Drew04

My tank has 3 fish that are classified as algae eaters (rainbow shark, chinese algae eater, spotted headstander...plus a bunch of clams). My tank gets about zero natural sunlight, so there is minimal natural algae growth. I have started to drop algae wafers in the tank during feeding time, but it looks like these things just dissolve into a clump of green sludge, with no interest from the fish.

My supposed 'algae fish' will pass over the green clumps and suck on rocks, driftwood, fake plants, etc instead.

What's up? Am I adding something to my tank that I will end up removing when vacuuming or are the wafers actually supplementing their diet without my knowledge

Dozey

Hi Drew04,

You are adding nutrients to your tank for your algae feeders. Mainly...
-High levels of vegetable matter that algae eaters prefer and love
-High levels stabilized vitamin C to reduce stress and build immunity to disease

The wafers are dissolving and your fish are eating from their natural elements, rock, plants, etc. Just be sure to use wafers that won't cloud your water. Good luck!

Alessa

Well... what kind of wafers are you using?

I have found hikari's to stay good for a while in the water... also, they might be nibbling at stuff you cant see, or when you cant see them. Most of the "algae eaters" are nocturnal fish.

Sasukii

When I bought my algae eater, I was informed to supplement his feeding with wafers. However, after some research (and reading of the instructions on the back of the package) you drop the wafer in, and in two hours remove what remains of the wafer. It slowly dissolves and lets off the nutrients for your fish. It basically CAUSES an algae bloom. (Dropping one of these in daily, letting it dissolve, and not doing daily water changes was a BAAAD BAAAD BAAAD idea.) Now, don't get me wrong, if I place the wafer in front of my algae eater, I find he WILL eat it, suck it, whatever... But most of the time he doesn't see it, but he looks healthy, and always finds something to suck on regardless. What I have started to do, is break the wafer into smaller bits (after judging how much is left after two hours) and only add as much that usually dissolves (does that make sense?) I don't have to worry about finding any clumps of gunk left over whatsoever anymore, (then again, I don't add those every day either. Once every few days seems to be sufficient for my tank)

Butterfly

I was just about to suggest that also try dropping them in at night after you turn the lights off (won't hurt to leave them over night). Drop them in the same place every time(this will help them know where to find food).
I would recommend feeding wafers about 3 times a week.
They might also enjoy a piece of fresh vegetable like zuchinni or cucumber.
Carol

gremlin

If you have the chinese algae eater (like me) they are most active from late evening to early morning. They will come out and forage somewhat during the day, but they do most of their eating at night. You may want to try growing moss on some rocks. Put some small rocks in a pan of water outside in the sun and drop a couple of algae wafers in. It may take a while, but once your algae farm starts, you should be able to keep it going. Then you can put an algae covered rock in every so often. Mine live out in my pond during the summer, but in the winter, I bring mossy rocks from the pond into the tank where they are overwintering. They usually have it stripped overnight - rarely does it take them two nights to clean a rock. They prefer shorter moss rather than letting it get too long and stringy.