|
freshwater not-plant-eaters
I have an algae problem, and I have plants that I don't want to poison
getting rid of the algae... it is a green algae in the goldfish tank, and a brown algae in the danio/guppie tank... are there some breedsof fish who live off algaee that won't decimate my other plants? which can be good with tropical vs. goldfish tanks? |
On 2005-04-26, wrote:
I have an algae problem, and I have plants that I don't want to poison getting rid of the algae... it is a green algae in the goldfish tank, and a brown algae in the danio/guppie tank... are there some breedsof fish who live off algaee that won't decimate my other plants? which can be good with tropical vs. goldfish tanks? http://www.plantgeek.net/article_viewer.php?id=9 -- "I have to decide between two equally frightening options. If I wanted to do that, I'd vote." --Duckman |
On Tue, 26 Apr 2005 23:18:10 GMT, js1 wrote:
On 2005-04-26, wrote: I have an algae problem, and I have plants that I don't want to poison getting rid of the algae... it is a green algae in the goldfish tank, and a brown algae in the danio/guppie tank... are there some breedsof fish who live off algaee that won't decimate my other plants? which can be good with tropical vs. goldfish tanks? http://www.plantgeek.net/article_viewer.php?id=9 When one of my tanks had Black Hair Algae, I found live bearers such as Platties and Mollies would eat the new growth. I pulled and cleaned all the longer growth. I can't say their efforts alone would keep the new growth under control because I added 9 Siamese Algae Eaters, but the live bearers definitely were eating algae and they are among the first to go after algae pellets. dick |
On 2005-04-27, Dick wrote:
When one of my tanks had Black Hair Algae, I found live bearers such as Platties and Mollies would eat the new growth. I pulled and cleaned all the longer growth. I can't say their efforts alone would keep the new growth under control because I added 9 Siamese Algae Eaters, but the live bearers definitely were eating algae and they are among the first to go after algae pellets. My dwarf pencilfish will nip at new algae growth... -- "I have to decide between two equally frightening options. If I wanted to do that, I'd vote." --Duckman |
In message , Elaine T
writes wrote: I have an algae problem, and I have plants that I don't want to poison getting rid of the algae... it is a green algae in the goldfish tank, and a brown algae in the danio/guppie tank... are there some breedsof fish who live off algaee that won't decimate my other plants? which can be good with tropical vs. goldfish tanks? Otocinclus are awesome for brown algae. They won't harm your plants at all, and will actually eat brown and soft green algae off of the leaves, rocks, and glass. They're shoaling fish best kept in small groups. They require a bit of wood to rasp on, and algae wafers if they run out of algae. For the coolwater goldfish tank, you could try hillstream loaches. http://www.loaches.com/species_pages...chowensis.html. They also need algae wafers once the algae is gone. They're river fish and like current, though. They're also keen on very good water quality, and goldfish aren't conducive to that... -- sophie www.freewebs.com/fishstuff (under construction. ish.) |
sophiefishstuff wrote:
In message , Elaine T writes wrote: I have an algae problem, and I have plants that I don't want to poison getting rid of the algae... it is a green algae in the goldfish tank, and a brown algae in the danio/guppie tank... are there some breedsof fish who live off algaee that won't decimate my other plants? which can be good with tropical vs. goldfish tanks? Otocinclus are awesome for brown algae. They won't harm your plants at all, and will actually eat brown and soft green algae off of the leaves, rocks, and glass. They're shoaling fish best kept in small groups. They require a bit of wood to rasp on, and algae wafers if they run out of algae. For the coolwater goldfish tank, you could try hillstream loaches. http://www.loaches.com/species_pages...chowensis.html. They also need algae wafers once the algae is gone. They're river fish and like current, though. They're also keen on very good water quality, and goldfish aren't conducive to that... Good point. Here's a page that lists some coldwater adaptable fish. I don't know for sure how good the information is, although I recognize most of the fish on the list as cool water adaptable. I can say for certain that it's not complete. http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/...dfishcare.html From that list, Butterfly Goodeids (Ameca splendens), and American flagfish (Jordanella floridae) are pretty good algae eaters. Rosy barbs will also eat algae, but tend to nibble on tender plant shoots as well. Rosy barbs are easy to find, but the others can be hard. Also, how about ramshorn snails (Planorbis spp. - not Columbian ramshorns)? They'll work on algae some and are plant friendly if they don't overpopulate. Actually, the goldies in my pond will pick at fuzzy green algae if lightly fed. If your tank consistently stays above 65F, you could use apple/mystery snails as well. applesnail.net tells you how to identify the non-plant eaters. -- Elaine T __ http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__ rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com |
| All times are GMT +1. The time now is 07:51 AM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
GardenBanter