What algae eaters for tank with green sunfish?

I work with a green sunfish in a large tank (around 90-125 gallons) with a setup that has plants in the system but not in the tank. I recently introduced a light source and since then there’s been a lot of algae. I’m not really able to change the setup, but I can submit a request for additional tank mates if they’re cheap. I’ve been thinking of introducing snails or maybe shrimp, but sunfish eat snails in the wild and would probably eat shrimp too. The behavior and diet of sunfish are pretty similar to other cichlids in the aquarium trade. Does anyone have suggestions for cichlid safe algae clean up? I’m working on regular water changes and hopefully getting more testing supplies soon. So far I’ve been manually scraping algae, but of course it grows back super quickly and I need additional help while I try to solve the nutrient/lighting issues.

 

I would thank a pleco would survive
Bristlnose pleco get 6 inches if you get one that’s already large than I think you would be safe

 

If you can't remove the light can you decrease it's intensity or the duration that it is on?

What kind of algae do you have? BN plecos won't eat all types of algae.

 

If you can't remove the light can you decrease it's intensity or the duration that it is on?

What kind of algae do you have? BN plecos won't eat all types of algae.

Yes, I can change the light timer. I think it’s currently set for 10am-8pm but I can reduce the hours. It has brown and hair algae, and there might be BGA in there too but it doesn’t look quite like it

 

Without plants in the tank, the light is for viewing the fish, so there is no harm in using it as little as possible. No need to have it on when nobody is there too view the tank. Lights that can be dimmed can be used for long photo periods at low settings, without that option, all you can do is cut back on the time it is on. Raising the lights will decrease the intensity that is hitting the water as well. (can your light be used with a dimmer? Google "plug in dimmer")

I think BN plecos effect on algae is over sold. They won't eat the hair algae. I've never had them eat brown algae (diatoms?). And if you do have BGA, they won't touch that either. Unfortunately, the usual helpers won't work for your tank, as you know.


Sounds like you are using a sump or similar with plants. Plants that grow out of the water (have access to CO2 from the air) will consume much more nutrients.

 

Would a Siamese algae work they get pretty big and thier much better algae eaters
Never had sunfish so I don’t know thier aggression

 

Without plants in the tank, the light is for viewing the fish, so there is no harm in using it as little as possible. No need to have it on when nobody is there too view the tank. Lights that can be dimmed can be used for long photo periods at low settings, without that option, all you can do is cut back on the time it is on. Raising the lights will decrease the intensity that is hitting the water as well. (can your light be used with a dimmer? Google "plug in dimmer")

I think BN plecos effect on algae is over sold. They won't eat the hair algae. I've never had them eat brown algae (diatoms?). And if you do have BGA, they won't touch that either. Unfortunately, the usual helpers won't work for your tank, as you know.


Sounds like you are using a sump or similar with plants. Plants that grow out of the water (have access to CO2 from the air) will consume much more nutrients.

The room doesn’t have a light so the tank needs one for a proper day/night cycle for the fish, but I lowered the hours it’s on so hopefully that helps. The plants are mostly pothos and there’s a LOT of them. I’m kind of confused why there’s so much algae since the plants should be using most of the nutrients. Do you think a larger snail could stand its own, or would it just be a bigger snack?

Would a Siamese algae work they get pretty big and thier much better algae eaters
Never had sunfish so I don’t know thier aggression

I’ll look into it. From what I remember aren’t SAEs pretty docile? Sunfish are similar aggression to most African cichlids. Currently he’s alone in the tank, so a tank mate could be beneficial but it can’t be one that would cause territory fights, but also needs to be aggressive enough to not get bullied or killed

 

Your water tests will tell you what's in the water for the algae to use. Algae are quite opportunistic survivors, often flourishing where other plants struggle. It doesn't take much for them to take hold. The algae is using the same water as the Pothos. If the Pothos is thriving the algae probably will as well. Land plants will have a higher nutrient demand than the algae so if they are not showing signs of deficiency there should be plenty of nutrients for the algae as well.

I've never done it, but you can try doing a blackout of the tank. Others will have to advise you on the details.

How much light is needed for a proper day-night cycle? Could you just use a floor lamp or similar and forgo the tank light?

There are products that some use to control algae like APT fix, which is sold as an algaecide for aquariums. Seachem Excel is sold as "liquid CO2". Many people use it as an algaecide.

Aren't Geen Sunfish known for having a very large mouth? I've never kept large snails. Mine would be snacks for your fish. Apple snails might work, but are illegal in the US, so depending on your location...They are considered very invassive. Mystery snails are related to Apple snails, but do not get as big. They can get as big as 2", but some may not exceed an inch.

 

How about some floating plants like salvinia to diffuse the light intensity ?

 

Your water tests will tell you what's in the water for the algae to use. Algae are quite opportunistic survivors, often flourishing where other plants struggle. It doesn't take much for them to take hold. The algae is using the same water as the Pothos. If the Pothos is thriving the algae probably will as well. Land plants will have a higher nutrient demand than the algae so if they are not showing signs of deficiency there should be plenty of nutrients for the algae as well.

I've never done it, but you can try doing a blackout of the tank. Others will have to advise you on the details.

How much light is needed for a proper day-night cycle? Could you just use a floor lamp or similar and forgo the tank light?

There are products that some use to control algae like APT fix, which is sold as an algaecide for aquariums. Seachem Excel is sold as "liquid CO2". Many people use it as an algaecide.

Aren't Geen Sunfish known for having a very large mouth? I've never kept large snails. Mine would be snacks for your fish. Apple snails might work, but are illegal in the US, so depending on your location...They are considered very invassive. Mystery snails are related to Apple snails, but do not get as big. They can get as big as 2", but some may not exceed an inch.

Thank you! I’ll look into those ideas. I’m not able to switch to a floor light unfortunately. It’s in a research lab and other animals have controlled light needs that I can’t interfere with too much. Green sunfish do have huge mouths! I thought about mystery snails but I know they often try to explore outside the tank. I’ll see if I can add a lid to the tank and maybe try that route. I also reduced the lights to 6 hours a day

How about some floating plants like salvinia to diffuse the light intensity ?

I’ll definitely look into it. This fish eats everything in sight (except algae I guess) so he might eat them all. I reduced the lighting hours too, but I wonder if I could put paper or something between the lights and the tank to mimic floating plants?