Algae eatin' buddies

I have a 10 gallon tank with 6 gallons of water. The water is filtered and heated to 70 degrees farenheit. It also has an air pump. Housed inside are two fire-bellied newts and a docile betta. (no probs, know the risk but thanks). The aquarium is also lightly planted. algae is becoming an irritating problem. Any idea's for algae-eaters anyone? I have some kind of green algae and also brown algae.
thanks everyone

The best thing I will suggest to you is to control your feeding and have a more frequent or greater quantity of water change. Avoid direct sunlight for the tank. Dont use regular light blub, use flourecnet. provide some plant food each week after each water change.

I dont suggest introducing more fish to the tank any how.

You obviously know of the risks, and I realize that you have the heater for the betta, but your newts would be much happier in cooler water. Plus, I don't even heat by betta bowl and it stays at about 69 degrees (don't know what the temp is like where you are, though).

Ghost shrimp are about the only thing I think is save living with newts, (as long as you don't mind the fact that they are actually feeders and MAY be eaten, although I've had some live for several months before being chomped) and they munch on algae sometimes. However, I don't think they would solve the problem completely, I think Ian makes some good points about how to take care of the tank better.

Snails always work well for me, sometimes they get a bit out of hand though.

This is the only kind of "algae-eater" I completely recommend:
http://www.thatpetplace.com/images/b/p12842b.jpg
I have snails in all my tanks (not intentionally, but they're there) and they probably help. Most of the algae-eating fish you might consider can be found in the Species Mixing Disaster page. They either have deadly spines or like to suck on amphibian skin.

I agree with what Ali said about your temperature. There is no need for the heater for either the newts or betta.

Haha. Jen, I was totally thinking you'd flipped your lid until I saw the link.

Marsha I think they best thing you can do is make sure you aren't using a flourescent light, leaving TONS of leftover food, or having the tank right under a window. If you take care of your tank well enough, you shouldn't have CRAZY problems. A little algae doesn't hurt at all, but if it starts taking over, there's a problem of some sort.

Hey there -- my newts do not live with fish, although I do have a small, separate fish tank (10 gallons) and I acquired a baby Rubberlip Pleco about two months ago to control the jungle of green algae strands that were getting totally out of control. The little guy is an algae-eating MACHINE. In general, my research recommended this species for small tanks because it only grows to about 5 inches long, and because unlike common plecos, it can survive totally on algae and doesn't need other foods later in life. I found it in the second Petsmart I looked in. It is hardy, a little ugly =D But TOTALLY WIPED OUT the algae problem by its own little self. I never expected that and would recommend this small, efficient species to anyone. The only downside I've found is that now, rather than algae, I get cloudy green water sooner from the ever-increasing poop of the Rubberlip. I don't have a clue how it would act with newts, but its been very peaceful and shy around my fish.

PS -- One thing I would warn about, if you add snails or rubberlip pleco or some other pleco (for HEAVENS sake don't get a common pleco, they get WAY too big, like over a foot long), all these animals really do make a lot of poop. Since you have a Betta in there, I wouldn't think it's a good idea to add any really poopy species -- some Bettas seem too sensitive to cloudy water, getting fin rot, etc.

There's a good illustration of the problem with getting a scavenger to help clean up a tank. An aquarium is a closed system, meaning that any animal added for clean-up will simply transform the nutrients from one form to another. In this case, from algae growing on surfaces into green water.

Rubberlip plecos (if I remember correctly) have tiny spines on their back that you can't really see.
Do NOT put this in with a newt EVER!

Porcupine snails work really well! I have a small one in my tank (10 gal.). It moves pretty fast and really keeps the surfaces clean. They do have little protrusions on their shells but they wear down. It hasn't hurt my newts and sometime they'll sit on his shell.

I have a few ghost shrimp, they do pick away at stuff, but not enough to make a difference. They're better at cleaning up any extra food. Which helps the water quality.

You should try over planting your tank. That way the plants use up the extra nutrients before the algae can. Eventually the plants will choke out the algae. I've read adding floating plants like "Frogbit" will do the trick (it looks like duck weed, you can use duck weed too).

i've been away for a while, so sorry about my delayed reply. I don't have a huge algae prob, but most of my algae is the brown kind, which makes everything, especially my beautiful plants, look horrible.
I think as Ian stated, the algae is due mostly to overfeeding. I have a newt that is just starting to eat. He is eating but terrible skinny. I've been purposefully overfeeding to fatten the little stinker up. he's doing better all the time. I am using a "sunlight" incadessant bulb. would a florescent plant bulb reduce the algae?
I havn't found any algae eater fish i feel comfortable with, I'll add a couple shrimp when i find some. Greg...PORCUPINE snails! too cool, would love to get some but seems to be very rare. info seems to not exist over the web but here's a link for anyone interested to the little I found http://www.applesnail.net/content/snails_various.php
I actually have a single zebra snail (named spot) in another tank. I was thinking of putting him in there for awhile. In reply to the use of the heater Ali M mentioned, it IS neccesary. ordinary house temps are 65-70. the heater does not heat the water but keeps the water temp from dropping, during the night, or when our wood-heated house is empty. Water temperature changes are dangerous, especially for the betta. However even though Betta's don't need warm water, they definitely prefer it. I find the betta's are much much more active in warmer temps. my plants also are sensitive to cooler temps. I chose a temp everything could deal with. and everyone is lively and bright