RedForeman,

They are probably only active for a short period, they can only extract so
much before the medium is used up and needs a recharge, usually a soaking
of
aquarium salt will recharge it.

Actually, I wasn't crazy about using them. But I already had some larger
fish and knew I'd have to cycle the tank with them in. For this, they
sounded perfect. I'll remove them over the next week or so.

Algae on the FISH??? OMG, that's almost funny... slow mover??? jk...

The ones that had it were not fast movers but I don't know they were that
slow. I just got them from a small pond that had algae on pretty much
everything.

A water change routine, IMO, shouldn't go over 25% monthly, and some would
differ, which is ok... If they are polluters, of course more frequent
water
changes are better, as opposed to LARGE water changes over a long period.
Reason is, your changing 50% of the water, different water, as opposed to
only changing a small portion. If they were irritated at 50%, maybe back
off to 25% water changes, but more frequently....

Yeah, I definitely need to cut back the amount of water per change as that
was definitely making it worse. I read a book by a guy that changed 50% per
week. But he also had a ready supply of well water.

You can aerate your water by using a pump and bubbler, or a powerhead with
an airline running out for air... You can use a rubbermaid container,
trashcan, whatever will house 25-50g...

Do you think my water might not have enough oxygen in it? I have no bubbler
or powerhead. But the guy at the LFS said my filter should be enough, and I
put two of those filters on my tank. No sign that the fish's breathing is
labored or that they're coming to the top for air.

FWIW, by your statements "worse after a major water change" keeps telling
me
that 1, it's still early in the tanks establishing, and even if you've
finished the cycling... something is still bugging them.. 2, the water
change is bringing in water they don't like... if it's not IN your tank,
when you do the water change, you're bringing it in....

Well, again, it's definitely worse after a large water change. But it would
appear that those changes are necessary.

Thanks.

Jonathan