that doesn't work out and they're playing too rough I would suggest this method; scoop all the girls out and put them in their own cups, re-arrange the decor in your tank so it looks different and release them all at the same time. They should establish their territories again. .

[BettaMama11]

hmmm...good point yeah I'll test my water....hopefully I can get a good group of girls together! Was thinking of maybe doing a water change before putting the new girls in??

Thanks! =)

[Micho]

Sure why not? Water changes are always great, any fish would appreciate clean water.

[BettaMama11]

yeah! I did just change it 3 days ago..but won't hurt to change it again lol!!!