algae and American-Flag Fish

[Mao]

I have a tank that's about 15 gallons with one fantail goldfish (~4in), one peppered cory(~1.5in), and live plants. I bought the cory to help keep the tank clean and now I am looking to get something to keep algae from growing on my plants. The algae is dark colored and has a real short fuzz.



This is tough for two reasons. First I don't know exactly what kind of algae it is and I can't seem to find any good pictures online to identify it by. And second I don't want to put my goldfish in any danger. He is my first fish and he is the centerpiece of my tank that i have kept now for over a year. I've become pretty attached and I don't want him to get picked on because of some algae eaters.


What would your reccomendation be on the American-Flag Fish? I have heard that they do well in couples or trios but are aggresive on their own? Also, where can I go for good pics of algae so I can identify what I have?

Isaac

 

[Fishman_2000]

Here is a link about algae. http://www.notcatfish.com/aquaticplants/algae.htm

If it's fuzzy it could be green algae. But usually green is easy to identify. I have never heard of the American-Flag Fish. Usually ottos and bristlenose plecos are good for cleaning up algae. But the ottos may only eat brown algae. I can't remember. What kind of lighting do you have? For starters I would clean the algae off the leaves with a sponge and see how long it takes to come back. How does your water look?

 

[fishysmell]

AFF's are supposed to be really good at cleaning any filimentous algae. I have also heard that they can be agressive and go on a fin shredding rampage if they run out of algae to eat. I would be cautious w/ these guys. Siemese algae eaters are really good at knocking out the same stuff but I don't know if they could survive in goldfish water. I personally have 3 and they eliminated my green hair algae problem. They aren't agressive either.

AFF's are also known as Florida Flag Fish.

 

[Leopardess]

can you find a picture here?

http://aquabotanicwetthumb.infopop.cc/6/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=4006090712&f=8796060812&m=3256098022

 

[jcd]

Some type of shrimps are very good at cleaning filamentous algea from plants.
I don have a clue about their name but if u go to a dealer he should be abl to recomend some peacful species which grow to about 3 cm

 

[wayne]

Siamese algae eaters reputedly stop work below a certain. I haven't had a flagfish for years, but don't remember them as beingtoo bad

 

[Mao]

The water is very clear. I have a green algae on the glass that is easy to remove with a sponge like tool. The stuff on the plants is very hard to get off. I tried rubbing it with my fingers and it does come off, but I had to rub pretty hard. It doesn't grow on the substrate, but it does grow on everything else in the tank (large rock, shell, ceramic decorations, plants) At first the algae on the plants looks like 1cm little hairs and then it gets dark greenish brown. I have been just pruning off the leaves that are infected because when I don't they get soft and then die. I have two 15W red bulbs in the tank that I only leave on from about twilight to 10 or 11 pm, but it is in the window so it gets a lot of sun. I guess I have to get a test kit. I just keep forgetting to. Last night I changed about 2 and a half gallons of the water and treated it with tapwater conditioner.

My question with the AFF is will they get aggressive if I got a pair (mail/female F/F or M/M)? When I was researching them I mostly got people who kept them exclusively or with other similar fish. I would like to hear from someone who has them with other fish

My tank is filtered through an AquaClear Mini that includes a foam block, a bag of rocks, and an amonia treatment bag. I don't really keep it like a "goldfish tank." I am trying to do this as professionally as I can.

Isaac

 

[pippa326]

Hi,
I have green hair algae in my planted tank. I don't know about the AFF but some time back I heard about a fish called the butterfly goodeid or ameca splendens that is supposed to eat hair algae. Well I had never seen any so I could't try one out. Yesterday I found some for sale and bought a pair they haven't cleaned the tank yet but I have seen them munching on the hair algae. Apparently they grow to 3-4" and are livebearers. The man in the lfs said it is best to have two or three as although peaceful may pester other fish if kept alone hope this information is useful

Caroline