Ack! Brown Algae

K

kaysie

Guest
Ahh the bane of all aquarium keepers.

I have a 55 gal tank with 5 axies in it. It sits near a window, which is covered with a white curtain. This allows it to get indirect sunlight, which keeps the plants fairly nice.

But it lets the algae grow too. Boo!

Constant scraping and water changes make a dent, but not so much.

So, are there any non-self-fertilizing snails I could use? I want one snail, not 1000.
 
Apple snail or they are called mystery snails. Most pet shops have them. They come in gold brown some times you can find them in blue, purple and pink they are hard to find. Takes a male and female to lay eggs. If they do lay eggs they will lay them above the water line just take them out .
 
Some thing else they wont eat you live plants they will clean off the brown algae. Will also clean up dead or dieing plant matter, left over food.
 
Depending on how cold your tank is, a few tropical algae eaters for a couple of hours may help.

That is if your tank has a little warm burst during the day, one of my tanks has algae blooms on and off.
Some of the algae is pretty almost like a little lawn others just suspend in the water and look horrible.

I use a combination of algae eaters & water changes,I don't like using extreme products.

Also I have found goldfish can be effective in removing algae although they don't seem to eat all types.

Just a thought.

Regards Eastern_axle
 
Cori, my tanks are below 70F. Tropical fish and caudates don't mix anyway.

Most things don't eat brown algae, and I don't have any green growing.

I may head down to the LFS and see if I can find one.

(Message edited by Joan on January 08, 2007)
 
I'am not shure but I think red cherry shrimp might eat brown algae.
 
After adding my first red cherries and 2 ramshorn snails in my 20 long (now a shrimp only tank) The brown algae was eaten up in 2 nites.

In my newt tank, back a few months ago, brown algae was growing and some ramshorn snails ate it up.

Ramshorns will reproduce, but only if there is a lot of left over food in the water. Plus axolotl will eat them sometimes, so if you get some make sure they are small enough for axolotl to eat and large enough for him not to eat, we dont want an axolotl with a giant snail shell sticking in him. I havnt had any population explosions in the axolotl tank. They basically reproduce accordingly to the nutrients available so therefor if you over feed you will get many.

Good luck finding a solution to your diatoms.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
  • Shane douglas:
    with axolotls would I basically have to keep buying and buying new axolotls to prevent inbred breeding which costs a lot of money??
     +1
    Unlike
  • Thorninmyside:
    Not necessarily but if you’re wanting to continue to grow your breeding capacity then yes. Breeding axolotls isn’t a cheap hobby nor is it a get rich quick scheme. It costs a lot of money and time and deditcation
     +1
    Unlike
  • stanleyc:
    @Thorninmyside, I Lauren chen
     +1
    Unlike
  • Clareclare:
    Would Chinese fire belly newts be more or less inclined towards an aquatic eft set up versus Japanese . I'm raising them and have abandoned the terrarium at about 5 months old and switched to the aquatic setups you describe. I'm wondering if I could do this as soon as they morph?
     +1
    Unlike
    Clareclare: Would Chinese fire belly newts be more or less inclined towards an aquatic eft set up versus... +1
    Back
    Top