Advice For Small Algae Eater For 5 Gallon Betta Tank

HI everyone! hope this post is in the right place. I have a month old tank, I think finally cycled with your help its a fluval spec V with one male betta named Sapphire and some moss balls, plants, and a piece of driftwood. over the course of the last month, I have seen cloudy water, brown algae, white algae on the driftwood, Now I have clear water, and all of a sudden lots of green algae. I guess that's good, means things are stabilizing nicely, however a friend suggested on getting what he called a "dwarf pleco" to eat the green algae. I looked online, lots of confusing info, snails, and things, I don't want to put a snail in, Panda coreys are cute but I think I have to put a few in.. plecos can get too big and I read that some stores that sell dwart plecos , they are not really dwarf, and its a small tank so I can't put a bunch of fish in.... is there one small algae eater out there that someone can recommend? thank you so much. here is a pic of the tank. sapphire is a cool dude.

 

Someone will be along shortly to recommend Nerite snails; I have no experience with them so it won't be me. But I would suggest that there are no fish that fit the bill for your tank. Even the "dwarf" Plecos will grow to be at least 3-4 inches long, way too big for that tank. Otocinclus are the right size, but need to be in a group, so still too much biomass to add.

 

What about shrimp? Amanos are supposed to be decent algae eaters.

 

What about shrimp? Amanos are supposed to be decent algae eaters.

you could try but I have herd that bettas love to eat shrimp. I would recamend nerites maybe a smaller type like horned nerites

 

Holy cow, he's beautiful! Love the tank setup too

Yes on the Nerite snail! Be warned they poop a lot, so you'll need to vacuum a bit more often... but they're neat to watch, and clean up algae really well!

 

I’ll be the nerite recommender! Lol. However it all depends on your bettas personality too. If he’s aggressive to snails or shrimp it could be problematic. If your algae is a problem you may just have to scrape it and rethink your lighting.

 

Actually, one of the simplest solutions, or at least a partial solution, would be more plants.

 

Someone will be along shortly to recommend Nerite snails; I have no experience with them so it won't be me. But I would suggest that there are no fish that fit the bill for your tank. Even the "dwarf" Plecos will grow to be at least 3-4 inches long, way too big for that tank. Otocinclus are the right size, but need to be in a group, so still too much biomass to add.

I am kind of glad you said that. I am a bit concerned about the biomass.. and sappire the betta is finally doing well after I got bad advice and put him into an uncycled tank... never again.. most stressful month ever... and we are finally out of the woods..

Actually, one of the simplest solutions, or at least a partial solution, would be more plants.

hmmmmm... interesting... more plants will use the nutrients..... maybe more plants and change my light? I think the light that comes with these tanks is very blue.... I have to find out more about this... thank you!

 

Just reread the original post... and OP doesn't want snails. Seems to me if the algae is a problem, find the source of the problem and go from there to try to fix it. Is the tank near a window at all? I think high phosphates in the water contributes to algae growth as well, but someone else could probably help you with that better than I could!

 

My fish usually only bother my mystery snail. They ignore the nerites. My nerite snails poop a lot but I have a lot of plants and I vacuum the substrate every few days so it doesn't affect my tank. They keep the glass clear. Anacharis is a fast growing plant and can grow in low light. Floating plants are good too

 

you could try but I have herd that bettas love to eat shrimp. I would recamend nerites maybe a smaller type like horned nerites

Yeah, it's really just testing and being prepared for the shrimp to be a snack. I only suggested it because OP said they don't want snails.

 

I’ll be the nerite recommender! Lol. However it all depends on your bettas personality too. If he’s aggressive to snails or shrimp it could be problematic. If your algae is a problem you may just have to scrape it and rethink your lighting.

I am going to guess that hes rather aggressive.. I have not seen him around any snails or other tank mates, but he patrols his tank like a little general.. and he tries to eat me when I get in there to wipe the algae off the plant leaves with my fingers!

 

Definitely nerites of Amano shrimp. Nothing else will stay small enough to be suitable. You can also try some ghost shrimp/feeder shrimp as a test to see if your betta might get along with possible amanos. 3 of my 4 bettas didn't mind shrimp. The other would furiously hunt and even killed shrimp but pays no mind to the snails..

 

My fish usually only bother my mystery snail. They ignore the nerites. My nerite snails poop a lot but I have a lot of plants and I vacuum the substrate every few days so it doesn't affect my tank. They keep the glass clear. Anacharis is a fast growing plant and can grow in low light. Floating plants are good too

I have read about the infamous nerite snail poop. I think I could deal with that. I actually enjoy cleaning the tank and I have a little minI siphon that I use for poop that does not remove a lot of water... and I believe that nerite snails won't reproduce in my tank... but they can be escape artists...

 

I have read about the infamous nerite snail poop. I think I could deal with that. I actually enjoy cleaning the tank and I have a little minI siphon that I use for poop that does not remove a lot of water... and I believe that nerite snails won't reproduce in my tank... but they can be escape artists...

My nerite snails never leave my tank and there are gaps in the lid. They shouldn't leave if your water is ok and they have enough food. They can reproduce in freshwater but the eggs can only hatch in brackish or saltwater. If you get a female be prepared to deal with all the annoying eggs. I put the nerites in a separate tank first to see if they would lay eggs and I put the ones that didn't lay eggs into my 36 gallon. I have had no nerite eggs in that tank and there is a lot of algae for them to eat

 

I have read about the infamous nerite snail poop. I think I could deal with that. I actually enjoy cleaning the tank and I have a little minI siphon that I use for poop that does not remove a lot of water... and I believe that nerite snails won't reproduce in my tank... but they can be escape artists...

Mine hide more then I've ever had an issue with escapees and my 10 gallon has roughly a 1inX12in gap in the back. Like Gourami36 said, keep them happy and they won't have a reason to leave or look for more food.

 

Holy cow, he's beautiful! Love the tank setup too

Yes on the Nerite snail! Be warned they poop a lot, so you'll need to vacuum a bit more often... but they're neat to watch, and clean up algae really well!

thank you! that tank picture was a few days ago.. I took out that water sprite and added some frogbit that I just received.. I am going to try to grow the frogbit so that the roots extend down.... at the moment the frogbit is a little yellowed, hoping that it comes back to life. I found that betta at my local petco if you can believe it... he is really beautiful. hopefully I can keep all his fins intact :0

My nerite snails never leave my tank and there are gaps in the lid. They shouldn't leave if your water is ok and they have enough food. They can reproduce in freshwater but the eggs can only hatch in brackish or saltwater. If you get a female be prepared to deal with all the annoying eggs. I put the nerites in a separate tank first to see if they would lay eggs and I put the ones that didn't lay eggs into my 36 gallon. I have had no nerite eggs in that tank and there is a lot of algae for them to eat

ah, good advice... thank you...

 

More live plants should help, possibly changing lighting or shorter light cycles.

 

Beautiful betta! I would suggest nerite snails they do a pretty good job in my tanks. You can keep shrimps there too, Bettas usually don't go for the adults but most likely will eat the shrimplets

 

I always advocate more plants for a tank to reduce algae overgrowth. Keep away from windows, sunlight, and avoid overfeeding, too.

 

More live plants should help, possibly changing lighting or shorter light cycles.

yep.. I am starting to think that the stock lights that come with these tanks are not the greatest.... I am looking now into a different light, and putting it on a timer.. thank you so much......

Beautiful betta! I would suggest nerite snails they do a pretty good job in my tanks. You can keep shrimps there too, Bettas usually don't go for the adults but most likely will eat the shrimplets

thanks! I am going to switch the light, add a few more plants, and I think I can deal with a nerite snail.. they are quite beautiful. snails seem to get a bum rap.. as long as I don't have a snail explosion which is unlikely with a nerite because of the water required for eggs to hatch, I should be cool...

 

you are correct they would not breed in freshwater but be ready to have tons of eggs stock to decorations and plants lol




all over my driftwood (zoom in). I don't mind some people do

 

thanks! I am going to switch the light, add a few more plants, and I think I can deal with a nerite snail.. they are quite beautiful. snails seem to get a bum rap.. as long as I don't have a snail explosion which is unlikely with a nerite because of the water required for eggs to hatch, I should be cool...

Yeah even just a timer would help if you don't have one now. How many hours a day is your light on currently?

 

I recommend a horned nerite snail. they're smaller than regular nerites and they are fantastic cleaners. their poop is also smaller. I have them in all my tanks and they do a better job than my tiger and zebra nerites, which just poop lol

 

Someone will be along shortly to recommend Nerite snails; I have no experience with them so it won't be me. But I would suggest that there are no fish that fit the bill for your tank. Even the "dwarf" Plecos will grow to be at least 3-4 inches long, way too big for that tank. Otocinclus are the right size, but need to be in a group, so still too much biomass to add.

My first thought was Otocinclus but they need to be in groups of three or more, so I've read. I had three in my 20 gallon but two died a few months ago and I've only got one left. He's with some Neon Tetras and seems to be doing fine. I should caution you, in my experience, if the otto has live plants to choose from, he'll go for them over the algae - not sure why, but that's what I'm seeing in my 20 gal. Hope this helps.

Sapphire is beautiful and That's a nice tank set up.