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Post by teresa on May 3, 2005 23:09:09 GMT -5
Ok I had this in Percy's tank a couple weeks ago, took out the stuff that had it on and cleaned and rinsed them really well. Everything was gone...I thought...now I see it here this morning. Does anyone know what it is and how I get rid of it for good? it is on the hidey....  and on some of the plants...  and I can even see what looks like faded spots of it on the glass. I am pretty sure it wasn't there yesterday, at least not that I could see it  |
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Post by twoluvcats on May 4, 2005 8:30:27 GMT -5
Brown algae...its not a horribly bad thing...brown alage is prevalent in new tanks. snails eat it and ottos eat it or you can just keep wiping it off. Just don't use chemicals to try to get rid of it.
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Post by teresa on May 4, 2005 11:17:37 GMT -5
Will ghost shrimps eat it?
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Post by twoluvcats on May 4, 2005 11:25:24 GMT -5
some, but they prefer detritus that they can just snatch out of the water.
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Post by amanichen on May 4, 2005 12:02:31 GMT -5
Will ghost shrimps eat it? Try wood shrimp or Amano shrimp. Remember, that if you're buying them specifically to get rid of diatoms you'll have to feed them when the diatom supply runs out. Diatoms are usually the first type of nuisance microorganism to populate a tank, and as the tank matures, cyanobacteria, and then green algae will tend to take over. Although in your case, you don't really need to buy any shrimp to deal with the diatoms. |
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Post by teresa on May 10, 2005 17:56:08 GMT -5
ok, been to 5 dif LPS and NO Fresh water shrimp!?!?!
got 1 left to try, but in the mean time, Percy's tank got emptied, scrubbed down and refilled minus the gravel and the plant that I couldn't get all the algea off of.
Would I be better off just settling for snails? and can they live in a tank that now has no gravel?
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Post by amanichen on May 10, 2005 22:20:08 GMT -5
Are those live plants or artificial plants?
If you go to a local fish store, you could probably get them to grab you some of the small snails from their tanks, and give them to you for free. A couple of these should help control the diatoms =)
You don't need to break down your tank completely every time you find diatoms. As the tank becomes more mature they'll eventually disappear and green algae will take over.
Every tank has some bit of microbial growth in it, and through nutrient control (water changes, gravel cleaning), light control (reduce the intensity and/or duration) will help keep it to a minimum. Snails will help mop up any remaining diatoms.
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Post by teresa on May 11, 2005 10:00:39 GMT -5
Are those live plants or artificial plants?. They are fake. I would love to upgrade to live, but it will take some time. first i want to try the playsand and then add real plants. They are proving to as much of a challenge to find. Everyone keeps trying to sell me bottom feeders. |
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Post by twoluvcats on May 11, 2005 10:05:16 GMT -5
snails do fine in pretty much any substrate
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Post by teresa on Jun 9, 2005 11:00:01 GMT -5
So got Percy 2 small snails to clean his tank and he made short work of them, the big bully. So I think I may have found him a better friend/vacuum for his tank. Meet Gary   Now the schoolyard bully is smaller hehe. He still tries to bug Gary though. I hope he can't hurt this one, I had to pay $5 this time! It's just a snail! |
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