Alge eating fish question?

[Anthrice]

The green algae in my tank is getting out of hand. Once a week I need to take all the deco's out of my tank, scrub them down, and wipe down the inside of my tank because of algae growth.

I have a 30 gallon tank with 6 feeder goldfish. I was wondering what kind of fish(Common hopefully, as the pet stores around my house suck) would I be able to add to the tank that would eat some of the alge. I really hate killing any bacteria on the deco's when I need to clean them, but the rock has a lot of white, and looks ugly when it is neon green.

[harif87]

You could get Plecos if you have a bigger tank. If not go for some ottos. Cories and other catfish can be good too...

[Damon]

Fact of the matter is you will always have algae with 6 goldies in a 30 gallon tank. Remove 4 of them, do a large waterchange and increase your matainence.

[pureplecs]

Some brigsi snails or even an apple snail would be good. Small pleco like perhaps a bristle nose are very good algae eaters and don't get larger than about 5" and if you get a female then they stay a tad smaller. If your LFS doesn't have bristle noses then I would go with like what was said above some ottos or like I said the snails. The brigsi and apple snails don't reproduce on their own so you needn't worry about a snail explosion in your tank... Good luck!

[Durbkat]

You can't put any algae eater such as a otto or pleco because they are tropical fish not coldwater fish and they have different temperature requirments.

[harif87]

Originally Posted by Durbkat

You can't put any algae eater such as a otto or pleco because they are tropical fish not coldwater fish and they have different temperature requirments.

Right, didnt realize he said goldfish

[Anthrice]

Okay, so are there any coldwater algae eaters? Are the snails warm water or can they go in with the goldies?


And to the person who suggested taking some out, there really is no need. The goldies are still small, there is no problems with the ammonia or nitrates, and the water is never cloudy. They seem really happy together, and I wouldn't split them up and ruin their fun. They have plenty of space.

[Damon]

Suit yourself. You asked for solutions. Whether you believe it or not, keeping 6 goldies in that tank (no matter the size) is asking for trouble. Your ammonia isn't showing high readings because its feeding the algae. The tank is unbalanced. You think they are happy and they may b, for the time being. In the long run you are hurting the fish. But hey, what do I know? I'm new to this........................

[Anthrice]

In the long run, I am not keeping the goldies.

Within a month I will be restarting my tank for tropical fish, and only keeping one goldie for my son, in it's own little 10g tank. The others are going to friends.

I only wanted to know about algae control for goldies, so in the meantime I won't have to wash the sides and deco's twice a week.

[Puffer Pita]

Goldfish, when properly cared for and housed and not stunted by ignorance and/or lack of caring, grow to 12" or more.

[harif87]

Originally Posted by Anthrice

In the long run, I am not keeping the goldies.

Within a month I will be restarting my tank for tropical fish, and only keeping one goldie for my son, in it's own little 10g tank. The others are going to friends.

I only wanted to know about algae control for goldies, so in the meantime I won't have to wash the sides and deco's twice a week.

You should take advice from experience fishkeepers. Its more than having ammonia, nitrates at 0 its about knowing what causes them to be at the levels that they are at. Alge absorbs ammonia and if you plan on taking care of your alge "problem" then you might cause yourself some new problems, beign that there will be no alge to take care of the ammonia. So like i said before, take advice from experienced fishkeepers especially ones who have been in the field for a while.

Also Simpte, you could go a little easier on the guy he wastn trying to throw your advice back in your face.....were a peaceful forum here ....after all we work hard to keep our fish happy, wouldn it make sense to work to make ourselvs happy

[JustOneMore20]

The reason you have algae is because the tank is overstocked. Adding a pleco is a bad idea because they are also heavy waste producers, and are tropical fish. I'd just get a few snails if you aren't willing to give up the 4 goldies suggested above.

Also, a goldfish should never be kept in a 10g tank. If you want a good fish for a 10g, get a betta. They are much prettier than goldies IMO and will do fine in a 10g. If you want to keep the goldie, get another 30g tank for your son. I've seen some pictures of huge goldfish, as big as a man's hand. If they are kept in a 10g, they will be stunted which means their outsides stop growing, while their insides don't stop....not a pleasant experience for a fish...and will lead to a premature death.

[violet]

Applesnails, bridgesii or other have a very heavy bioload, the way goldies do and aren't the greatest algae eaters. They'll eat it but probably not solve the problem.

[Mr Aquarium]

Algie Destroyer, get it at walmart,
do a BIG w/c, add what ever it should be for 30g "1tsp treats 50 US gals"
on day 4 after you dose again, keep checking your ammonia as the algae will die n may cause it to spike big.

And yes this stuff works, Guy i learned it from is older then half the board put together, it's safe for fish n plants
just don;t over feed your fish while treating.

[Damon]

Originally Posted by harif87

Also Simpte, you could go a little easier on the guy he wastn trying to throw your advice back in your face.....were a peaceful forum here ....after all we work hard to keep our fish happy, wouldn it make sense to work to make ourselvs happy

Interesting words...............
We are a peaceful forum here. Been here for years. I would like to thin kI am one of the experienced keepers. (You missed my sarcasm but hey no worries).
The bottom line is the tank will have algae problems because it is unbalanced. You can take Mr. Aquarium's advice but that will only fix the symptoms, not the problem.
There are no miracle cures for algae. Proper stocking and matainence is the key. All tanks will have some algae. And that is a good thing. The problem occurs when a tank is unbalanced. Excessive algae is a sure sign that something is wrong. I wont bore you with statements and ideas that I've stickied elsewhere in the forum. I'm not upset in the least bit. But if you have a problem and want answers, don't get mad when you dont hear the one you want. I gave the only true solution. If the thread starter doesn't want to take it, then thats up to them.

[Anthrice]

I didn't get upset because of your advice. I know that it is true advice, and the only real solution. It's just taking 4 goldies out of the tank is out of the question because then my tank looks empty. Like I said before, the goldies are only temp until I can get the funds together to stock my tank with tropical fish. 1 goldie is being kept for my son, and the other 4 are going to good homes with some friends of mine. Within a month, I will be doing a warm water fishless cycle, then stocking the tank with tropical fish, so I just wanted to know what I could do to lessen the algae load until then.

On another topic, for a 30 gallon tank, what fish do you reccomend? I am kind of a novice, and want to have a nice looking tank with beautiful fish, but I don't want to overstock and have the same algae problems I am having now. I don't trust my LFS to guide me, because they told me in the past that 24 goldfish would be perfectly fine in a 10g tank....Needless to say all those fish died. I don't want a repeat of that, so I'm asking the people here to give me some advice so I don't needlessly kill anymore fish.

[Cichlid Man]

Basically, what we have here is a case of ignorant fishkeeper syndrome. (Sounds bad but beleive me, we've all been there).
First of all, I know for a fact that there are many people who go through the continuous cycle of buying lots of goldfish for a small aquarium and go through the usual problems often caused by overstocking and overfeeding.
What this forum does, is tries to prevent many people like yourself who go through the process of "overunduldging" in the number of fish they can buy, and having lots of negative concequices that follow. Yeah, 10 goldfish can fit into a 10 gallon tank, but you, your fish, and people who see your fishtank can appreciate it a lot more if you stock it at it's minimum rather than its maximum. And trust me, you'll enjoy you tank a lot more if you concentrate on making it into a mini ecosystem rather than looking like a tank at the lfs.

Algae is a cause of a high level of nitrates and/or photphates in the water, either live with it and scrub it off by hand, or make sure your water doesn't contain any nutrients. (Only the substrate should contain nutrients for the plants).

[Durbkat]

A 10g is still to small for a goldie. Also that 30g won't look empty at all once they grow to 12"+.

[Damon]

OK we've beaten this horse dead. Onto your questions about your 30 gallon

Stocking a 30 gallon can be very challenging and fun because with its size, there are so many combinations you can have. It sounds like you want more fish vs 1 or 2 larger ones.

First I'll start with the bottom of the tank...........
8 Cories will work well here. 30 is long enough to give them ample swimming room and they will help keep the bottom clean of excess foods. Also a very fun fish to watch as they are active almost all the time. There are many species of cories.

For the mid to top layer another small school of fish will work out nicely. You could go with most danios or tetras (neon, cardinal, bloodfin, black skirt, headlight/taillight,blind cave....the choices are almost endless)
You could still put in a pair of fish that get no more than 3 inches (such as a pair of gourami or similiar.

You could also still add 4-5 otos to the tank with no problems.

Rainbowfish are another alternative but your school will probably be smaller as they get a bit larger than tetras.

Just a few ideas. Others will chime in with more. Fish Doc is really good at stocking.

[Bowman]

I'm sorry to go against some of your comments but i have a 70 gallon tank and also have 3 LARGE Goldfish and an Eel but also have 2 Pleco's and they do verry well in the same tank. I will post a pic as soon as i can get it hosted and show you. My pleco's seem to thrive in he tank under the same condisions as the Goldfish.