Leokiss

As above really,is it possible? I have 4 ottos which clear most types up so im happy to let them grow.I also have the long stringy green algae which i can remove fairly well as ottos dont touch it. What is really doing my head in is a black algae which is taking over the bottom of the tank it clings to the pea gravel so when vacuming it dosent remove it and with stuck to individual pieces of gravel its impossible to remove by wiping or such the best i can do is burry it under gravel but it starts reappearing after a few days or so.Any ideas anyone?

susitna-flower

A Bristlenose Pleco or two would take care of most of your problems.........EXCEPT, you are already OVERCROWDED! Which is probably why you have so much algae to begin with....

So without adding any more fish, lets figure a way out of this....

#1. Do you test your water? The API Master test kit is the best. Find out what the readings are for:
ammonia:
nitrite:
nitrate:

Even if your fish appear to be healthy, they may just have adjusted to high nitrates....but to get rid of algae growth you have to keep the nitrates down.

Do you do water changes, if so how much and how often?

The way to get the nitrates down is to do water changes.

#2. What lighting do you use with your tank? Is it in natural light from a window? How long is it exposed to any kind of light?

To limit the light to no longer than 10 hours a day will keep algae under control. To start you have to cover the tank for 3 days, NO LIGHT AT ALL! Do 2-25% water changes, first, then every day for a week after the cover comes off, and VACUUM the gravel. You have to change out the water to rid the tank of the dieing algae, as after it dies, the rotting algae will cause a mini-cycle and be hard on your fish.

With an overstocked tank you have to keep up on those water changes, or it will just happen all over again. The ideal is to keep your nitrates between 5-10.

#3. Limit the food. You may feel you are feeding just what they will eat, but try to cut back. You will be surprised on how healthy the fish can stay, as long as you continue to give a variety of food, just try feeding once a day for awhile, or two REALLY small feedings. Most of your fish will help eat the algae also if they are a little hungry. Starve the algae.

Hope this helps, Good Luck.

Leokiss

Cheers for reply,Im overstocked! i didnt think was!? The nitrates are too low all my readings have always stayed at 0 or just over i have a sponge which removes nitrates and as i have a planted tank i could do with a small amount.I feed my fish a diet of flakes,very small type of pellets n frozen n live foods 2 times a day so i'll make the portions a bit smaller see what happens. And the lights are on for about 10 or 11 hrs so i'll cut it to 8.A friend has told me to check the phosphate levels of my local tap water as this could contribute,i'll let u know how it go's.

jsalemi

The rule-of-thumb is 1" of adult fish size per gallon. You're not WAY overstocked, but enough for us to suggest you keep an eye on your water chemistry (using liquid tests), and definitely doing weekly, if not bi-weekly 20-25% water changes.

Leokiss

Hi again,ye i did the math after must admit i was a little suprised though easy to get carried away when choosing fish Although i only have 3 danios now.
I forgot to say before my water changes are 25% each week so not bad really.I do also use liquid tests so they should be fairly accurate.If know improvement might have to do the bi-weekly changes,saying that my wife has agreed to let me have another tank of around 60g and i'm thinking a sid only or sids and maybe some other loaches so i can take them out which will sort the stocking levels.It probs wouldn't have much a difference to algae as i'm pretty sure i had algae problems when there was just 15 in tank!