algea control again:)

I don't think I should get any live algea eaters because of the tank size,
so what would y'all recommend?

I've got the 5 gal hex in the office with a betta and two african dwarf
frogs. It's the eclipse system with the light & filter built into the hood.

I've got about 2 inches of gravel in the bottom and do a partial water
change every other week. The light is on 8-9 hours per day and not on
weekends. Temp around 78-80.

I'm seeing just a bit on the glass and on the plastic plant (which I'll now
get rid of).

Any advice appreciated,

Mary

"Mary E. Hill" wrote in message
...
I don't think I should get any live algea eaters because of the tank size,
so what would y'all recommend?

I've got the 5 gal hex in the office with a betta and two african dwarf
frogs. It's the eclipse system with the light & filter built into the
hood.

I've got about 2 inches of gravel in the bottom and do a partial water
change every other week. The light is on 8-9 hours per day and not on
weekends. Temp around 78-80.

I'm seeing just a bit on the glass and on the plastic plant (which I'll
now
get rid of).

Any advice appreciated,

Mary



a bit of algae like you describe is normal. Scrub it off with a soft pad and
if necessary periodically bleach the plastic plants.

Rick

"Rick" wrote in message
...

"Mary E. Hill" wrote in message
...
I don't think I should get any live algea eaters because of the tank
size,
so what would y'all recommend?

I've got the 5 gal hex in the office with a betta and two african dwarf
frogs. It's the eclipse system with the light & filter built into the
hood.

I've got about 2 inches of gravel in the bottom and do a partial water
change every other week. The light is on 8-9 hours per day and not on
weekends. Temp around 78-80.

I'm seeing just a bit on the glass and on the plastic plant (which I'll
now
get rid of).

Any advice appreciated,

Mary



a bit of algae like you describe is normal. Scrub it off with a soft pad
and
if necessary periodically bleach the plastic plants.

Rick


The 12 gal tank at home has never shown a single sign of algae like this. So
if I simply scrub it off, it won't get out of control? Really? I hope it's
that simple

Thanks,
Mary

"Mary E. Hill" wrote in
message ...
I don't think I should get any live algea eaters because
of the tank size,
so what would y'all recommend?

I've got the 5 gal hex in the office with a betta and two
african dwarf
frogs. It's the eclipse system with the light & filter
built into the hood.

I've got about 2 inches of gravel in the bottom and do a
partial water
change every other week. The light is on 8-9 hours per day
and not on
weekends. Temp around 78-80.

I'm seeing just a bit on the glass and on the plastic
plant (which I'll now
get rid of).

Any advice appreciated,

Mary

Mary - I have an Eclipse 6 with a female Betta
and 4-6 otocinclus and some number of snails,
along with Java Fern & other live plants,
driftwood, some ornaments and gravel, bringing
the actual water capacity down to what yours is,
probably. My lights stay on 12 hours daily
(on a timer).

I think you could easily add 2-4 otos and they do
a nice job with the algae (but not all kinds). I also
feed them additionally, an algae tablet every other
day, on the offhand chance they take care of too
much algae!

Otos stay small, they are herbivores and
usually don't move around much (unless you
try to find them!), so they're not going to add
much to the bioload of your tank. I do a PWC
about every two weeks, also.

They can be sensitive to changes in water so
I usually take my time about introducing them
to a tank, gradually adding tank water to their
bag over a hour period or so.

Gail

"Gail Futoran" wrote in message
...
"Mary E. Hill" wrote in
message ...
I don't think I should get any live algea eaters because
of the tank size,
so what would y'all recommend?

I've got the 5 gal hex in the office with a betta and two
african dwarf
frogs. It's the eclipse system with the light & filter
built into the hood.

I've got about 2 inches of gravel in the bottom and do a
partial water
change every other week. The light is on 8-9 hours per day
and not on
weekends. Temp around 78-80.

I'm seeing just a bit on the glass and on the plastic
plant (which I'll now
get rid of).

Any advice appreciated,

Mary

Mary - I have an Eclipse 6 with a female Betta
and 4-6 otocinclus and some number of snails,
along with Java Fern & other live plants,
driftwood, some ornaments and gravel, bringing
the actual water capacity down to what yours is,
probably. My lights stay on 12 hours daily
(on a timer).

I think you could easily add 2-4 otos and they do
a nice job with the algae (but not all kinds). I also
feed them additionally, an algae tablet every other
day, on the offhand chance they take care of too
much algae!

Otos stay small, they are herbivores and
usually don't move around much (unless you
try to find them!), so they're not going to add
much to the bioload of your tank. I do a PWC
about every two weeks, also.

They can be sensitive to changes in water so
I usually take my time about introducing them
to a tank, gradually adding tank water to their
bag over a hour period or so.

Gail



Gail, thanks for the reply! If I go to the LFS and say, "I'd like to buy 2
otos...", is there any chance they'll not know what I'm referring to
exactly? What's the exact name I should be looking for?

Thanks

Mary

"Mary E. Hill" wrote

Gail, thanks for the reply! If I go to the LFS and say,
"I'd like to buy 2
otos...", is there any chance they'll not know what I'm
referring to
exactly? What's the exact name I should be looking for?

Thanks

Mary

Otocinclus. I would start with 3 because otos
tend to suffer from "sudden oto death syndrome".
They are bit sensitive, like some tetras, but I've
found them so useful I just add more until I
get a (relatively) stable population. Like any
fish they'll occasionally die for no apparent
reason, but not at an unusual rate, all else
being equal.

Here's a link I found useful:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebI...cinclusart.htm

I've only ever seen the common ones locally (gray
with black stripe).

And as far as "soft, acidic" water goes, the
water in my tanks is moderately hard.

Gail
near San Antonio TX

"Gail Futoran" wrote in message
...
"Mary E. Hill" wrote

Gail, thanks for the reply! If I go to the LFS and say,
"I'd like to buy 2
otos...", is there any chance they'll not know what I'm
referring to
exactly? What's the exact name I should be looking for?

Thanks

Mary

Otocinclus. I would start with 3 because otos
tend to suffer from "sudden oto death syndrome".
They are bit sensitive, like some tetras, but I've
found them so useful I just add more until I
get a (relatively) stable population. Like any
fish they'll occasionally die for no apparent
reason, but not at an unusual rate, all else
being equal.

Here's a link I found useful:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebI...cinclusart.htm

I've only ever seen the common ones locally (gray
with black stripe).

And as far as "soft, acidic" water goes, the
water in my tanks is moderately hard.

Gail
near San Antonio TX



Thanks for the link. It said 1 or 2 per 10 gallons...I'm only working with a
5-gallon tank. And it already has the two African drawf frogs who like to
hang out on the bottom. Can I buy just one of these (and others pending
survival...) and have it be ok by itself?

"Mary E. Hill" wrote in message
...

"Rick" wrote in message
...

"Mary E. Hill" wrote in message
...
I don't think I should get any live algea eaters because of the tank
size,
so what would y'all recommend?

I've got the 5 gal hex in the office with a betta and two african
dwarf
frogs. It's the eclipse system with the light & filter built into the
hood.

I've got about 2 inches of gravel in the bottom and do a partial water
change every other week. The light is on 8-9 hours per day and not on
weekends. Temp around 78-80.

I'm seeing just a bit on the glass and on the plastic plant (which
I'll
now
get rid of).

Any advice appreciated,

Mary



a bit of algae like you describe is normal. Scrub it off with a soft pad
and
if necessary periodically bleach the plastic plants.

Rick


The 12 gal tank at home has never shown a single sign of algae like this.
So
if I simply scrub it off, it won't get out of control? Really? I hope
it's
that simple

Thanks,
Mary



does this tank get more light than the one at home?. Perhaps it is located
in an area that gets more direct outside light. Many factors can cause algae
such as too much light, overfeeding etc however I have 36 tanks and all have
live plants, some have a few plastic (in those tanks where the fish eat the
plants) and all have some form of algae. You can experiment by cutting down
the the amount of time the light is on and the amount you feed, do more
frequent small water changes etc and it may help somewhat. Otto's are
excellent algae eaters however although they do eat algae off the glass they
do not "scrub" it clean and the residue will remain and eventually have to
be removed.

Rick

"Rick" wrote in message
...

"Mary E. Hill" wrote in message
...

"Rick" wrote in message
...

"Mary E. Hill" wrote in message
...
I don't think I should get any live algea eaters because of the tank
size,
so what would y'all recommend?

I've got the 5 gal hex in the office with a betta and two african
dwarf
frogs. It's the eclipse system with the light & filter built into
the
hood.

I've got about 2 inches of gravel in the bottom and do a partial
water
change every other week. The light is on 8-9 hours per day and not
on
weekends. Temp around 78-80.

I'm seeing just a bit on the glass and on the plastic plant (which
I'll
now
get rid of).

Any advice appreciated,

Mary



a bit of algae like you describe is normal. Scrub it off with a soft
pad
and
if necessary periodically bleach the plastic plants.

Rick


The 12 gal tank at home has never shown a single sign of algae like
this.
So
if I simply scrub it off, it won't get out of control? Really? I hope
it's
that simple

Thanks,
Mary



does this tank get more light than the one at home?. Perhaps it is located
in an area that gets more direct outside light. Many factors can cause
algae
such as too much light, overfeeding etc however I have 36 tanks and all
have
live plants, some have a few plastic (in those tanks where the fish eat
the
plants) and all have some form of algae. You can experiment by cutting
down
the the amount of time the light is on and the amount you feed, do more
frequent small water changes etc and it may help somewhat. Otto's are
excellent algae eaters however although they do eat algae off the glass
they
do not "scrub" it clean and the residue will remain and eventually have to
be removed.

Rick



k, thanks Rick!

Subject: algea control again
From: "Mary E. Hill"
Date: 6/14/2004 7:03 AM Central Daylight Time
Message-id:

I don't think I should get any live algea eaters because of the tank size,
so what would y'all recommend?

I've got the 5 gal hex in the office with a betta and two african dwarf
frogs. It's the eclipse system with the light & filter built into the hood.

I've got about 2 inches of gravel in the bottom and do a partial water
change every other week. The light is on 8-9 hours per day and not on
weekends. Temp around 78-80.

I'm seeing just a bit on the glass and on the plastic plant (which I'll now
get rid of).

Any advice appreciated,

Mary


Hi Mary.
If the tank is glass, use any algae scrubber on the tank and the plastic plants
as well.
If it's anacrylic tank, (plastic) take a white paper towel and wipe if off.
Remove the plant to clean with a regular algae scrubber.
I like to buy a cheapo toothbrush and use it for "fish only" cleaning. No, that
doesn't mean I'm brushing their teeth, lol, it means they're great for cleaning
in little hard to reach places (such as cleaning algae off plastic plants and
scrubbing decorating rocks, etc.
* don't ever use a regular (made for glass) algae scrubber or one not clearly
marked for use on acrylics, on an acrylic tank. If you do, it will scratch
badly.