Brown Algae problem? 10 Gallon Tank

[blkdeath75]

Hello all!

My son's tank which is now the fry tank has began to accumulate a brown looking I guess it's algae but not sure. The only thing we keep in here is the Molly(4) and Guppy(8) fry and do regular water changes about 30-40% twice a week and recently swapped out the filter pad(although we were having the issues before the swap also).The fry are still all under an inch and the guppies aren't even colored yet. The filter is an Aqueon quiet flow 10.

Anyway, is there anything I can add to help with the Algae issue (obviously not a pleco)? I have heard Oto cats and/or freshwater shrimp?

Any help is appreciated!

 

[potatos]

ottos are good, so are amano shrimp, cherry shrimp, and nerite snails(lay unsightly but infertile eggs) any of these are great algae eaters. I am assuming that your algae is diatoms, in which case the shrimp may not help. diatoms are common in newer tanks, and should go away over time once the silica (ithink) is used up. Ottos are the best for diatoms, but are quite delicate and may not do well in a new tank, but your frequent water changes may help with that. Ottos are not good for many other types of algae though.

 

[BritJo]

+1 to what potatos said. I would leave the diatoms alone and clean them yourself. Otos are very delicate and w/ your tank only being 2months old or so, it would probably result in oto death, not help your diatoms. Diatoms can last for a year or so and can be tricky.I have had success moving my tank from direct sunlight and not keeping the tank light on as much (I think I leave it on for 8 hrs now vs 12).

 

[mosin360]

I wouldn't get Otos just for diatoms as from my research, they really only eat green algae. They also need a very well established tank like six months or more. They are quite delicate.