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Best algae eater for 5.5 gal

1.9K views 26 replies 7 participants last post by  Nuttavet  
#1 ·
I am curious about everyone's thoughts on algae eaters! I know nerite snails are a big one. I just have one male betta in a 5.5 gal tank with lots of decor, fake plants and some live plants. He is getting some algae buildup that keeps getting worse, and I have to suck it out with a turkey baster quite often. I am going to do a deep clean and scrub his decorations and such, but I was curious about algae eaters and if those would be beneficial. The algae isn't anything crazy so it probably wouldn't completely supplement and I would have to provide other nutrition for them. Are there any snails or any other creatures that eat algae, not live plants, and would possibly eat leftover bloodworms or betta pellets?
 
#3 ·
Nerite snails aren’t the best at cleaning algae, I’ve noticed mystery snails do better, I’ve also had rabbit snails that have helped with the algae a bit too. Shrimp could also help, but I think the best algae eater would be a mystery snail, 2-3 at MOST, and they would also help clean un eaten food out of the substrate and off the bottom. But of course, the best algae cleaner will be you
 
#6 ·
Sorry for the late reply!! But I am trying to set his lights to be on for a shorter amount of time, it’s just hard because I wake up at 6:30am and turn his light on and feed him, then it’s on until 9:30pm, and I know that’s a long time for it to be on. I changed the time they turn off to 8:30. We’re still pretty active in the room he’s in around that time so I don’t want to bug him while his lights are off😂 probably a dumb worry haha. How would you suggest I deal with getting up early and feeding him that early and subsequently his lights being on early? There is no background on the tank, tried that and he HATED it lol. And the tank isn’t next to a window but it does get some sunlight. The algae is on the stuff on the top, right under the tank light.
 
#5 ·
Tank
Does it have a filter?
Does it have a heater?
What temperature is your tank?
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration?
When did you first notice the Algae?
how often did you perform a water change?
What percentage of water did you change?
What additives do you use other than conditioner?
What brand of conditioner?
Is the tank in direct sunlight?
How much light does the tank get daily?
Does it have a backround?
what kind of Algae(s) do you suspect?

this is basically a chopped and screwed E-form with my own touch but for the tank 😃👍
 
#7 ·
Tank
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? Yes
What temperature is your tank? Stays around 75-79°F
Does your tank have an air stone or other type of aeration? No
When did you first notice the Algae? A month or two ago
how often did you perform a water change? Once a week
What percentage of water did you change? 30%
What additives do you use other than conditioner? API Stress Coat
What brand of conditioner? Seachem Prime
Is the tank in direct sunlight? No, in the same room as a window but not right next to
How much light does the tank get daily? Light turns on at about 7:00am, turns off at 9:30pm but I just changed it to 8:30pm
Does it have a backround? No
what kind of Algae(s) do you suspect? No idea!

this is basically a chopped and screwed E-form with my own touch but for the tank 😃👍
 
#19 ·
OK. Doesn't appear to be cyanobacteria. Nerite snails could probably handle this but as others have said, mystery snails are consisered better algae-eaters.
Okay gotcha. I’m probably going to do a deep scrub on his decorations tomorrow when I prune his plants of the dead leaves. I’ll start with turning the lights on for less time during the day and changing more water, seeing what that does, then go on to a possible snail from there. Question..does API algae fix or other algae products do anything? I know sometimes these products are a hit or miss so I wanted to ask about it.
 
#26 ·
I agree with imaal. Add fast growing plants to compete with the algae. A few fast growing plants that can be left floating to help block the light are hornwort, pennywort, wisteria, anacharis and frogbit. You could also invest in a simple timer (example in the link below) to control the amount of time your light is on. I only run my light 8 hours a day.