Two Unrelated Questions

xarumitzu

xarumitzu

Large Fish
#1
Jun 27, 2009
131
0
0
Kalamazoo, MI
#1
Okay, I have two questions that I could use some help with.

First, I inherited a bumblebee catfish from a friend a few months ago who was no longer interested in keeping fish. It's about 2-3 inches long (closer to 2) and he says he had the fish for about 4ish years. How long do they typically live? Also, it would come out of it's hiding spot on a fairly nightly basis (it seems to like hiding under a decoration I have of a crashed P51 Mustang) although for the past month or so I haven't seen it. Is there a way to coax it out of it's hiding spot so I at least know it's alive?

Second, for the past month or so I have been noticing a steady buildup of algea on the glass of my 10G tank. The Otos have been pretty happy, but I don't think they can keep up with it anymore. Is there something I can do to slow the algea growth, I have been scrubbing it off with mag floats but I comes right back. My water paramaters are within their normal ranges. The tank gets some direct sunlight during the day (It's not planted) but not too much. I don't really overfeed the fish, and I remove most of the un-eaten food. What I can't get to is usually eaten by my tetras.

I know this has been more than two questions, sorry :D
 

Newman

Newman

Elite Fish
#2
Sep 22, 2009
4,668
0
0
Northern NJ
#2
lol you can't check under the decor? also try feeding him at night, with the lights off and then come back 10 min later and turn them one. see if you spot him.

eliminate the sunlight hitting the tank. that will cause algae. also you should be doing weekly water changes of about 25% to keep your phosphates and nitrates low. always test your water at the end of the week and if your nitrates are 15-20 then it's no surprise you've got algae. algae likes a lot of nitrates to grow on.
 

xarumitzu

xarumitzu

Large Fish
#3
Jun 27, 2009
131
0
0
Kalamazoo, MI
#3
I'll try and work on the sunlight. Only problem is I live in an apartment and I don't think my roommates want the tank anywhere else. If I can't block all the sunlight, is there something I can add to the water to help? Or do I just need to keep up on the water changes. I normally do 20% water changes every week, however I went on holiday break for three weeks and the tank kinda got neglected.

I checked under the decor and the bumblebee is still alive, just extremely shy I guess.
 

Newman

Newman

Elite Fish
#6
Sep 22, 2009
4,668
0
0
Northern NJ
#6
the stringy green algae is hair algae and is a sign of excess iron in the water...possibly from tap water so make sure you not only use dechlor on your tap but also age it for a day or two before using it in your water change. also make sure no iron things are inside your tank...like decor with iron in it. or metal period. you don't want metal in your tanks. unless its stainless steel..
 

xarumitzu

xarumitzu

Large Fish
#7
Jun 27, 2009
131
0
0
Kalamazoo, MI
#7
I checked, I don't have anything metal in my tank. I'm guess it's probably a combination of the small amount of sunlight the tank gets with the food that gets left over. I also lowered the amount of time my light stays on during the day to 8 hours. I have a fish only tank so I figured it didn't matter and had the light set to 12 hours before.
 

Newman

Newman

Elite Fish
#8
Sep 22, 2009
4,668
0
0
Northern NJ
#8
there's your problem. if its not planted, it's not advisable to leave the light on for more than a hour. only during feeding times...

In terms of having metal in the tank, if you do not have green hair algae, then I was talking to sushi :)
 

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