stupid algae

[fishy123]

GRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!! I just got my stupid 46 g. tank cleaned to get the stupid algae off and a few hrs later there it is growing more and then I cleaned the plants a couple hrs. ago and now it is back and already there stupid algae WHAT DO I DO TO KEEP THE STUPID THING FROM SPREADING AND KEEP GROWING!?!?!?!?!?!??!??!?!?!?! Sorry. As you can see I'm really frustrated right now because of it.

[garfieldnfish]

I would like to know what kind of algae you have. I have never heard of any that shows up within a couple of hours. Also what fish do you have in the tank, how long do you leave the light on, are you possibly overfeeding the fish and provide too many nutrients, is your tank sitting in front of a window, do you have live plants in the tank? All factors that make a difference in algae growth. For different algae there are different remedies. Most algae gets eaten by algae eaters, except green spot algae on the tank wall. Only algae scrapers will take care of that and it does not grown that fast.
Black hair algae = Siamese Algae Eater or American Flagfish
Soft green algae and brown algae = otos, Chinese Algae Eaters, Siamese Algae Eaters, some plecos
Hard green spot algae = scraper
Blue Green algae (rather a bacertia then algae) = Black out tank or use E.M. tabs
Some shrimp and snails help with algae but your tank is too large for them to make much difference unless you put a whole army in there.

[fishy123]

I have hair algae. The tank is not in front of the window, it is next to the computer. It's spreading fast. I did some research, and the site said hair algae usually returns after a few hours of cleaning. I have not had the light on lately because of the algae's growth rate. After i find some way to control it I will keep the light on for 8 hrs. I don't have live plants. I have hair algae.

[fishy123]

And I have 4 silver hatchets, 3 Glo-lite tetras, 2 rummynose tetras, 1 Loreto tetra, and 1 gold nugget pleco.

[Mr Aquarium]

I had the same trouble with brown algie and you could sit here and watch it grow,
I got a B-Pleco and he works his fins off on my 75g to keep it nice for me, Hardly a spot on the
glass now thanks to him.
Maybe it would work fo your tank to?

[garfieldnfish]

If your tank is large enough and you still have room for more fish get 2 Siamese Algae Eaters. They would get along great with the fish you have in there, are very hardy fish, would eat the hair algae (I move mine from tank to tank, whenever that stuff shows up and after a day it's always gone) and if they run out of hair algae they eat anything else you toss in the tank for your other fish. I just absolutely love mine. Very easy going, useful fish.

[fishy123]

Would my Gold Nugget be aggressive to them? I've read that Gold Nuggets have territorrial issues.

[Damon]

SAE's have a tendancy to get territorial within their own species. Once they develop a taste for fish food, they are useless for battling algae. Lower your nitrates buy doing waterchanges. This should put the hair algae in check. A 3 day blackout will help also.

[garfieldnfish]

They never get too lazy to eat hair algae. They are always hungry. And if you feed your fish only once a day, they surely will eat fish food as well but the rest of the day they graze on algae. In the tanks were I have mine, hair algae never shows up and I move them to the other tanks for a day job if needed. Two of them as a team are usually done cleaning a 20 to 30 gal tank in less then 1 day. I have had my 8 SAEs for 1 1/2 years and I would never go without those. Very hardy fish, they usually go in the net on their own because they are extremely nosey and if I put a small piece of algae wafer in it, I just have to wait and scoop them up. Mine live with bristlenose, rubberlip, clown plecos as well as a CAE and no problems so far among any of them. The tanks they are susually in are 75 and 29 gal tanks. Since they act more like other fish (ie.e constantly in motion) then plecos I doubt there would be a problem between your pleco and SAEs.

[fishy123]

I have a 46 g tank. Thank you for everyone's help! I feed my fish freeze-dried stuff, and it never makes it to the bottom because the freeze-dried food always floats. I'm sure they will be eating the algae! Tomorrow I will be off to get some Siamese Algae Eaters... :P

[Damon]

They are not the easiest fish to find. A lot of false ones out there (CAE, Flying Foxxes, False Siamese) Be sure you're getting what you want. If the lfs can't tell you the latin name, don't buy them.

[DavidDoyle]

SAE will eat algae at any size- I have 4 of the biggest fattest SAEs you will ever see in my 75- raised them from 1.5 inches. They are still voracious algae eaters and they also eat any other food that hits the water.

I would not put a cae into any of my tanks if you offered to pay me to do so.

If not available from your LFS, contact Dom61 or lotsoffish on AquaBid - they both have them in stock all the time.

[fishy123]

Thanks. I don't really plan on getting any Chinese algae eaters, I did some research and found out they get violent when the get older. Thanks again .

[Thunderkiss]

Change your lights to plant oriented lights if you havn't already done so. Regular standard old flourescent lights are FANTASTIC at growing algae.
Please note: you will NEVER totally get rid of algae, EVER. You can however curb its growth. Cut down on feedings and do a few more partial water changes as well, this will go a long way in keeping it down.

[fishy123]

Since SAEs are usually hard to find, how would Octocinclus clean the tank? Does Octocinclus do a good job? I've heard they are pretty good at cleaning, but not as good as SAE.

[garfieldnfish]

They are good for soft green and brown algae but they will not touch hair algae.

[fishy123]

Thanks. I do have brown algae (it forms on the walls) so they will be of some use. I guess I will look for some SAEs.

[tep05]

I have a 10 gallon tank and Algae Eaters have taken care of my tank, you should try them, they are peaceful fish, and very inexpensive.

[Fishfirst]

if you mean Chinese Algae Eaters, they aren't worth it... a fish with a truly dark side. Otos are good for that size tank though.

[garfieldnfish]

You can get SAEs on Aquariumfish.net. I got mine through them and they are the true kind. I did see them recently in several of my local fish stores. They are rumored to be only seasonally available and this must be the season. The true SAE only has one set of barbels, the black line/stripe goes all the way through to the end of the tail and there is NO thin white line above the black line as there is in the flying fox. I hope that helps some.