I've been in this hobby a long time, so I know what I did wrong. I need to know what I should do to correct the problems.
I have a neglected 25gal tank that has countless (well over one hundred) little snails infesting it, and fuzzy green algae on all the plants. I have four ottos and one chinese algae eater, and they all eat the algae, but there is still too much. I also have one angelfish and one platy. My tapwater has a lot of phosphate, which aggravates the algae, so I add phosphate sponge crystals to the filter once in a while. I've been keeping the light on for shortened time periods, but that has no affect on the algae. I know I need to feed less (I've been sick and someone else has been caring for the fish) and vacuum out the substrate, but I need a long term solution for both the algae and the snails. I don't want to tear down the whole tank to get rid of the snails, I'd rather correct the problems and let the population die down in time.
Here is my plan, and I want to know if you think it is sufficient or if you think I should do something more: I will clean it all up and change the water, prune back the algae ridden leaves, and add some corys to help keep the bottom free of food. Of course, I will keep up with water changes in the future. I am thinking about filtering the tap water to take out the phosphate before I put it in the tank.- has anyone done this with success? I will fertilize my plants on a regular basis (crypt. wendtii) and add anacharis/elodea to take up extra nitrate and phosphate to control the algae. I am wondering if this will be enough to control the snails? They are eating the algae, so reducing the excess waste may not be enough to starve them out. Will the corys eat the snail eggs and help? I heard cherry barbs eat snails, does anyone have experience with that? I was considering adding rosy barbs to my tank, but if cherry barbs will help keep the tank balanced I don't mind getting those instead. I plan on getting nerite snails and zebra snails once the "bad" snails are under control. I really don't want to poision them with copper and I don't want to tear down the tank. I'd love to hear from people who have had this problem and corrected it. Any feedback??
I have a neglected 25gal tank that has countless (well over one hundred) little snails infesting it, and fuzzy green algae on all the plants. I have four ottos and one chinese algae eater, and they all eat the algae, but there is still too much. I also have one angelfish and one platy. My tapwater has a lot of phosphate, which aggravates the algae, so I add phosphate sponge crystals to the filter once in a while. I've been keeping the light on for shortened time periods, but that has no affect on the algae. I know I need to feed less (I've been sick and someone else has been caring for the fish) and vacuum out the substrate, but I need a long term solution for both the algae and the snails. I don't want to tear down the whole tank to get rid of the snails, I'd rather correct the problems and let the population die down in time.
Here is my plan, and I want to know if you think it is sufficient or if you think I should do something more: I will clean it all up and change the water, prune back the algae ridden leaves, and add some corys to help keep the bottom free of food. Of course, I will keep up with water changes in the future. I am thinking about filtering the tap water to take out the phosphate before I put it in the tank.- has anyone done this with success? I will fertilize my plants on a regular basis (crypt. wendtii) and add anacharis/elodea to take up extra nitrate and phosphate to control the algae. I am wondering if this will be enough to control the snails? They are eating the algae, so reducing the excess waste may not be enough to starve them out. Will the corys eat the snail eggs and help? I heard cherry barbs eat snails, does anyone have experience with that? I was considering adding rosy barbs to my tank, but if cherry barbs will help keep the tank balanced I don't mind getting those instead. I plan on getting nerite snails and zebra snails once the "bad" snails are under control. I really don't want to poision them with copper and I don't want to tear down the tank. I'd love to hear from people who have had this problem and corrected it. Any feedback??
