Irfan

Could anyone identify the dark brown / rust color spots on the gravel / stones and also on the shell (attached photos say a lot). Are these some sort of colonies and should I be worried?

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Shawnie

welcome to fishlore irfan! it looks like diatoms which is a new tank kinda algae..doesnt look good but goes away on its own after a few months...how old is the tank? ottos love the stuff but they need a tank thats been established for some time as they are sensitive ...

aquarist48

Hello Irfan. Welcome to Fish Lore. Shawnie has you covered Enjoy the site!
Ken

SWilkins

Well since your question has been answered I just wanted to add a welcome to Fish Lore.

Sherry

ABCDemily

Hi! Welcome to Fishlore! Everyone else has you covered. Diatoms aren't an issue, it's a sign of a maturing tank and will eventually subside on their own

kloseo

welcome to fishlore

Irfan

Thank you all for welcoming me to Fishlore. My tank has been setup for 8 weeks now. It has completed its cycle.

By the way, I am setting up a small tank for the fry (whenever the guppies are pregnant) and I put 3 shells and a few other big stones (from the 1st tank that has already cycled) to help this tank to cycle quickly. What i noticed was that the spots on the transferred shells and stones vanished.

Regards,

Shawnie

there wasnt anything to feed the diatoms in the tank...diatoms arent bad..and to keep a tank cycled, it needs a food source and so does the diatoms just moving things over without something to feed it, will kill both the cycle and the diatom algae

Irfan

My bad, i forgot to mention that i have one goldfish to help me cycle my small tank.

Regards,

gmen4life

welcome to fish lore

Irfan

Thanks gmen4life

Irfan

What about "Aquadene's Green Away Special" (No.6)? Will this help?

Irfan

Just an update on this item. I've added 3 albino algae eaters (that's the only type i got here) into my tank as the situation with diatoms was getting out of hand. They have started to do their job. I was looking for "Siamese Algae Eater" but no one had it. Here in Jeddah, there is very limited supply and choice.

LOL, one of the salesman told me that the name in Arabic for the algae eater is "Baladia" which means "Municipality"

Anyway, bottom line is that the tank is clearing up.

Regards,

Irfan.

aquarist48

Good morning Irfan. Congrats on the new albino algae eaters!

If you can add any filter media from your established tank to the new tank that will be a big help as well in cycling your tank. Don't take too much from the established tank or it might throw that tank into a mini cycle.

Keep an eye on your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings in the new tank. When you are cycling with fish it may be necessary to do 30 to 50% daily water changes to keep your fish from dying of ammonia poisoning. The stones you added will help some but it may not be enough to have an "instant" cycle. Add some Prime or Amquel + to detox the ammoina for the 24 hours until it's time for the next water change. By seeding the tank with media and gravel from the other tank should shorten the cycle period.
Best of luck and keep us posted.
Ken

Irfan

Hi Aquarist48

We don't have Prime or Amquel + for detox purposes. However, I am using Wardley's 3 in 1 water conditioner and Nutrafin Cycle (biological aquarium supplement). They seem to be doing a good job for me. What do you think?

Oh!!!!!!!! one more thing, one of my guppies gave birth to 31 babies (a couple of days earlier) and everyone of them seems to be doing fine.

Regards,

Irfan.

gouramiguy88

Yeah looks like diatoms to me.

If you have something that works you can just scrub it off the glass and whatnot. It will stop after a few months.

Watch out for Siamese algae eaters... They dont exactly eat algae too well. Better off With otto's

redlessi

Welcome and congrats on the babies............

rebeccmh

to Fishlore!
I have a new tank also that has begun to get diatoms...I just scrub it off the decor with a soft toothbrush when I do my regular tank maintenance...not too big of a deal.
Congrats on the guppy babies too!

Tony G.

Welcome to fishlore Irfan

jana

hi irfan welcome to fishlore..! and we wud love to see some fry

Irfan

Could not get the ottos here due to limited supply and choice. However, my Albino Algae eaters are doing a good job and have cleared up the diatoms reasonably well. It does get cleaned off easily though (like you said)

Irfan

Not such a good shot of the guppy fry. They were being transferred to their permanent home. The other two shots are that of my platty, guppy and tetra.

Oh!! and look at the difference my albino algae eater made (platty photo is before the introduction of AAE and tetra photo is one after)

Regards,

PS: Thanks for welcoming me. Appreciate it. As I said before, had i seen a better forum (interms of feedback and content) than this one, I would have been there, but now, I'm here for good.

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jana

aww cute fry and your AAE has done a very good job..!

Irfan

It's been 35 days since the diatoms problem surfaced. How much more do i have to wait before they disappear. Once these pesky diatoms disappear (hopefully), will my CAE be starved.

Regards,