Algae problem

I have a question. I believe I have read somewhere that it is not a good idea to put a pleco in with an axie. If that is the case then what should I do about algae. I have a 26 gallon tank that I am still cycling, it been about a month now, no axies yet. There is one guppy (left), but algae is starting to grow. My water is about 72 degrees right now. Eventually I plan on buying a chiller for the tank, before I get my axies! Will a lower temp make a difference. Any advice is welcome! Please!

There is a lot you can do to combat algae without ever buying "clean up" fish. I should point out first that the Loricariidae, also known as armored catfishes or plecos, can grow quite large and actually be a more of a problem than a solution.

Algae growth tends to be more of a symptom and is much more easily fixed by remedying the root problems. These roots are normally an abundance of resources.

First I would look at where and how you have the aquarium setup.

• What kind of lighting does it have? Does it get direct sunlight? How long are artificial lights left on?
• What is your water maintenance schedule like? Do you do weekly water changes? Have you ever done a water change on this tank?
• How much and how often do you feed the inhabitants of your tank? Do they eat all their food? Does some sift to the bottom?
• Do you have plants? Are some of them dying? Are they flourishing?

All of the above (except living plants, I'll discuss them below) are sources of energy for algae. Light allows them to undergo photosynthesis, create more food and create more algae. Not changing the water, leftover foods and dead plants allows for the buildup of nitrogen compounds used in creating food and again, reproduction.

Move your tank so it doesn't get any direct sunlight because it allows algae to grow more spectacularly. If you have lights on the tank leave them off unless you are watching your animals. Axies don't really enjoy bright lights anyways. If you want to promote a day/night cycle rely on ambient lighting.

Plants are great in that they don't add any bioload (algae food) to the tank like plecos and other Loricariidae. They compete for the same resources as algae and often do better at it. Hardy, low light plants like water sprite, elodea and Java moss help sop up nitrogen compounds in the tank and keep algae from using them. They also have a small amount of filtering ability because of that. You have to be careful because dead plants help algae grow. Prune or remove all dead plants immediately!

I should also add that sometimes manual removal is all you can do. A razor blade and a good siphon will remove algae but if you follow the above advice, this should be pretty minimal.

Thanks for the quick reply. The tank is in a corner spot with a little sunlight, but I do keep the tank light on at this point just to see the guppy (although I do know that once there are axies in there they don't like light). It is sand on the bottom with a couple of plastic plants and a couple of pots for hiding in. In the begining I did water changes every couple of days. It has been over a week since my last one. I know it needs to be done. Thanks for the info. I will leave the light off and do an immediate water change.! Thanks!

Abrahm is spot on. There is nothing in your tank that needs light so remove it from the equation. This includes some sort of opaque barrier on the side glass getting the sunlight. Even a small sliver of sunlight will virtually guarantee algae growth. The best time to deal with this stuff is now before your axie arrives.

As you are cycling your tank with your guppy in it I would also stick to doing the waterchanges every few days.

Probably be a better idea if you moved your tank away from any direct sunlight/heat as well. You may find that your tank heats up a lot more in the summer months which will stress axolotls.

When you get your axolotls = if they come from different sources/petshops/breeders make sure to quarantine them separately for minimum of 30 days to ensure they are healthy.

Once your tank is cycled and if you do buy them at the same time (from same source) don't put them both into the tank at once. If they come in the tankwater from the shop = drain the water off (so it doesn't contaminate your tankwater), then add one axolotl to the tank. Put the other in a bucket of dechlorinated water for about a week or so. Then add the new axolotl to the tank. Doing this enables the cycled tank to cope with each additional axolotl's waste without throwing out the cycle completely.

Thanks for the advice of seperating the times that I put multiple axies in the tank. I would like to get two and I wouldn't have thought to do that. And I had planned on blocking the side that the indirect sunlight hits.