Algae, green growth, the muck all over the glass and in that tank. What do I do about it? Well there are a few simple answers.
(1.) You can keep cleaning it off the glass week after week, by using a dedicated sponge, scraper or removal tool. Some of these gadgets you can purchase at your pet supplier.
(2.) You can move your tank away from too much natural lighting, reducing the light will help control this obnoxious stuff.
(3.) You can even add chemicals to your tank, available and often times recommended at fish outlets. I do not recommend using this method of algae control as adding chemicals is never 100% beneficial. There can be some side effects to the health of certain types of aquarium plants and fishes, As well as an astronomical cost.
(4.) However probably the most effective, and by far the least amount of work and expense, is to have an algae eating species of fish or snail within the tank. This is my favorite way of dealing with algae, as I am pretty lazy and like the tank to maintain itself as much as possible. Read on below for some different information on each of these.
SNAILS:
There are several different types and kinds of snails.
Perhaps the most commonly seen are the Malayan Snails, small burrows that are rather effective at getting rid of algae and other debris. However these little devils do like to breed faster than rabbits and within a few weeks you will get into the habit of "thinning" your crop of snails.
Apple snails are another commonly found snail, this one is rather large, constantly moving, but even better, this guy does not breed like jackrabbits!
As with all snails ensure that anyone you decide to purchase has been Aquarium raised, as this well help ensure it to be disease free. Snails brought in from the wild can often decimate an aquarium by bringing in diseases.
In case you do have questions about regarding keeping your snail population in check, click on Snail Control by Patrick Timlin to learn more about getting rid of these little guys. This is a super article well written and illustrated, definitely worth a bookmark!
FISH:
There are several different types of algae eating fish as well. One of the favorites is..
Hypostomus Plecostomus or commonly referred as a Plecostomus or simply "Pleco" These are pretty good at keeping a tank free of algae and can grow quite large, I have seen some at well over 18 inches. So if your tank is under 55 gallons in size, you may want to consider a different species. They do eat live foods as well, small fishes and eels can be in danger around these guys. They love to claim a particular area of a tank as theirs and can be seen with their large mouths climbing over your decorations and up the sides of your tank.
Gyrinocheilos Aymonieri or more widely know as Chinese Cat Fish or Chinese Algae Eater, I love these little guys. Very inexpensive, around a buck or two apiece, but most of all rather active. These little diehards are always swimming, clinging to your glass, cleaning your tank or any other antics they can do. For tanks 50+ gals or more I recommend two of them.
Them seem to do better in pairs. They are quite aggressive towards algae and don't bother any other fishes for the first few years. I have seen deeply algae infested tanks cleared within a matter of three to five days. Chinese Algae Eaters can grow up to about 8 inches in length. As they age, and grow longer, their capacity to rid your tank of algae decreases as well as their aggressive behavior towards other fish increase. I recommend buying new ones every 3 years or so or as they become aggressive
CAUTION!!! There is another fish out there called a Siamese Flying Fox ( Epalzeorhynchus siamensis ) with looks and actions very similar to the peaceful Chinese Catfish/Algae eater. At maturity this fish can become very territorial and aggressive. Another good reason to change these fish out every 3 years. If this fish does start attacking or attaching itself to fish, get rid of it and buy a new one. It's much better to replace the algae eater than having to replace a much more expensive fish in your tank.
Another of the algae eating fishes is called the Oto Cat these are very similar to the Chinese's Cat Fishes described above but are much smaller, at maturity will only be a little over an inch in length. Suited perfectly for tanks smaller than 20 gallons. Oto cats do well in pairs or by themselves. They love to hang around on the glass or undersides of broad leaves, even under driftwood if you have it in your tank. Oto Cats are distinguished by their sharply angled heads, very triangular. I use these fish pretty much exclusively even in my largest of tanks, an excellent choice, and they do not show the aggressive behavior of some of the other Algae controlling species.
Green Water:
Well it seems as though I have been receiving a whole lot of E-mails lately as to green cloudy water and what to do about it. As long as this green cloud is just in your water, and not attached or growing all over the glass, substrate, decorations, etc. Here is what you can do to easily get rid of the green cloud and see your fish again.
There are two methods I use if and when I run into a green cloudy tank, the first method involves wrapping the tank completely in a dark heavy cloth as to not allow any light whatsoever into the tank. After wrapping the tank up, I turn off the aquariums light and let the tank sit in total darkness for 24-36 hours. I don't peek, nor do I open the tank up for feeding. Don't worry; normally fish can do quite well for a few days with out being fed. After the tank has been completely with NO peeking for the 24-36 hours I remove the covering. Usually you will see a 75-100% improved and rather clear tank. If it is crystal clear, you're all done. If however it is mostly clear but not a 100 percent, wait 72 hours and then repeat the whole covering process over again.
Now, if after the first covering you notice only slight to no improvement, do not waste your time by waiting and covering the tank again. For these “trouble” tanks I normally add a small amount of ‘Beckett’s Algae Clumping Agent’ to the water. You can find Beckett’s on-line or at better pond supply stores locally. Now there are other algaecides on the market, but I have not personally found anything that works better than Beckett’s and at such a low cost. Usually you can a bottle of this stuff for under 10 bucks and a single bottle will treat up to 1000 gallons, more than enough to last you a good long time.
