Please help me find an algae eater for unheated tank.

[Lovesomefish]

Hey everyone!

My husband and I are trying a fish tank for the second time (due to several issues, our first attempt didn’t work out). We are determined to get it right this time, starting with using real plants. The biggest problem we’re having is the same problem as last time: algae.

We have a 40g rimmed, lidless tank. It has gravel substrate from our creek (they are not worn smooth), and the rock decorations also came from around our creek. Its parameters have been rock solid, including ammonia(0), nitrites(0), and nitrates (these change somewhat, but stay low). Our water is hard and from a well, so no chlorine.

Algae is on everything, and it destroys new plants before they can establish (our moss, jungle val, anacharis, and mystery stem plant are barely hanging in there). Every algae eater I find either needs really warm temperatures or really soft substrate. Are we stuck fighting algae for the rest of our tank’s life?

We tried neo shrimp, but they all died. Our 4 mystery snails are doing super well (constant mating and egg laying). We tried nerite snails out of desperation when our water reached 70F, but they all died within a week.

The fish we want to get are platys.

Please help!

 

[TClare]

You don't mention what lighting you have Perhaps it is too bright, or you have it on for a long time, or does the tank get natural sunlight? Firstly its best to start with as many plants as possible, keep the light fairly low, or on for a short time each day until the plants get well established. What type of algae are you getting?

I have found that ramshorn snails are very hardy and can survive in fairly cool water.

 

[Joshaeus]

Hello friend! Have you tried american flagfish? They'll eat algae, and they are native to the southern USA and thus do not need a heater. They don't always play nice in communities...that's the main downside, so if you go that route have a backup plan to move the flagfish if they take offense to something else in your tank.

 

[Lovesomefish]

You don't mention what lighting you have Perhaps it is too bright, or you have it on for a long time, or does the tank get natural sunlight? Firstly its best to start with as many plants as possible, keep the light fairly low, or on for a short time each day until the plants get well established. What type of algae are you getting?

I have found that ramshorn snails are very hardy and can survive in fairly cool water.

We have the Seaoura Full Spectrum Aquarium Light that we got on Amazon.
When we had it on for shorter periods of time on a brighter setting, our plants did poorly. We lowered the intensity and now have it on a 24-hour cycle where it emulates a day-night cycle. Yes, the aquarium gets some natural sunlight in the morning and evenings; unfortunately it cannot be helped. The jungle val on the morning light side is doing splendidly. If we have the light on for shorter periods, the plants stop growing and algae takes over them.

We started with as many plants as we could afford. We’re doing this piecemeal because of cost. Plants are not cheap when you don’t have aquarist friends looking for a dump for their cuttings.

I don’t know the type of algae. It’s like green fuzz all over everything, and the fuzz is slowly growing longer. Right now, it isn’t taking over more; it’s just growing longer. We had what I think was hair algae taking over before the snails, but they loved it and ate it all.

Won’t ramshorn snails take over the aquarium? I don’t want something I cannot control.

 

[TClare]

We have the Seaoura Full Spectrum Aquarium Light that we got on Amazon.
When we had it on for shorter periods of time on a brighter setting, our plants did poorly. We lowered the intensity and now have it on a 24-hour cycle where it emulates a day-night cycle. Yes, the aquarium gets some natural sunlight in the morning and evenings; unfortunately it cannot be helped. The jungle val on the morning light side is doing splendidly. If we have the light on for shorter periods, the plants stop growing and algae takes over them.

We started with as many plants as we could afford. We’re doing this piecemeal because of cost. Plants are not cheap when you don’t have aquarist friends looking for a dump for their cuttings.

I don’t know the type of algae. It’s like green fuzz all over everything, and the fuzz is slowly growing longer. Right now, it isn’t taking over more; it’s just growing longer. We had what I think was hair algae taking over before the snails, but they loved it and ate it all.

Won’t ramshorn snails take over the aquarium? I don’t want something I cannot control.

Yes, I agree plants are expensive when you are starting from scratch...

Ramshorns will breed and multiply, but in cooler water and unless you overfeed the fish, they should not overpopulate the tank. I'm not sure about platies, but many fish will eat some of the tiny newly hatched snails, helping to control the population. I like to keep them in my planted tanks that don't have larger cichlids (I would like to have them in the bigger tanks too but impossible, the cichlids eat them).

You could also look into hillstream loaches, they like cooler, well oxygenated water, and I believe they eat algae, I haven't ever kept them myself so I can't comment on how effective they would be at controlling algae, you would need to check if they are OK in hard water.

The platies themselves should eat some algae too. and help to keep it under control, and probably as the tank matures and the plants grow it will start to be less of a problem...

 

[Noroomforshoe]

Rams horn snails may reproduce more than you are happy with, mine did. I here people say "well dont overfeed them and they wont make as many offspring" but mine were notorias, and I really like snails, it was just too many.
If you are willing to put a hood on the tank, rabit snails might be an option, I did nnot have mine long enough tell how effective the were at controlling algae.
Hillstream loaches are a really cool fish that look like mini sting rays. They eat algae day and night. I have kept them in hard water and well water without any extra airation set up. And unlike otto cat fish, who eat nothing but algae and often die when it runs out, Hill stream loaches will graze on waffer foods. But they are very likely to jump/suck there way out of a liddless tank, or even any gaps in a hooded tank.

 

[Joshaeus]

Rams horn snails may reproduce more than you are happy with, mine did. I here people say "well dont overfeed them and they wont make as many offspring" but mine were notorias, and I really like snails, it was just too many.
If you are willing to put a hood on the tank, rabit snails might be an option, I did nnot have mine long enough tell how effective the were at controlling algae.
Hillstream loaches are a really cool fish that look like mini sting rays. They eat algae day and night. I have kept them in hard water and well water without any extra airation set up. And unlike otto cat fish, who eat nothing but algae and often die when it runs out, Hill stream loaches will graze on waffer foods. But they are very likely to jump/suck there way out of a liddless tank, or even any gaps in a hooded tank.

Rabbit snails need temps in the low 80's to do well. This is an unheated tank, my friend...she's already lost some nerites for that reason. I do agree a lid would be very helpful in increasing their stocking options.

 

[Cyberfish]

Not much of a snail expert but most cool water fish need some sort of flow and high oxygenation. Stiphodons would work or hillstream/lizard loaches like Noroomforshoe said.

 

[ruud]

New tank + new plants + "some sunlight" is algae heaven. The algae eaters release organics /ammonia which is a major trigger for algae.

Algae eaters work in mature tanks with established plants, where they make it difficult for algae to set foot on plant surfaces.

Given there will be some direct sunlight, from day 1, you must introduce 1) many stem plants, 2) plant species that are low CO2 tolerant, 3) and already have their aquatic outfit (stem plants from a shop most likely have their terrestrial outfit).

But even then, with some direct sunlight it is challenging. My main planted tank receives direct sunlight in the morning.

 

[Lovesomefish]

Rabbit snails need temps in the low 80's to do well. This is an unheated tank, my friend...she's already lost some nerites for that reason. I do agree a lid would be very helpful in increasing their stocking options.

Unfortunately our tank has odd dimensions that make purchasing a lid next to impossible. We have considered making a lid, but are worried about gas exchange, and we haven’t figured out a design we can make that we like.

New tank + new plants + "some sunlight" is algae heaven. The algae eaters release organics /ammonia which is a major trigger for algae.

Algae eaters work in mature tanks with established plants, where they make it difficult for algae to set foot on plant surfaces.

Given there will be some direct sunlight, from day 1, you must introduce 1) many stem plants, 2) plant species that are low CO2 tolerant, 3) and already have their aquatic outfit (stem plants from a shop most likely have their terrestrial outfit).

But even then, with some direct sunlight it is challenging. My main planted tank receives direct sunlight in the morning.

We’re doing our best. The plants we bought off ebay were grown underwater, but even still one (set) of them died off. The others are doing well, but how does one make an established planted tank when algae grows faster? The mystery snails have helped tremendously; now we need something that eats more algae to help the mysteries.

 

[Joshaeus]

Unfortunately our tank has odd dimensions that make purchasing a lid next to impossible. We have considered making a lid, but are worried about gas exchange, and we haven’t figured out a design we can make that we like.

What are the tank dimensions, out of curiosity? I make lids out of twin wall polycarbonate...the stuff can be cut with heavy duty scissors. I cut holes in the corners for wires and/or air line tubing (which would also solve gas exchange...if you have fish that are liable to jump out you can then fill the holes with poly-fil, as long as it is 100% polyester), and also cut a feeding hole and holes for houseplants growing emersed out of the tank (again, stuff with poly-fil when not feeding the fish. Currently I use the scissors to make all the holes, but I suspect a drill would work better for holes not on the edge of the lid...I need to try it out). While I don't currently know the dimensions of your tank, I would recommend cutting such a lid in half (for example, if the tank is 36 by 18 like a typical 40 gallon, make each half 18 by 18...making them 36 by 9 would not be as strong in my experience) so you don't need to remove the whole lid every time you need to get into the tank.

 

[Lovesomefish]

Thanks, everyone! We tried hillstream loaches with our first tank, and they didn’t make a dent in the algae. We’re also having trouble with figuring out a lid because apparently our aquarium doesn’t have typical 40g tank dimensions. We’re not opposed to trying them again, but I’d like to look into other options first. I will look into all of your suggestions!

And I know we need more plants; things (money and availability) keep getting in the way.

What are the tank dimensions, out of curiosity? I make lids out of twin wall polycarbonate...the stuff can be cut with heavy duty scissors. I cut holes in the corners for wires and/or air line tubing (which would also solve gas exchange...if you have fish that are liable to jump out you can then fill the holes with poly-fil, as long as it is 100% polyester), and also cut a feeding hole and holes for houseplants growing emersed out of the tank (again, stuff with poly-fil when not feeding the fish. Currently I use the scissors to make all the holes, but I suspect a drill would work better for holes not on the edge of the lid...I need to try it out). While I don't currently know the dimensions of your tank, I would recommend cutting such a lid in half (for example, if the tank is 36 by 18 like a typical 40 gallon, make each half 18 by 18...making them 36 by 9 would not be as strong in my experience) so you don't need to remove the whole lid every time you need to get into the tank.

I just measured, and the top’s outer rim is 36”x18”. All the reviews and online discussions I found for our tank were all “no lid fits because the dimensions are weird!” Is it really normal 40g tank dimensions?

 

[Joshaeus]

Thanks, everyone! We tried hillstream loaches with our first tank, and they didn’t make a dent in the algae. We’re also having trouble with figuring out a lid because apparently our aquarium doesn’t have typical 40g tank dimensions. We’re not opposed to trying them again, but I’d like to look into other options first. I will look into all of your suggestions!

And I know we need more plants; things (money and availability) keep getting in the way.


I just measured, and the top’s outer rim is 36”x18”. All the reviews and online discussions I found for our tank were all “no lid fits because the dimensions are weird!” Is it really normal 40g tank dimensions?

That sounds like a 40 breeder...not a particularly unusual size these days. Amazon carries some 40 breeder glass lids for aqueon tanks, but they are not cheap. You could make six .32" thick polycarbonate lids (the sheets can also be found on amazon) for the price of one of the glass lids, AND have leftover material to build lids for smaller tanks. (My lids are made of .24" thick polycarbonate, but they are all on smaller tanks, mostly 10's and 5's, so going thicker than that may be a good idea).

 

[KribensisLover1]

Pls don’t get ramshorns
If you ever add more plants you’ll likely get them that way and they seriously overmultiply. They also don’t eat any of my algae. I would personally have the light on way less. Like three hours in the morning and three later agternoon

Also where is the light?
Is it resting right over the tank on legs? Sorry if you answered this already. If it is consider hanging or getting risers on Etsy so it’s not baking directly into the tank.

Also look on fb marketplace. Plants are usually a lot cheaper. You can also even ask for free plants on local fb aquarium pages. They are so expensive and it’s such a gamble it drives me nuts.

 

[Lovesomefish]

Pls don’t get ramshorns
If you ever add more plants you’ll likely get them that way and they seriously overmultiply. They also don’t eat any of my algae. I would personally have the light on way less. Like three hours in the morning and three later agternoon

Also where is the light?
Is it resting right over the tank on legs? Sorry if you answered this already. If it is consider hanging or getting risers on Etsy so it’s not baking directly into the tank.

Also look on fb marketplace. Plants are usually a lot cheaper. You can also even ask for free plants on local fb aquarium pages. They are so expensive and it’s such a gamble it drives me nuts.

That’s two votes against and one vote for ramshorns. I think we will try to avoid them for now.

The light came with little legs to stand over the tank.

I’ve tried the fb marketplace a couple times, but it’s really hard for me to navigate since I don’t do fb, and people never responded. I used an old account from when I had a game saved to it, so it’s probably they thought I was a scammer or something, though I did explain it to them.

Does anyone know if hillstream loaches will eat algae off rocks that aren’t totally smooth? I read once that they only eat off smooth surfaces.

 

[ruud]

how does one make an established planted tank when algae grows faster

You can't if from day 1 your tank is in "high energy" mode (light and temperature)

You are battling symptoms; every algae eating fish also introduces food for algae; which the algae eating fish won't mind of course; you are stuck in a circle

To avoid getting in this circle, it is best to start a brand new tank in lower energy, choose the right species ("weeds"), have patience; when the total plant biomass develops, you can crank up the light, even to the point where plants develop a tint higher up the water column. Along the way you can introduce a plant maintenance team.

 

[KiwiWillow]

Is there a chance your water is high in phosphate? Some algae seems to like high phosphate, ( Blackbeard for example). If there’s an excess of food, or maybe from your well, it may be stimulating the algae, and with low nitrates the plants can’t out compete the algae?? Just a hypothesis to consider.

 

[Joshaeus]

I personally am not good at growing submerged plants...as such, I use floating plants and hydroponic houseplants instead. Those do fine (they will grow faster than submerged plants because plants struggle to acquire enough CO2 underwater), and I can feed them a lot more light than submersed plants can handle without major algae issues...I use artificial plants for submersed cover for the fish.

 

[TClare]

I think ruud's suggestion is good - get a lot of stem plants that are hardy and grow very quickly, for a cold water tank elodea might be good, but research this some more. These will probably do well even just with the natural light you have initially so keep the tank lights off to start with. With the plants you already have, to not waste them, you could put them away somewhere totally dark for a week or so - unlikely to kill them but the algae should die off. Or, to not start totally over again, you try could blacking out the existing tank for the same period, keep it totally dark, then add more stem plants and start with just the natural light until they are growing well.

 

[DaveSch]

I agree with Joshaeus, get some floating plants and adding some pothos and/or peace lilies as emersed plants. Buy these houseplants, wash all the soil off the roots, and then submerge the roots in the water with the leaves sticking out the top. Look online for ideas how to get them to stay put. The growth of these plants will suck nutrients out of the water and compete with the algae.

 

[Lovesomefish]

You can't if from day 1 your tank is in "high energy" mode (light and temperature)

You are battling symptoms; every algae eating fish also introduces food for algae; which the algae eating fish won't mind of course; you are stuck in a circle

To avoid getting in this circle, it is best to start a brand new tank in lower energy, choose the right species ("weeds"), have patience; when the total plant biomass develops, you can crank up the light, even to the point where plants develop a tint higher up the water column. Along the way you can introduce a plant maintenance tea

I CAN’T wait for the plant biomass to develop because it isn’t growing like it’s supposed to. Based on what the Ebayer also sells, I think my mystery plant is Ludwigia Repens, and neither it nor the anacharis are growing like I read they do (where they need to be trimmed every week or they get too big). That information was supposed to be based on a no CO2 tank, and it’s why I bought anacharis and was excited to get a surprise LR. I have started to float the anacharis instead of having it planted to try to combat the problem. It seems to be doing okay so far.

Before we got the mysteries, the plants suffered a lot; if we didn’t turn on the lights, they turned pale and started dying; if we didn’t feed them, they turned pale and started dying; in both scenarios the algae was still creeping in and slowly taking over. That’s why we started feeding the water column and turning on the lights, but the algae also started to explode.

After getting the mysteries and shrimp, the hair algae that was choking out the plants disappeared, and the other algae got way more under control. Then I overfed the snails, which triggered an algae bloom that turned the water opaque green. We blacked out the aquarium for almost a week, and while it helped kill some of the algae (the stuff making the water green), we also lost the hygrophila, and the other plants looked about ready to die.

I’m starting to think an aquarium is only for rich people or people who are already plugged i to the community, because that’s the only way one can get enough plants to start the dang aquariums.

I personally am not good at growing submerged plants...as such, I use floating plants and hydroponic houseplants instead. Those do fine (they will grow faster than submerged plants because plants struggle to acquire enough CO2 underwater), and I can feed them a lot more light than submersed plants can handle without major algae issues...I use artificial plants for submersed cover for the fish.

I’m seriously starting to think about just getting rid of live plants and using algicide. Many people have thriving fish using water changes and fake plants. I don’t want to keep the aquarium light off all the stupid time because I can’t see anything in the aquarium with it off. Like, what’s the point of an aquarium if we can’t see into it?

Floating plants might be possible, but I hate house plants, so I won’t be doing those. The only trouble with floaters is they’ll block the light, which means we can’t see into the aquarium, which defeats the whole purpose. I don’t know, maybe I should just go the fake plant+algaecide route.

 

[Joshaeus]

I CAN’T wait for the plant biomass to develop because it isn’t growing like it’s supposed to. Based on what the Ebayer also sells, I think my mystery plant is Ludwigia Repens, and neither it nor the anacharis are growing like I read they do (where they need to be trimmed every week or they get too big). That information was supposed to be based on a no CO2 tank, and it’s why I bought anacharis and was excited to get a surprise LR. I have started to float the anacharis instead of having it planted to try to combat the problem. It seems to be doing okay so far.

Before we got the mysteries, the plants suffered a lot; if we didn’t turn on the lights, they turned pale and started dying; if we didn’t feed them, they turned pale and started dying; in both scenarios the algae was still creeping in and slowly taking over. That’s why we started feeding the water column and turning on the lights, but the algae also started to explode.

After getting the mysteries and shrimp, the hair algae that was choking out the plants disappeared, and the other algae got way more under control. Then I overfed the snails, which triggered an algae bloom that turned the water opaque green. We blacked out the aquarium for almost a week, and while it helped kill some of the algae (the stuff making the water green), we also lost the hygrophila, and the other plants looked about ready to die.

I’m starting to think an aquarium is only for rich people or people who are already plugged i to the community, because that’s the only way one can get enough plants to start the dang aquariums.

I've never had great success with planted aquariums either...don't give up hope on having an attractive aquarium just yet, though. An aquarium doesn't necessarily have to be planted to be enjoyable, and in my experience emersed houseplants and floating plants - which have neither algae nor CO2 restrictions to deal with - are much more reliable than submerged plants. In my opinion there is no shame in using plastic plants for the underwater portions of the setup, at least until you iron out the whole submerged plant thing. True, plastic plants do not grow or affect water parameters, but they also don't die and do not attract algae to grow on them nearly as readily as living, fragile submerged plants; it's also much easier to get red plastic plants than to get a living aquarium plant to develop red colors.

 

[Lovesomefish]

Is there a chance your water is high in phosphate? Some algae seems to like high phosphate, ( Blackbeard for example). If there’s an excess of food, or maybe from your well, it may be stimulating the algae, and with low nitrates the plants can’t out compete the algae?? Just a hypothesis to consider.

That’s entirely possible. I haven’t seen any black algae, though, so that’s good.

Maybe we could get rid of the moss and float water sprite. That’s known to grow fast enough to take over tanks. The moss is in the best spot to put a floater. Or we could use the moss like a big bush where the hygrophila died. I’m starting to get ideas, guys! Thanks so much!

My question about hillstream loaches remains, though; will they eat algae that’ on rocks that aren’t totally smooth?

I've never had great success with planted aquariums either...don't give up hope on having an attractive aquarium just yet, though. An aquarium doesn't necessarily have to be planted to be enjoyable, and in my experience emersed houseplants and floating plants - which have neither algae nor CO2 restrictions to deal with - are much more reliable than submerged plants. In my opinion there is no shame in using plastic plants for the underwater portions of the setup, at least until you iron out the whole submerged plant thing. True, plastic plants do not grow or affect water parameters, but they also don't die and do not attract algae to grow on them nearly as readily as living, fragile submerged plants; it's also much easier to get red plastic plants than to get a living aquarium plant to develop red colors.

Thanks! We’re getting some ideas on making the live plants doable, but your idea to have some fake plants also sounds great. I think we’re going to try a mix.

 

[Joshaeus]

Floating plants might be possible, but I hate house plants, so I won’t be doing those.

Why the disdain for houseplants? Did you have some bad experiences with them in the past? They're much easier to grow bare root in a fish tank than in dirt...they cannot be over or underwatered when grown hydroponically, and if you use artificial light you can easily mitigate issues caused by insufficient light (assuming you don't try growing plants that demand full sun).

 

[ruud]

I CAN’T wait for the plant biomass to develop because it isn’t growing like it’s supposed to. Based on what the Ebayer also sells, I think my mystery plant is Ludwigia Repens, and neither it nor the anacharis are growing like I read they do (where they need to be trimmed every week or they get too big). That information was supposed to be based on a no CO2 tank, and it’s why I bought anacharis and was excited to get a surprise LR. I have started to float the anacharis instead of having it planted to try to combat the problem. It seems to be doing okay so far.

Before we got the mysteries, the plants suffered a lot; if we didn’t turn on the lights, they turned pale and started dying; if we didn’t feed them, they turned pale and started dying; in both scenarios the algae was still creeping in and slowly taking over. That’s why we started feeding the water column and turning on the lights, but the algae also started to explode.

After getting the mysteries and shrimp, the hair algae that was choking out the plants disappeared, and the other algae got way more under control. Then I overfed the snails, which triggered an algae bloom that turned the water opaque green. We blacked out the aquarium for almost a week, and while it helped kill some of the algae (the stuff making the water green), we also lost the hygrophila, and the other plants looked about ready to die.

I’m starting to think an aquarium is only for rich people or people who are already plugged i to the community, because that’s the only way one can get enough plants to start the dang aquariums.


I’m seriously starting to think about just getting rid of live plants and using algicide. Many people have thriving fish using water changes and fake plants. I don’t want to keep the aquarium light off all the stupid time because I can’t see anything in the aquarium with it off. Like, what’s the point of an aquarium if we can’t see into it?

Floating plants might be possible, but I hate house plants, so I won’t be doing those. The only trouble with floaters is they’ll block the light, which means we can’t see into the aquarium, which defeats the whole purpose. I don’t know, maybe I should just go the fake plant+algaecide route.

Fair enough and too bad it is going this way.

My next question would probably be whether you started adding nutrients and turned on the lights around the same time. But perhaps more questions only add to the frustration, so I’ll leave it there for now.

I hope your tank will be algae-free soon.

 

[Lovesomefish]

Fair enough and too bad it is going this way.

My next question would probably be whether you started adding nutrients and turned on the lights around the same time. But perhaps more questions only add to the frustration, so I’ll leave it there for now.

I hope your tank will be algae-free soon.

Thanks. I started with one and then tried the other, then both. I don’t know what we did wrong, but I think we’re coming up with solutions that will work, thanks to all you guys’ suggestions.

Why the disdain for houseplants? Did you have some bad experiences with them in the past? They're much easier to grow bare root in a fish tank than in dirt...they cannot be over or underwatered when grown hydroponically, and if you use artificial light you can easily mitigate issues caused by insufficient light (assuming you don't try growing plants that demand full sun).

You know how some people hate having a garden? It’s like that; it’s just something I hate having around and dealing with. I understand why people love them, but I hate them for myself.

 

[TClare]

Floating plants may well be the answer, I have them in all my tanks, and I can still see the fish perfectly well. They do provide some shade as well as sucking up excess nutrients and competing well with algae.. Water lettuce grows quickly and is easy to remove when it takes iover too much of the surface.

 

[Joshaeus]

Floating plants may well be the answer, I have them in all my tanks, and I can still see the fish perfectly well. They do provide some shade as well as sucking up excess nutrients and competing well with algae.. Water lettuce grows quickly and is easy to remove when it takes iover too much of the surface.

My tanks have salvinia and - dum dum dah! - duckweed. Duckweed is quite annoying, but in its defense it grows feverishly (which means it eats a lot of excess nutrients in the process) and is the easiest aquatic plant I've worked with indoors. Note that if you ever get duckweed in your tank you are unlikely to ever get rid of it completely unless you dose the tank with chemicals that will kill every plant in the tank (or unless one of your fish decides duckweed is food).

 

[KribensisLover1]

Wait
Do snails need to be fed if they’re eating all the algae? Bc it sounds like you had a great set up for a bit until you over fed the snails.
But maybe they need more nutrients I truly don’t know.

My tanks have salvinia and - dum dum dah! - duckweed. Duckweed is quite annoying, but in its defense it grows feverishly (which means it eats a lot of excess nutrients in the process) and is the easiest aquatic plant I've worked with indoors. Note that if you ever get duckweed in your tank you are unlikely to ever get rid of it completely unless you dose the tank with chemicals that will kill every plant in the tank (or unless one of your fish decides duckweed is food).

Also just curious
My friend gave me a small Tupperware of maybe 3” square of duckweed and warned me. But I had two hobs and a lid on the tank and the duckweed dwindled to a few little pieces. Is this a sign that a tank isn’t great for plants?

 

[Fishfur]

This is just a suggestion but adding some scuds might help.

In my experience, scuds (freshwater amphipods) are voracious algae eaters and cooler temperatures won’t be an issue for them, though if it’s too chilly they probably won’t breed. They tolerate temperatures from near freezing to about 30C.

The scuds I’ve had adore algae, it appears to be their favourite food. Though in the interests of full disclosure, mosses run a very close second to algae and If they get hungry they will eat plants.

They will eat just about anything, as technically they are omnivorous detritivores. But they seem to lean heavily to the vegetarian side of omnivory, though they happily take dead critters and in the wild some species are known to collectively hunt some of the larger insect larvae or nymphs.

They make excellent live fish food and in tanks where fish are preying on them, their numbers generally don’t get out of hand. But they are capable of reproducing quickly and in large numbers if there’s plenty to eat and no predation.

I culture scuds as a live food and I regularly drop plants that have algae on them into the culture so the scuds can clean the algae off and they excel at this task.

It might be worth a try with the troubles you’re having.

 

[kallililly1973]

The best algae maintainer in an aquarium is the owners of the tank. Don’t rely on inhabitants to keep your tank clean. Take the light off the 24 hour schedule and just do 6 hours of light and block off the outside area of the tank with black construction paper to block the natural light from getting in if that’s a possibility. Get a bottle of all in one fertilizer like Thrive or Easy Green and do a couple squirts a week after water changes and eventually things will balance themselves out. Post pictures also. I admit I just skimmed through your thread so if any of this was already mentioned sorry in advance. Also I didn’t notice any mention of how long the tank has been running and if it was properly cycled . Just my .02

 

[Lovesomefish]

Wait
Do snails need to be fed if they’re eating all the algae? Bc it sounds like you had a great set up for a bit until you over fed the snails.
But maybe they need more nutrients I truly don’t know.


Also just curious
My friend gave me a small Tupperware of maybe 3” square of duckweed and warned me. But I had two hobs and a lid on the tank and the duckweed dwindled to a few little pieces. Is this a sign that a tank isn’t great for plants?

On snails needing food: my understanding is that mystery snails need more than algae to eat, so I give them one food wafer and a couple tiny shrimp pellets once a week. They eat the offerings so voraciously that I once worried I was starving my snails and gave them more two days later. That was how I overfed them.

About duckweed: I actually just finished some research on floating plants. If I understand correctly, your HOB filters are the problem. They create a lot of surface turbulance that isn’t good for floating plants, especially duckweed. Try getting a plant corral or plant fence made for floaters (some people just use floating fish feeding circles/squares) and either “corral” the filters to keep the turbulence down in the rest of the tank, or “corral” the duckweed so they are in calmer water. Good luck!

This is just a suggestion but adding some scuds might help.

In my experience, scuds (freshwater amphipods) are voracious algae eaters and cooler temperatures won’t be an issue for them, though if it’s too chilly they probably won’t breed. They tolerate temperatures from near freezing to about 30C.

The scuds I’ve had adore algae, it appears to be their favourite food. Though in the interests of full disclosure, mosses run a very close second to algae and If they get hungry they will eat plants.

They will eat just about anything, as technically they are omnivorous detritivores. But they seem to lean heavily to the vegetarian side of omnivory, though they happily take dead critters and in the wild some species are known to collectively hunt some of the larger insect larvae or nymphs.

They make excellent live fish food and in tanks where fish are preying on them, their numbers generally don’t get out of hand. But they are capable of reproducing quickly and in large numbers if there’s plenty to eat and no predation.

I culture scuds as a live food and I regularly drop plants that have algae on them into the culture so the scuds can clean the algae off and they excel at this task.

It might be worth a try with the troubles you’re having.

Thanks, we might consider that! For now, we ordered some salvinia and are hoping it will help. We also took out a couple decorations that made it hard to clean the tank, as well as the moss, which just seemed to breed algae. Then we scrubbed the tank really well. We’re going to forgo getting more algae eaters and just plan on scrubbing the rocks and walls every week or two and hope the salvinia helps. We also plan to do more frequent water changes, especially after we get the fish, to make up for the lack of plants pulling out nitrates and to help prevent algae blooms. We had tried not to do many water changes before because our shrimp were dying, and we read water changes are hard on them. But they’re nearly all dead now (we found a few when tank cleaning yesterday), and we honestly just don’t care anymore.

We do try to add water that’s the temperature of the tank, and only do 25% changes, so if any shrimp are still alive, they should be fine.

The best algae maintainer in an aquarium is the owners of the tank. Don’t rely on inhabitants to keep your tank clean. Take the light off the 24 hour schedule and just do 6 hours of light and block off the outside area of the tank with black construction paper to block the natural light from getting in if that’s a possibility. Get a bottle of all in one fertilizer like Thrive or Easy Green and do a couple squirts a week after water changes and eventually things will balance themselves out. Post pictures also. I admit I just skimmed through your thread so if any of this was already mentioned sorry in advance. Also I didn’t notice any mention of how long the tank has been running and if it was properly cycled . Just my .02

We always expected to do some maintenance, but there are areas of the tank we cannot reach. Reducing the light at all always leads to our jungle val dying, so we won’t be doing anything with it beyond the intensity reduction we’ve already done recently. The Val is looking a little see-through in some places, but root tabs don’t seem to be helping, and they’re growing, so I hope they’ll keep living well.

I have a bottle of Easy Green, but it only seems to feed the algae. The snails produce enough waste to keep the plants alive, it seems, because nitrates always hover somewhere between 5-20.

Construction paper isn’t the worst idea. If the algae keeps getting out of hand, we may go for it.

The tank was cycled before we got the mystery snails. I think we started it in March? I would have to check my notes on when we got the plants.

 

[tinylostwine]

Platy and guppies are excellent algae eaters. Just don't feed them much and they will gobble down algae.

 

[A201]

Unless you are just totally sold on Platy's, Rosy Barbs are very efficient algae eaters, and thrive in cooler water.

Although the females coloration is rather bland, the males turn beet red upon reaching adulthood.

Rosy's aren't going to strip algae off the glass, but will graze algae off the plants, rocks & driftwood. Btw
Rosy's are one of the few fish that will eat blackbeard algae.

In order to be effective a group of at least 9 will be required. I've kept a group of Rosy Barbs for years. The males top out at about three inches. They also are not expensive fish.

Here's a pic of one of my really old male Rosy's.

 

[Joshaeus]

Unless you are just totally sold on Platy's, Rosy Barbs are very efficient algae eaters, and thrive in cooler water.

Although the females coloration is rather bland, the males turn beet red upon reaching adulthood.

Rosy's aren't going to strip algae off the glass, but will graze algae off the plants, rocks & driftwood. Btw
Rosy's are one of the few fish that will eat blackbeard algae.

In order to be effective a group of at least 9 will be required. I've kept a group of Rosy Barbs for years. The males top out at about three inches. They also are not expensive fish.

Here's a pic of one of my really old male Rosy's.

Weird! Several sources online claim this species can hit four or even six inches. You have any idea where those reports came from?

 

[A201]

I've read the same growth information about Rosy Barbs. Perhaps maximum growth is attained in the wild or spacious outdoor ponds.

I've never personally seen a Rosy Barb over three inches, nor have I seen a photo of one anywhere near six inches.

The pictured male Rosy is my biggest one, and is at least three years old.

 

[Joshaeus]

I've read the same growth information about Rosy Barbs. Perhaps maximum growth is attained in the wild or spacious outdoor ponds.

I've never personally seen a Rosy Barb over three inches, nor have I seen a photo of one anywhere near six inches.

The pictured male Rosy is my biggest one, and is at least three years old.

Yeah, I've been wary of trying rosy barbs because of their reported size...a six inch schooling fish really needs a six foot tank in my opinion. Three inches is significantly more manageable.

 

[A201]

You shouldn't have any trouble keeping a group of Rosy Barbs in a 40 gallon tank.

 

[Lovesomefish]

Yeah, I've been wary of trying rosy barbs because of their reported size...a six inch schooling fish really needs a six foot tank in my opinion. Three inches is significantly more manageable.

You shouldn't have any trouble keeping a group of Rosy Barbs in a 40 gallon tank.

Sorry for not responding sooner! I got sick and things kept happening, and I missed the notifications. There was a time I wanted rosy barbs, but like Joshaeus said, I kept reading that they need bigger tanks (55g minimum). I also can’t get the barbs locally, and with the mail being constantly 1-4 days late, we didn’t want to risk the poor fish dying before they got here. I’m surprised you said they only get to 3”! That goes to show how little we still know about fishkeeping.

All that said, I am pleased to report that after my husband scrubbed the big rocks and we removed the moss, the algae has been under control, and the shrimp we thought had all died were only hiding and having babies! We had an explosion of baby shrimp about a week after this post, and now we have a very healthy adult (mating) population. We also went ahead and let one of our mystery snail egg clutches hatch, and have a fun population of cute little baby snails all over the tank.

We also have our fish, finally! We ended up getting 8 plattys and 10 guppies, but lost one of each in the first week to injuries or something we hadn’t noticed when we selected them, so we have 16 fish (they have been medicated, don’t worry). The salvinia floaters are working very well with a little anacharis and some jungle val in controlling the nitrates. The fake plants add a fun pop of color and some hidaways for fish to get away from each other when needed. Overall we are very pleased with how the tank has turned out (though one of the fake plants is a little bright in color, lol).

I really appreciate all of the help and advice everyone gave here! Without it, I don’t think we could have achieved success nearly as fast.

 

[emeraldking]

I've got all of my bristlenoses in unheated tanks for years.

 

[tinylostwine]

If your tank is warm enough for platy or similar (swordtails, american flagfish, guppies) .... they are all excellent eaters - i would NOT get a bn as an 'algae eater'; they are not as good as folks think (at eating algae) and they induce a relatively speaking huge bio-load.

However - if you don't feed the above fishes very often (maybe once or twice a week) they are all excellent algae eaters and since you want platy anyway..... you've solved two prolbems.

 

[tinylostwine]

I went ruby tetra hunting today and so i took a peak in my aquarium to see what i could find:

(ruby tetra are these little sub inch tetra that as far as i know require blackwater for optimal coloration). Anyway someone told me they were shy and would never show themselves but i find them every day i look for them (i have them in 3 aquariums with the largest school of some 35 in a 95):

The pencil fish above them in the first picture is n. marilyn which i believe can be found with or near them in the wild so not totally out of place.



In the second picture the tetra(s) above the ruby are morse code which are a bit out of place.


They are brave little devils. When i feed my yellow kribs in the 40b (with frys); they have no problem charging in for an extra meal of course it annoys the parents to no end even if the frys are now larger then the rubies

 

[Lovesomefish]

If your tank is warm enough for platy or similar (swordtails, american flagfish, guppies) .... they are all excellent eaters - i would NOT get a bn as an 'algae eater'; they are not as good as folks think (at eating algae) and they induce a relatively speaking huge bio-load.

However - if you don't feed the above fishes very often (maybe once or twice a week) they are all excellent algae eaters and since you want platy anyway..... you've solved two prolbems.

We already got the fish since the first post, and we got platys and guppies. We have gotten the algae under control, and have since discovered that some of our shrimp did survive and breed.

Thanks for the info anyway! I don’t think my fish would appreciate being fed only twice a week—I feed them a little twice a day .