dodgers948

Ok so I have brown algae near the bottom and in the corners of my tank. All along the sides of my tank is GREEN algae. Are both of these harmful? Thanks for all of your help!!!

P.S. My tank is about 4 months old. Thanks!

thumper

sounds just like my tank but i think other members have said the brown stuff should go away on it own i think and the green stuff i am not sure about yet

Miriam and Joel

I have a lot of green algeas too. I could think the reason is when your tank has too much daylight? That's what I think is my problem..... But let's see what our fish masters mean...

aquarist48

Good morning. Most green and brown algae is a good sign. The brown (or diatoms) will eventually go away on it's own. Algae is a good sign meaning there is good oxygen in your tank. True, algae is also affected by light. I wouldn't try to get rid of all of it. Some fish, snails and other critters will feed from it. Keeping your lights on for 12 hours per day will help to control it. If direct sun is hitting your tank I would do something to correct it. Please don't add any chemicals to try and remove it.

Too, be careful not to over feed your fish.

penuinzorr

to my knowledge algae isn't harmful, just unsightly. it may be a sign of overfeeding? if you want to get rid of it add some more live plants..from what i've seen the brown algae doesn't grow near the base of plants and for the green stuff..probably just add a snail? sorry if any of the info is wrong haha still learning

good luck with it.

hssea

In my 20 gallon I had alot of algae and went and bought a pleco that stays small when full grown. He's really cute with little brown spots all over him. A common pleco would get very large and a 20 gallon is to small. Within a week he had the algae undercontrol and the tank looked sparkling clean. I never have a do any algae removal in that tank and a couple times a week a feed him 1/2 algae pellet. Also check your nitrate level with a liquid test kit, higher amts of nitrate will promote excess algae growth. You want some algae but I dont like it to look unsightly.

dodgers948

Do you know what this pleco is called? I'm thinking of getting one...

agabr123

there are a lot of small varieties of pleco that are much better suited to most tanks there's bristlenose, clown, queen arabesque, rubberlip, etc.

dodgers948

Ok and would I be able to get one even with a Pictus Catfish or would that not work out?

ER9

that sounds like a bristlenose pleco. they stay smallish at 3" approx fullgrown.

hssea

I've got a pictus cat, which I had to move around. They aren't aggressive but at night he would go on a feeding frezny and eat smaller fish. The small pleco that I bought I believed the name started with an "a" . Sorry couldnt be more help. I looked up the Arabesque pleco but mine doesn't have a linear pattern...my pleco deff has spots.