# Algae in Betta tank



## adrii923 (Jun 5, 2019)

Hi everyone! I wanted to get some input/advice on how to manage the algae growing in my betta tank! I've had the tank for about almost 2 months now, I let the tank cycle for about 2 weeks before adding Spud (my male betta) into it. I tested the water before putting him in, and then checked 1.5 weeks after he was in and everything was still normal. The algae started a little over a week ago, I scrubbed it all away and within 2 days it's all over the tank again.

Spud has a 15 gallon Column LED Aquarium. It has a QuietFlow 10 LED PRO Power Filter and a compact heater with the water staying at a constant 78 degrees. I use the Seachem Prime water conditioner and Seachem Stability. I perform 10% water changes 1x a week and a 25% change 1x a month. The tank has only fake plants and regular gravel. I've been trying to make sure the light is on for less than 8 hours a day and I only feed him 5-6 pellets a day (very rarely will he miss one or 2 but not often enough to where the food is just piling up at the bottom of the tank). 

I use the Imagitarium 5 in 1 aquarium water test strips this morning and these were the results:
-pH in the ideal range (between 7.0 and 8.0)
-Total Alkanlinity in the ideal-hard range (between 180 and 300)
-Total Hardness in the very soft to soft range (between 25 and 75)
-Nitrite and Nitrates are at 0. 

If anyone has any recommendations I'd really appreciate the feedback. Spud was being sold in the 99cent store by my house for months and I just want to make sure he's living a happy healthy life. Thanks in advance


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## bluesamphire (Nov 20, 2018)

Good for you for wanting what is best for Spud.

Can you describe the algae? Brown, green, black? Fuzzy, hair-like, little dots?
I’ve set up 3 tanks in the last few months, and I have to say I had a fab time with the algae.
Each tank developed its own varieties of algae, depending on the various light and water conditions.

Basically algae is part of of the natural development of ahealthy tank, and it goes through phases.
2 of my tanks are now looking v good.
The third is getting there.
My water and conditions seem to have around a 6 month algae process, and I’m watching it progress towards the end now.

So I spent some time ransacking the internet for articles and videos.
Very informative.

Each different type of algae grows depending on specific conditions, and tweaking them will speed or slow, or eliminate growth.

The difference between my tanks and yours is that mine have real plants in them, and I use fertilisers, but the principles are the same. Find out what type of algae your tank is growing, find out what conditions encourage that growth, and then adjust the conditions.

Hope that helps.


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

Welcome to the Forum! :wave:

I finally learned the wisdom of buying a timer and setting it to eight hours. 

Once we know what kind of algae we can better advise if there is anything else you can do.


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## Tree (Sep 29, 2013)

I always battle with Algae. that darn green hail algae is the WORST! though I found out that Hydrogen peroxide works well to kill off the algae. spray or use a dropper to put on the leaves. that or what RussellTheShihTzu said, a time works well. =)


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## adrii923 (Jun 5, 2019)

Thanks for the reply! The algae is pretty bright green and I'd say fuzzy? I've attached some photos here. Let me know if there's anything else I should clarify


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## bluesamphire (Nov 20, 2018)

Here you go
https://www.thesprucepets.com/aquarium-algae-1379979
This is a v basic intro.

Green algae comes in many forms, green fuzzy, green hair, green dot...

Good thing is that green algae doesn’t harm the fish or the water and is usually a sign of too much light and a lot of nutrients in the water.

Looking at your tank, i would do the following (because you don’t have any plants).
- increase the water changes a bit. Either change more water each time, or do more frequent changes. This will reduce the anount of nutrients in the water that is feeding the algae.
- reduce the amount of light. Pop a timer on the light socket, and limit the light to no more than 8 hours. Make sure no direct sunlight reaches the tank. If it is close to a window, consider moving the tank.
- use a cloth or sponge to wipe the algae out of the tank. Lots of people use algae scrapers, but they just scrape the glass and the algae drifts off into the water. It then settles like dust onto all the other surfaces. But if you take a microfibre cloth, and wipe up from the bottom of the glass, to the top, lift it out of the water, rinse it out, then repeat for another section of glass - then you are actually removing the algae.
- another option is to get a snail (i use nerite snails). For your size tank, a single snail would be enough. If you get too many snails, they can starve over time. They wander about getting the glass, the plants, the decorations, and all the nooks and crannies. Shrimp can do the same job, but they are less effective on the glass.

You may not need to do more than one or two of these things, but they will all help.
Different types of algae respond to different measures (snails don’t do well on green dot algae, because it sticks to the glass so strongly, and you do need to use an algae scraper for that), but they all need light and nutrients to thrive. So removing those will slow the growth dramatically.


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## Old Dog 59 (Nov 11, 2018)

can't say any more than what bluesamphire has said. You could scrape the sides and back with an algae scraper or a green scrubby. But again I would do this when doing a water change. If you just loosen the algae and not remove it from the tank it will just grow back faster and thicker. Reduce the light source to 6 hours a day and do a couple of 50% water changes to reduce the nutrients. With no live plants in the tank you could use Algiflex which will rid the tank of algae for sure, but you could also add a mystery snail or nerite snail to the tank and let them have at it. It's slower that way but it's natural.


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## SciFyDi (Apr 22, 2018)

I have a lot of brown algae in both my tanks. Would a Nerite snail be okay in a five gallon with a Betta? As in are they big waste producers? and do they eat the brown algae? 

I would like to like to get some snails in my bigger tank but I have Blue Botias and I’m sure they would be eaten in no time.


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## adrii923 (Jun 5, 2019)

Hi there! This reply is SUPER delayed so I'm really sorry about that, but I truly appreciate ALL of your responses and advice. It was super helpful to read. 

Unfortunately I'm still having issues with green algae and NOW I have Detritus worms in my tank. UGH.

I got a timer for my LED light back in the summer that only stays on for 6 hours a day, and I bought 2 nerite snails (Gary and Mystery) approx 3 months ago. They both seemed to be doing great until about 2 weeks after I got them, Mystery unfortunately passed away. I was devastated and am still not sure what I did wrong, so I feel really bad about that. Gary is a happy little guy, always moving around and eating but I really don't see much of a change at all in the green algae as a whole. 

I noticed the Detritus worms this week along the walls of the tank. I've been reading a bunch of stuff of the internet and I'm overwhelmed with information. What does everyone recommend for treating the worms/algae? Is hydrogen peroxide effective? I work at an animal shelter and can get my hands on Panacur-C as well. I'm so scared of doing something that would hurt Spud and Gary, but desperately want these worms out of the tank. 

I'm very grateful for all of you and your understanding!


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## Imp (Jun 9, 2018)

You may want to increase your water changes to 20% per week and 40% once a month (or even more). All signs point to too many nutrients in the water causing an increase in algae and worms. Make sure to include vacuuming the gravel in the water changes.

Treating the water with any anti-algae stuff will not get rid of those nutrients. In fact, since the algae are using them up, it'd likely create a more unhealthy environment for the fish.


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