Joined
·
26 Posts
There've been posts about favorite fish, so I thought this one might be even more useful. What creatures and methods do you use to control algae in your tank? Have any success stories, or nightmares?
I have a Pleco, an Apple snail, an Amano shrimp, and Dalmatian Mollies.
I also have a good many live plants which compete for the algaes' necessities, inhibiting growth.
So far not a spot of algae on anything. The snail seems to leave the plants alone, occasionally nibbling at my Moss ball. All in all he does nothing more than keeps it tidy. I add a slice of zucchini in the tank once a week or so to supplement the herbivores diet since I rarely see any algae for them to eat. I was using the sinking algae pellets daily (I was worried about the pleco getting enough to eat) but they seemed to negatively effect my water chemistry so I switched to the Zuc. I do add one of them about every week because my frogs and the snail seem to like them.
The Mollys are voracious eaters. The shrimp is probably my favorite cleaner because he cleans plant surfaces without damaging them. He gobbles up any food that falls to the bottom as well. I'd like to add some BumbleBee Shrimp as I've read they are also good algae patrolers.
I have a Pleco, an Apple snail, an Amano shrimp, and Dalmatian Mollies.
I also have a good many live plants which compete for the algaes' necessities, inhibiting growth.
So far not a spot of algae on anything. The snail seems to leave the plants alone, occasionally nibbling at my Moss ball. All in all he does nothing more than keeps it tidy. I add a slice of zucchini in the tank once a week or so to supplement the herbivores diet since I rarely see any algae for them to eat. I was using the sinking algae pellets daily (I was worried about the pleco getting enough to eat) but they seemed to negatively effect my water chemistry so I switched to the Zuc. I do add one of them about every week because my frogs and the snail seem to like them.
The Mollys are voracious eaters. The shrimp is probably my favorite cleaner because he cleans plant surfaces without damaging them. He gobbles up any food that falls to the bottom as well. I'd like to add some BumbleBee Shrimp as I've read they are also good algae patrolers.