Hi all- I have a 5-gal hex tank with a bio-wheel filter for my betta. It's got stone gravel and a live plant in it. I keep the temp steady at 79 degrees. Over the last couple of weeks I've had a horrible algae problem. The rocks are getting covered with it and twice I've had to scrub the side of the inside of the tank. I've done partial water changes, but then it goes back to the way it was. I saw a bunch of different things at the LFS to treat the tank with, but wanted to come here and get your opinions on what would be the best thing for me to do. I just tested the water params and ammonia and nitrites are at 0; nitrates are at 5ppm. The tank uses a fluorescent light, and the tank sits on my desk at work; I would say moderately exposed to outside light from a nearby window. Is this something I should take care of by adding a chemical of some sort to the tank, or would getting a few small algae eaters do the trick? (as you can tell, I'm still new to all this!) Thanks!
Algae in a Betta tank
- Thread starter EnyaGirl
- Start date
why turn on the light when your not even at home to see the fish? is the tank in your office? Theres really no need to light your tank, esp if you have natural light hitting it already.
Bottom dwellers are not going to resolve your algae problem efficiently. I would suggest toning it down a bit on the light exposure
Bottom dwellers are not going to resolve your algae problem efficiently. I would suggest toning it down a bit on the light exposure
Jo3, the tank is in her office.
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I wouldn't necessarily jump to the conclusion that it's only the sunlight causing the algae. My 29g sits across from a window in my bedroom, and in the evening, during sunset hours, it gets a considerable amount of natural light as well, there's no algae, however. And to add to it, I have 4.5 WPG of PC lighting. Of course, I do have CO2 injection and a fully planted tank that outcompetes the algae for nutrients.
Because your nitrates are low (5ppm), I'm going to guess you have blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria. It looks slimy and covers everything. Am I right? Like Jo3 said, algae eaters won't solve your problem. There's no algae eater that eats BGA anyhow, as it can be toxic to fish.
cyanobacteria can take over a tank with low nitrates, because it doesn't need very many nutrients to thrive.
You can do a blackout to kill it, but since it gets direct sunlight, a blackout may not be sufficient. I've used erythromycin to get rid of it. You can use Maracyn (if I remember correctly) to treat it. There's also the risk of killing some of your beneficial bacteria and having a mini-cycle. I would suggest trying a blackout if possible, at first.
EDIT: How often do you do water changes, btw?
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I wouldn't necessarily jump to the conclusion that it's only the sunlight causing the algae. My 29g sits across from a window in my bedroom, and in the evening, during sunset hours, it gets a considerable amount of natural light as well, there's no algae, however. And to add to it, I have 4.5 WPG of PC lighting. Of course, I do have CO2 injection and a fully planted tank that outcompetes the algae for nutrients.
Because your nitrates are low (5ppm), I'm going to guess you have blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria. It looks slimy and covers everything. Am I right? Like Jo3 said, algae eaters won't solve your problem. There's no algae eater that eats BGA anyhow, as it can be toxic to fish.
cyanobacteria can take over a tank with low nitrates, because it doesn't need very many nutrients to thrive.
You can do a blackout to kill it, but since it gets direct sunlight, a blackout may not be sufficient. I've used erythromycin to get rid of it. You can use Maracyn (if I remember correctly) to treat it. There's also the risk of killing some of your beneficial bacteria and having a mini-cycle. I would suggest trying a blackout if possible, at first.
EDIT: How often do you do water changes, btw?
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It does not look like blue green algae- that's got a blue-ish tint to it and kind of looks like a carpet, right? This is just green and is mostly forming on the walls of the tank most exposed to sunlight...so that must be the cause. I have a CAE in my 55-gal tank...could I put him into this one with the betta and see if he'll help take care of it? Or can they not be with bettas?
Edit: I have been doing about 30% water changes weekly. Another thought...since moving this tank is really not an option (it needs to be where it is in my office because it's the only place where I have access to electric sockets for the heater, filter, etc) what about those things that you stick on the outside of regular tanks as backgrounds? If I were to tape that around the hex tank, except for the portion that's not exposed to natural light..would that do the trick? I realize this wouldn't look the prettiest, but I'm more concerned with the fish.
Edit: I have been doing about 30% water changes weekly. Another thought...since moving this tank is really not an option (it needs to be where it is in my office because it's the only place where I have access to electric sockets for the heater, filter, etc) what about those things that you stick on the outside of regular tanks as backgrounds? If I were to tape that around the hex tank, except for the portion that's not exposed to natural light..would that do the trick? I realize this wouldn't look the prettiest, but I'm more concerned with the fish.
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While i dont have experience with a 5g tank
i did have a problem with Algae
if your doing 30% changes i would say maybe a blackout might help.My problem was sunlight and leaving light on to long and perhaps not doing enough water changes.I put my light on when i get home at 10a and feed and shut off @3or4p i do weekly changes of 25% on both tanks
But now its summer so i dont even have to put light on
i still put light on to see everything but i dont need to
anyway
i have one of those back rounds that i forgot about. i put it on and it felt like a grade school diorama. I didnt like it at all i immediately took down !
i felt boxed in ! LOL
good luck
i did have a problem with Algae
if your doing 30% changes i would say maybe a blackout might help.My problem was sunlight and leaving light on to long and perhaps not doing enough water changes.I put my light on when i get home at 10a and feed and shut off @3or4p i do weekly changes of 25% on both tanks
But now its summer so i dont even have to put light on
i still put light on to see everything but i dont need to
anyway
i have one of those back rounds that i forgot about. i put it on and it felt like a grade school diorama. I didnt like it at all i immediately took down !
i felt boxed in ! LOL
good luck
repeating again, lol. Fish are not going to solve your algae problem. You cannot expect 1-2 fish to clean a house of algae. They might eat it sure, but they are not going to eliminate a tank full of algae, if anything they will contribute more to it's growth. Just do emmanuels blackout tip and try to diminish the light hitting your tank
if you can't get the tank out of the sunlight, I think the background may help block the extra light. Good thinking.
Sometimes my fish do not do a good job when I get algae. So I just get a sponge and it comes right off the glass.
Btw..a couple ottos would eat some algae.What bthey miss ..you wipe clean. I used to use a magnet one where the magnet was on the outside and the scrubber on the inside. So you just move the magent around the glass and it scraped it off the inside .
Dont put the Chines algae eater in...he may end up sucking on your Betta.
Sometimes my fish do not do a good job when I get algae. So I just get a sponge and it comes right off the glass.
Btw..a couple ottos would eat some algae.What bthey miss ..you wipe clean. I used to use a magnet one where the magnet was on the outside and the scrubber on the inside. So you just move the magent around the glass and it scraped it off the inside .
Dont put the Chines algae eater in...he may end up sucking on your Betta.
A background would be a good idea. It'll make your plant and fish stand out more along with blocking some of the sunlight. When I had my 5g hex tanks running, I just used some black construction paper for the background. It can help add depth if the scaping is done correctly.
I would wait to add an algae eater. Clean the aquarium of algae once more, add the background, and see what happens then. The water change schedule sounds good.
Does the algae look kinda "furry"? There's some algae that fish won't eat. I have no experience with CAE's, but haven't heard many good things about them. Don't they get a bit big for a 5g? I know ottos, in my experience, have done an awesome job with diatoms. They generally left most of my green algaes alone, however, and spent most of their time on my driftwood after my diatom bloom passed.
I would wait to add an algae eater. Clean the aquarium of algae once more, add the background, and see what happens then. The water change schedule sounds good.
Does the algae look kinda "furry"? There's some algae that fish won't eat. I have no experience with CAE's, but haven't heard many good things about them. Don't they get a bit big for a 5g? I know ottos, in my experience, have done an awesome job with diatoms. They generally left most of my green algaes alone, however, and spent most of their time on my driftwood after my diatom bloom passed.