# controlling algae without hurting other plants?



## homegrown terror (Aug 6, 2012)

is there any way to limit green algae growth in your tank without hurting the other live plants? (or the animals for that matter) i know most tactics involve reducing light to the tank, but that could hurt or kill the plants we WANT to keep in there, and then poison the water when they decay.


----------



## fish keeper 2013 (Mar 8, 2013)

homegrown terror said:


> is there any way to limit green algae growth in your tank without hurting the other live plants? (or the animals for that matter) i know most tactics involve reducing light to the tank, but that could hurt or kill the plants we WANT to keep in there, and then poison the water when they decay.


People have reported excel killing algae, but seachem doesn't advertise it as an algaecide. You can try that if you wish, but there is no guarentee that it will work. Other ways include scraping them off manually with an algae scraper. You can also perform more often water changes tor remove nutrients (remember to test your source water!) or get more plants. Marimo moss balls are pretty much a form of algae that consumes the same nutrients as algae. I have also seen a thread in the DIY section on an algae filter (check the thread to learn more).

Just a few options out there, there are more out there.

Edit: If it is the algae suspended in the water (blue green algae right?) then the best way to remove it is direct water changes.


----------



## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

excel? what kind of green algae?


----------



## VJM (Feb 7, 2013)

Google up "one two punch algae". Worked like a champ on my tank, and I only did the hydrogen peroxide step. Occasional manual removal of cyanobacteria when doing water changes has eradicated that plague. 

After I treated the tank, I put in nerite snails. So far, so good.


----------



## Artemis (Mar 9, 2013)

Oto cats work well. They eat algae and pellets but won't eat plants. I don't know anything else though.

Edit: About them! I know a lot but not much on them. They are small though


----------



## FeatherStone (Mar 6, 2013)

Otos don't stay small though. If you want a manual cleaner (aka algae eater) you're better off with snails or shrimp (although my shrimp just eats decaying stuff).


----------



## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

Otos actually stay pretty small.
Plecos grow to be a feet XD

but otos really need to be in a school to be happy. So I wouldn't recommend anything less than a ten gallon for this species.


----------



## FeatherStone (Mar 6, 2013)

Really? Damn, and I passed up the otos for corys. How big do the oto's get? I've always heard they get pretty large, but it could just be the LFS spreading bad info.


----------



## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

i've seen 2" otos, buts that's as big as they get :3 Usually cories get to 3" or more


----------



## Wildbetta (Mar 26, 2013)

Depending on what type of green algae you are having, you can try several options. If it is the soft green surface algae -- critters like otos, shrimp, and various snails will eat that stuff up. The harder surface green algae -- is mainly a scrape off the tank yourself and reduce light OR add more plants to eat up the extra nutrients. The nasty blue/green algae is really cynobacteria and there is no real proven method for clearing that up--just a bunch of different ways to work on clearing it up from what I can tell and nothing works full proof. You might want to try a multiple step way to clear it. Cut back your lighting a bit and add some more plants that suck up nutrients like hornwort, or anachris.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

As Wildbetta has said, add in more plants! Both Hornwort and Anacharis grow very well in low light to high light conditions and they compete for nutrients with the algae (more often than not, the plants win the nutrients)

Ghost shrimp do nothing for algae, they are specifically scavengers that eat left over food and other various things. But Cherry Shrimp and Amano shrimp are excellent at clearing algae and if you house both of them, it kind of works like an assembly line where the Amano's eat bigger stuff and tear it up to smaller pieces so that the Cherrys can then process it. And best of all, it's a super light bio-load.

But of course this all depends on what you currently have in the tank, which I believe you said some cory cats? But what else is in there and what types of plants do you have at the moment? Oh and the size of the tank which I don't think had been mentioned?


----------



## FeatherStone (Mar 6, 2013)

What other types of shrimp eat algae? Thats really good information btw. I have a ghost shrimp, and just assumed the scavenger title included eating algae. If what you say is true it sounds like I need to invest in some different types of shrimp ;-)


----------



## Laurenie (Aug 5, 2010)

Definitely be careful if you're thinking about keeping other tyes of shrimp with the ghosts--they're extremely territorial. I have both ghost and cherry shrimp but they're housed in seperate tanks. 

I agree with the previous posters about adding more plants, specifically faster growing ones since they're going to use more of the nutrients that would otherwise support algae growth. I've started using flourish excel in my tanks, usually every other day or so, and have seen really noticeable improvement in the growth/appearance of my plants, but its not going to just automatically get rid of any algae already present or even subsequent growth of more if your plant:nutrient ratio is really off (or at least thats my understanding lol).


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Oh yeah, forgot to mention as well that Ghost Shrimp have claws while pretty much most other shrimp do not which makes them great for preying on other shrimp. If there was a way you could get rid of the shrimp, perhaps give them to your LFS or PetCo also takes things in for adoption? 

Here's some other shrimp although some a bit more expensive:
Orange Halo Shrimp
Yellow Neocaridina Shrimp
Red Cherry Shrimp
(Also an orange variation of Cherry Shrimp)
Orange Sunkist Shrimp (not sure if that's the same as Halo)
Bumblebee Shrimp
White or Red Crystal Shrimp

And that's all I can think of! I do believe the best combination that is most recommended is a few Amano Shrimp and some Cherries to go with them


----------



## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

True ghost shrimp are non aggressive. Rather than territorial they are curious. Often juvenile macrobrachums are mistakenly sold as "ghost shrimps" because of how similar the two looks. I've kept ghost shrimps and cherry shrimp shrimplets together with not problems ^_^. They've also been with my rilis, yellow neos and caridina babaulti, Amanos ...The ghosts shrimp are actually much more lively and fun to watch - They even dare to ride my betta!

One way to recognise true ghost shrimps are from their orange/red markings. one on each antenna, one on each claw, and two dots on the tail

I DO NOT recommend crystal shrimps unless your source water provides ideal conditions for them. otherwise you might need to get a RO system and mix the water yourself...

Neocraidinas are amongst one of the hardiest shrimps to keep, and there are many many color variations~ they would be a good start 

Edit: (just realized) If you have a betta in there smaller shrimps become a good snack


----------



## FeatherStone (Mar 6, 2013)

Haha, yeah I do. I'm trying to convince the BF to let me get another tank for starting a true planted + shrimp tank. When I mentioned it today, "WHAT!? But you already have 89% of my apt. You want ANOTHER tank?"

Not covered with aquariums of course, but the takeover has begun


----------

