Help !! Unsightly Brown / Black Algae

[PARAGUAY]

With regard to lighting I would reduce the photoperiod to 5 hours max for now ,one tube if possible, your plants clean or dispose the worst leaves as said and why not do as Darrel daily smaller water changes.You dont need vigorous water changes at gravel level,gently siphon above gravel.Why not fill it with fast growing stem plants at the back,help to shade your slow growers and compete the algae.Some floaters would also help.Make sure suitable for enclosed top though not all are.Sorry about the Clown Loach they can be unhappy solitary

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

If you want to keep fish, do not waste your time with plants. Keep your fish and go for other artificial decor.

Get away with you, actively growing plants are the single most important factor in successful fish keeping, they aren't incompatible, they are complementary.

Why not fill it with fast growing stem plants at the back, help to shade your slow growers and compete the algae.Some floaters would also help.

I agree with "Paraguay".

At the moment all the plants you have are relatively slower growers, and it is going to take some time to build up a sufficient biomass to limit algal growth.

If you add some floating plants they have access to aerial CO2 and this means that they can more fully utilise the available light, as long as nutrients aren't severely limiting.

Another option is a sub-surface floater, these are CO2 limited, but levels of CO2 will be higher nearer to the waters surface. Ceratophyllum works well unless you water is really soft.

cheers Darrel

 

[kellyboy47]

At the moment all the plants you have are relatively slower growers, and it is going to take some time to build up a sufficient biomass to limit algal growth.

Hi Darrel,

I have personally bought these plants because the fauna I have do like eating the plants. I have Kribs, Midas Cichlid, Rosy Barbs etc and have tried plants like Valis, Elodensa but they do not last very long

If you add some floating plants they have access to aerial CO2 and this means that they can more fully utilise the available light, as long as nutrients aren't severely limiting.

Another option is a sub-surface floater, these are CO2 limited, but levels of CO2 will be higher nearer to the waters surface. Ceratophyllum works well unless you water is really soft.

I live in a hard water area so is there a particular Ceratophyllum species that I should be looking at ? So will the floaters minimise the amount of algae on the Buce, Anubias etc ?

Thanks
Trev

 

[herezor]

Get away with you, actively growing plants are the single most important factor in successful fish keeping, they aren't incompatible, they are complementary.

I never said they were incompatible. Ever. I just said that if the OP is having trouble with algae and plants and his/her goal is to keep fishes and he/she is not into plant keeping, he/she should not go the planted aquarium route. There is the aquarium route. Perfectly acceptable and, although not hassle free, much less complicated. One can have an aquarium, only fish, or a planted aquarium, plants and fish. Both are perfectly fine.

I know people that keep fish only aquariums doing a water change once a month and cleaning the filter every three months. Super-clear water and super-healthy fish. And how about african ciclid biotope tanks or white cloud mountain minnows biotope tanks?. Not a single plant in there and they may look astonishing...

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I live in a hard water area so is there a particular Ceratophyllum species that I should be looking at ?

Either species will do (Ceratophyllum demersum or C. submersum). Tropica sell <"C. demersum "Foxtail">. I have industrial quantities of Ceratophyllum you can have, but I'm away until Monday now.

So will the floaters minimise the amount of algae on the Buce, Anubias etc ?

They should do.

I know people that keep fish only aquariums doing a water change once a month and cleaning the filter every three months. Super-clear water and super-healthy fish. And how about african ciclid biotope tanks or white cloud mountain minnows biotope tanks?. Not a single plant in there and they may look astonishing...

I'm not saying you can't successfully keep non-planted tanks, many successful fish keepers and breeders do.

I'm happy to admit I'm a pretty shoddy fish keeper and need all the help I can get. Same applies to the plants, I don't grow a huge range of plants in perfect condition, I have a limited range of easy plants that mainly look after themselves.

It isn't a very exciting way of looking at the hobby, but I like a risk management approach where you look at the probability and severity of an event occurring. If you don't have plants, and are reliant on your filter for biological filtration, you instantly have a single point of failure where a loss of power, or blockage, in the filter leads to pretty rapid fish death.

cheers Darrel

 

[herezor]

I'm not saying you can't successfully keep non-planted tanks, many successful fish keepers and breeders do.

I'm happy to admit I'm a pretty shoddy fish keeper and need all the help I can get. Same applies to the plants, I don't grow a huge range of plants in perfect condition, I have a limited range of easy plants that mainly look after themselves.

It isn't a very exciting way of looking at the hobby, but I like a risk management approach where you look at the probability and severity of an event occurring. If you don't have plants, and are reliant on your filter for biological filtration, you instantly have a single point of failure where a loss of power, or blockage, in the filter leads to pretty rapid fish death.

cheers Darrel

Yes, I agree with you completely. Actually I would´t recommend people trying and willing to keep a planted aquarium with plants and fish and having a problem with plants to remove them. That is not a way to help that particular person. But the OP showed in one of his posts that he is not that interested in plants and wants to keep fish. I just tried to make him see that this hobby is what you want to make of it. It can be really complicated or really simple. But the most important thing is to make up your mind and decide what you want.

Regarding the filter backup, of course, I agree with you. Plants make a wonderful filtering system. Sometimes even better than the bacteria colony. But if he does not want to keep plants for whatever reason, he can also buy a second filter and plug it somewhere else and buy an external power supply like those used for desktop computers and servers.

I think you and I and many other people here see having plants in the aquarium as a plus. I encourage the OP to have them because they are beneficial in every single way. They give also a better look to the tank (for my taste, at least). But I think we must offer him advice and options and then he must decide whatever he likes better.

Cheers

Pedro