ollyaaa

Hi!

Im having a few big problems with my tank.

Its been running about a month, and im getting quite a lot of algae growing on the glass, there is also a very stringy type.

I have recently got a dwarf gourami which is constantly swimming up and down up and down the front glass, it never ever stops, not even to feed. Its highly frustrating.

Also im getting a film of like 'oil' on the surface of the water which is preventing as much light penetration, I cant seem to get rid of this no matter what I do. I KNOW its not the food because this oil started to accumulate before I even had fish in it.

Any constructive advice welcome.

capekate

IMO the behavior of your Gourami is normal. I had one that would swim from one side of the tank to the other.. over and over again never changing its course. It went on continually.
As far as the slick goes on your water, what size filter are you using? Is it giving off enough water movement to break the surface? Is it possibile that your filter is not the right size for your tank?

~ kate

ollyaaa

yo!

thanks a lot for your help.

Its a ten gallon and has a 'minifan' internal filter, it came with the tank, but its not exactly expensive but the tank is only 10 gallon. there inst an awful lot of agitation on the water surface, but because i have 4wpg i think its not oil and in fact spirogyra?


The gourami is frustrating, i ve never kept a dwarf in a small tank before but kept larger gouramis in a 55 and they were nothing like this.

ollyaaa

I have no algae eaters and no room to put them in either.

Im thinking that may prove to be a problem.

COBettaCouple

Use a paper towel to wipe that algae off, especially the stringy type. It could be the result of too much light and/or too much food. Plus, the filter sounds too weak for a 10g tank and you might want to look at a HOB filter that has at least 100gph flow. I'd also consider an airstone to break up the bacterial bloom on the surface.

What is the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates in the tank? They may have something to do with the behavior of your gourami.

susitna-flower

I would be worried about several things besides just what is mentioned.

Algae grows when there is too much light, or nutrients in the water....

How much are you feeding? Make sure your light is not on more than 10 hours a day.

CObettaCouple may have it pegged what the problem is with the "oil", but, could it be a malfunctioning filter? Something from a motor? If you have just a 10 gallon, you can get a couple of otoes, they help with the algae, as well as different shrimps, (which don't add to the bio load). Good luck.