[MyraVan]

I have an unusual problem. I don't have enough algae! This may seem like a strange thing to say, as most people don't want algae, but 2 of my fish are hilstream loaches, which eat algae. I would like to get them eating other foods as well (other owners of these guys have them eating bloodworms, sinking tablets, etc) but I haven't had any luck with this yet. So I need to make sure that I have a good crop of algae for them.

I used to have a decent amount of algae, but I'm getting less and less. I've seen the algae on the back glass fade from a nice layer to only a few patches of green. I think the plants are getting well established and are hogging all the nutrients. So I think that answer is to add more nutrients. So I will feed the fish more and stop vacuuming the gravel.

I'm in the middle of reading ECOLOGY OF THE PLANTED AQUARIUM by Diana Walstad, and have been quite influenced by it. She recommends not cleaning the tank nearly as much, so that the bactaeria (with the help of snails) can break down organic material into the inorganic compounds that plants need. Clearly, my tank has too little nutrients, so it's time to stop the gravel vacuuming and see if that will help the situation.

Just in case anyone wonders, here's my tank setup:
20 gallons
30 W flourescent light w/ reflectors
hard water (300 ppm general hardness)
fish: 4 zebra danios, 3 rosy barbs, 2 hillstream loaches (Beaufortia kweichowensis)
plants: 2 types Java fern, crypt wendtii & balansae, baby tears, dwarf sag, Lobelia cardinalis