[newbetta22]

So the first few months with my betta were great, he lived at college with me and I had no problem keeping his tank clean. Then I had to move him home for the summer... suddenly I have a major algae problem! It's the long "hairy" kind, and it's covering the tank decorations, filter buffer, and substrate. I get as much out as I can when I do water changes, but there's always more settling to the bottom. There's also a nasty thick scum that builds up on the water surface. I clear it away with a paper towel.

Now there's a lot more natural light exposure at this location, and I'm sure that has something to do with it. But unfortunately this is the only place in the house I can put the tank. So I went to my pet store and ended up buying a bottle of AlgaeFix. Has anyone used this successfully in a small tank? It's a 5.5 gallon and I do a 50% change once weekly.

I wanted to clarify the directions... the bottle says "Add 14 drops per 10 gallons, repeat every 3 days until algae is controlled." So should I do a water change each time I add more of the product? After it's controlled, I'm supposed to add one dose weekly. Is that dose based off the entire 5.5 gallons or just the new water I'm adding? Basically I'm wondering if this chemical is like Aq salt, where you can't add more until the existing water is replaced.

 

[flowerslegacy]

Hi Newbetta,

The best method for algea is to adjust the lighting and make sure you remove any left over food. Algeafix will remove the algea and then it will just come back again. If you can avoid adding chemicals to the water, that's the best bet for our fish. It's all about balance.

How big is your tank? Do you have a light fixture? First step is to reduce the lighting to 8/hrs day and remove any debris from the substrate. You can even remove your decorations and give them a good scrub with a soap-free brush and some hot water. Scrape the algea from the walls, do a water change, vaccum the substrate and start from there.

If you pop over to tropicalfishkeeping (our mother site) they have some great stickies on how to handle algea and the different variations of algea strains. I had algea run amuck in a couple of my tanks and it's no fun. I can't stand it. Especially Hair Algea. Good water maintenance and reducing the light exposure is best to stop the Algea Monster.

 

[newbetta22]

Thank you for the advice! After I cleaned on Saturday I reduced the lighting and no new growth yet. I wish I had asked this BEFORE I bought the $9 bottle of chemical... but oh well, I'd rather lose a few bucks if it means my fish is happy and healthy.

 

[flowerslegacy]

I'm sure the petstore will refund it for you. Can't hurt to ask. Also, be sure to keep up on the water changes and the manual removal of any new growth. This will be the best response to knocking it down and keeping it down. Algea . . . Grrrr!