Fernando wrote:
Hi,
i've been facing algae problems for some time, i first bought an
alguicide which had very little results and used the tipical magnet
brush (by the way, which way is suposed to clean algae: the soft one
or the spicky one? i've tried both!). But algae continue to grow, and
some plants have become weak and grow very slowly. I'm planning on
buying some algae eaters and some product to reduce nitrates...

The guy from the fish shop told me about two algae eaters types: one
for brown algae and another one for green-filamented ones, i'm not
sure if i should buy some of each kind or what... which ones give best
results?
and how many should i put if i have a 66 l./17 gal. with about 30
guppies?

Also, do nitrates-reducing products work well? and why could be that
plants grow higher at sides that at the center?

Thanks.

With 30 guppies in only 17 gallons, you're going to have algae problems.
You're also going to have problems growing out the babies without
their growth being stunted. The best and cheapest nitrate reducer is
water changes and it sounds like you're not doing nearly enough.

Algae eating fish are good, but they'll add to your nitrate problem and
overstocking. If you want help choosing a fish, you need to tell us
what sort of algae you're growing. If you've bred all your guppies and
they're young and healthy, you can try trading in some of you guppies
for store credit to buy the algae eaters so the aquarium is better stocked.

To give you an idea of stocking, I'm planning 6 adult guppies, 2
otocinclus, and 1 siamese algae eater for my 10 gallon planted guppy
tank. For 17 gallons, you might consider 10 guppies, 3 otocinclus, and
a bushynose pleco. Algae shrimp are cool too if you can find them.

As for plants, algae killing chemicals can weaken them. So can lack of
fertilizer, C02 or light. You need to tell us about the plants, tank,
and how you care for it in great detail for us to help you out.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com