Noobie

Having some slight problems with algae buildup on the clay pot as well as scattered olive brown spots on the glass in my 10 gal tank. I scrape them off, and they grow back in the exact same spot. The tank contains 4 tiger barbs, (with 2 jeuvenile Aponogeton plants), as well as 2 panda corys that I thought would take care of any excess algae in the tank. What can I add to the tank to control this problem? Chemicals, maybe snails?

sgould

I believe corys are more bottom scavangers than algae eaters, but maybe someone can correct me on that. Otos and plecos will eat algae, though you need to be careful not to overload your tank. Maybe try an oto.

mlinden84

A cory is not going to clean up algae. I've had good luck with otos, and they stay small (a plus for smaller tanks)

COBettaCouple

Otos or shrimp would be my first choices for algae control.. although i don't know if the tiger barbs wouldn't go after shrimp.

Noobie

Well, as usual, I rushed into a situation involving the purchase of snails. I looked at a couple chemical algae control options, but the snails were the least costly. Worth a shot anyway... I bought 2 "black mystery snails". I've visited applesnail.com, and to the best of my reconning, I have 2 different species of snail, even though they came from the same store tank, not that that means anything... hence, the "mystery". They seem to have taken to their new surroundings, zooming around the tank, and cleaning up the "spots" on the glass. They seem to be voracious eaters. Should I be concerned about my young plants, and or infestations of any kind?

Again, as usual, I figure out what i'm doing AFTER I've done it...First issue I'm going to have to address is the aggressive nature of my tiger barbs. They don't seem to have payed much attention to the snails so far, but may nip at their tentacles or eyestalks...oops.

Next is the issue of their voracious eating habbits. I'll have to watch n see if they go after my jeuvenile aponogeton plants. If so, they gotta go, and I'm out 3 bucks for my troubles.

Thirdly, there's the egg issue. Idealy, the barbs will eat them, a community solution solving both problems of algae growth and snail infestation. Could I get that lucky?

Any other issues I haven't yet mentioned?

Carillon

I'd say watch your plants carefully ... mystery snails have definitely been known to munch on plant leaves. You might try providing some extra food for them ... maybe algae wafers or some Anachris. I've heard some species like to eat fish food too, and actually prefer this to live plants ... but I can't back that up with any personal experience! I'm not sure whether any of this will help save your little plants or not ... you'll just have to keep an eye out.

Well, that was the bad news, but the good news is that the snails are quite unlikely to overrun your tank. Unlike many species of freshwater snails, mystery snails lay their eggs above the water line. You can find a picture of the egg clusters on this website. If you see the eggs and don't want baby snails you could probably just scrape the eggs off before they hatch.

COBettaCouple

snails tend to be huge waste producers, so watch the tank chemistry to see if more frequent water changes would be needed.

COBettaCouple

Hey.. moved that post on your snails to the snail forum to see if the snail experts can help you out.. i think i read somewhere that it's some sort of air problem and has to be released.. but see what they say there and hopefully you'll have the problem solved asap.

griffin

i used to have (and breed) some of these snails, and they are MAJOR

griffin

oops - posted before i meant to

they are MAJOR waste producers. so you'll definately want to watch your levels. they're recommended for 3-5 gal each if i recall correctly.

you'll also want to make sure you have a lot of Ca available for nice strong shells.

brigs will be safe for plants, but anything else pretty much will make quick work of your plants. i'd say that if you've had them for a few days, and your plants are still there, you most likely have brigs.

i'm not sure what the "air issue" you refer to is. however, the snails do have siphons that they can use to breathe air if there's not enough in the water (or even if they just feel like it).

another thing to keep in mind is that you'll want to have either a really good seal on your tank (the snails are known to be good escape artists) or keep your water level 2-4 inches below the rim.

the eggs will be above water, and easily visible, so infestation isn't likely. you can either dispose of the eggs or scrape them off and drop them in the water for the snails to eat. they won't hatch if you put them under water.

wow - i started rambling there. let me know if you need or want any additional clarification hope that info helped without being too much