C0NTROLLING ALGAE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[paulsa67]

Can anyone please give me some tips on controlling the build up of algae


Regrads Paul .....

[sharn]

what type of algae?

[paulsa67]

Light green ,covers the side if the tank and my plants.

[nicholas76]

Throw in a bristle nose ( if its a community tank )

[marg]

Bristle Nose are great, they are also really good for cleaning up food scraps that the Discus miss.

Is the tank planted? Mystery Snails are great also, but can play havoc on any delicate plants - o.k. with the more hardier types.

Where is the tank situated? If it is near a window you could find that that is your problem.

Regards,

Marg.

[DarrenJThomas]

How often and how much do you feed and conduct water changes?

[marg]

O.K., here goes (this is pretty long winded and is probably going to bore you silly), but, if you are really interested, read on :-

I have Four Tanks - 2 x 4 foot Tanks and 2 x 2 Foot Tanks, and (1) Quarantine Tank for Emergencies.

Tank (1) is a 4 Footer which holds 2 confirmed pairs of Discus who regularly spawn then eat their Eggs (Cannibals in other words, ( :twisted: :twisted: ).

One pair have on occasion got to Wriggler Stage, but so far no luck :cry:, but still I persist - maybe one day I will be a Grannie- there is divider between them and the Second pair - who spawn regularly but eat their Eggs before they get to Wriggler Stage, together with a couple of Bristlenose and a couple of Mystery Snails to clean up any excess Food and clean Sides of Tank. Gravel Subtrate etc., but no Plants.

Tank (2) is a Planted 4 Footer which holds 3 Discus (2 of whom spawn regularly but eat their eggs), 10 Rams (thanks to Crocky), 4 Bristlenose, 4 Corys, a Large Clown Loach 5 Rummynose, a Large Knife Fish and 3 Mystery Snails.

Tank (3) is a Bare Bottom 2 Footer, and holds 7 Juvenilles, 2 Bristlenose a 1 Mystery Snail

Tank (4) is a Bare Bottom Footer and holds 2 Bristlenose, 1 Mystery Snail and 10 really small Juvenilles

Feeding :

8.30am. Lights on, allow everyone to wake up- like who wants to eat when they first wake up?

9.00am. Beefheart Mix.

1.00pm. Tetra Bits

5.00pm. Flake

9.00pm. Bloodworms

12.00pm. Tetra Bits

1.00am. lights off - Bedtime.

As far as Water Changes go :

4 Foot tanks, 50% every second day

2 Foot Tanks, 80% twice daily

Cleaning :

(2x) 4 Foot Tanks, 50% Water Change every 2nd day. Wipe sides with scrunched up Paper Towel once a week

(2x) 2 Foot Tanks, 80% Water Change 2x Daily. Not much need to wipe sides of Tanks due to Frequent Water Changes.

When I do my Water Changes I add Super Strength Aqua Star to the aged Water (which I obtained from Ben at Age of Aquarius) - Wagga water is pretty O.K., but I add it just in case as according to the directions it Neutralizes Chlorine, Chloramine, Toxic Ammonia and Heavy Metals.

I have had Discus for about 2 1/2 years, and in all that time I have lost (1) to what I believe was Hex ( I tried to treat it with Metro but I think I caught it too late, due mainly to inexperience), (1) Bristlenose ( don't know what happened to him) and numerous Cardinal Tetras (because they were pretty small, and the Discus decided that they were ideal "Discus Food" - Yum, Yum!!).

The 4 Foot Tanks run Cannister Filters which I clean out about once a month, and the 2 Foot Tanks run (1) corner Box Filter and (1) Sponge Filter each. I clean the 2 Foot Tank Box and Sponge Filters whenever the Box Filters begin to look a bit dirty - due to the Water Changes, probably on a Weekly Basis).

I do not run U.V's on my Tanks (mainly due to my Financial position, however in the near Future I hope to obtain one in case I am lucky enough to get some Fry that survive their Cannibalistic Parents).

I now Worm my Fish on a 6 monthly basis with Levamisole and Praziquantal ( thanks to the advice of Merrilyn aka as Ladyred for those of you who do not know her - she really rocks!!).

At any sign of illness, my First Step is to put the apparently ill Discus into a Salt treatment and to slightly increase the Temperature, then observe before progressing further. From what I have read on this Forum, it is my opinion that you can do more harm than good by flooding these Kings of the Aquarium and their environment with heaps of "maybe" fixes to perhaps minor problems. Less is best, IMO.

All I can say is so far, so good.

Anything that I have learnt so far I have learnt from this Forum - and believe me I tried many different Forums before I settled on this one and as far a I am concerned I have never looked back.

Everyone seems to want to help us "Newbies", in particular Ladyred, Crocky Ben, Proteus, Sammigold and Goldenpigeon (don't knock G.P. - he may only be 14 years old, but he's a bit like my 7 year old Grandaughter who is cuddling up to me in my Avator - 7 going on 17 - I reckon G.P. is 14 going on 40 - and he has a heart of Gold!!).

When I originally started with Discus, my LFS said "Just Feed them once a day" - how wrong- especially with Discus!!. No mention of Water Changes - just "when the Water looks like it needs a change, Change it", and Quarantine and Worming - what's that?. As I said, boy am I glad I joined this site!!!.

If you are interested in Breeding and the relevant condition that apply to same, I would suggest that you contact Brad (Crocky) - his belief is the simpler, the better and believe me I have seen his setup as recent as a week ago - it is working for him. So many Babies - I wish I could have just a fraction of the Babies that he is currently raising- and the Adult Discus that he has in his other Tanks -Wow!!.

Hope this helps your Query (if you haven't gone to sleep by now.- bet you're thinking Gosh that Girl is a Raver!!) ,

Regards,

Marg.

[axelfaz]

hi marg i was just reading your story is your divider see through? because if the the two pairs can see each other this could be the reason why they eat their eggs their just being protective of the spawn to them its just like being in a community tank but they carnt get at the other pair
sorry paul for jumping in on your tread and changing the topic

Cameron

[Merrilyn]

Fantastic post Marg, thankyou. Just one thing came to mind reading your story. Bristlenose are nocturnal creatures, and just love a feast of fish eggs in the wee small hours, while your discus are peacefully sleeping. Snails love a feast of eggs too. They both are great once the fry are free swimming, but just a plain nuisance when there are discus eggs in a tank.

Yes, you're right, the simpler the better with discus. Clean water, good food, and warmth are the three cornerstones for keeping discus.

Paul, the algae in your tank is not necessarily a bad thing. It simply means that there are plenty of nutrients in your water to feed the algae. A few vigorous plants will out compete the algae for available food, and the algae levels will drop.

Now that's the simplest case scenario, but if you already have a fairly heavily planted tank, then I'd suggest asking your question in the Amazon Garden forum of this site. We have a number of plant experts there who will be able to point you in the right direction, in regards to keeping a balance in your water which will control the algae.

[marg]

Hi Ladyred,

I agree with you regarding the Bristlenose and Snails culinary delights, however I can't blame them for the Egg Eating due to the fact that I have watched my Discus actually eating them - they seem to let them get to about 24 hours, then munch munch munch :twisted: ! I'll keep trying though - gotta win eventually.

The divider is a solid mesh divider (the type that they are now using in Security Doors), but I'll try your suggestion Axelfaz and try to find something that they can't see through and see if that works- any suggestions?

Regards,

Marg.

[duck]

Cut your light's down 8.30 am to 1.00 am? try 9am to 10 pm

[marg]

Thanks Duck. Not a bad idea.

Regards,

Marg.