[thief]

Yep that's right. I need some algae groth in my 2.5 gallon iwagami!

2 weeks ago I had otto die because lack of food.

All what i have in it is 4 Juvie Cherry shrimp and a lonesome otto.

But anyways I light specs.

20 watt Incandescent desktop light.

I run the light from 6:30 Am to 10:30 Pm. For the last month I haven't had any CO2 running in it.

Only Algae in there is BBA. Today I put the lonesome ottos from my 2.5g into my Mini M which has a healthy amount of algae for him to eat and maybe get a bigger tummy. I have mentioned before about this tank but it is becoming a threat to the livestock.

Maybe I finally invented the bullet prove tank!

Lol I hate to say it but what the heck am I doing wrong to get me some algae growth going for my shrimps and ottos.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Sunstar]

Perhaps add some fert?

 

[hoppycalif]

Algae grow when there is enough light for them. I doubt that 20 watts of incandescent light on a 2.5 gallon tank is enough for algae to grow.

Algae tend to be triggered to grow by a spike in ammonia in the tank. So, a risky thing to try is adding a little water that has a drop, no more, of household ammonia in it (make sure there is no detergent or soap in the ammonia.) You would want to get far less than a drop of ammonia into the tank water - about 1/8 of a drop or less. The risk is that it might kill the occupants of the tank, if you add too much.

 

[thief]

Hmm maybe some more AS soil would help. From what I remember it does leach a little bit until the bacteria growth gets into it?

 

[Fortuna Wolf]

yeah, you can always add some ferts. Or a drop of ammonia per gallon, or an algae wafer.

 

[OhioPlantedtankguy]

ummm i have an easier answer. Algae Wafers. no unsightly algae and your fish can eat, if i didnt use them my 8+ inch placo would have been dead long ago.

 

[blang]

Put it by or in front of a window. I have a non-planted tank that had a lot of algae so I had to keep the blinds closed in order to keep it under control.

 

[gravy9]

While you're at it, why not try changing the incandescent bulb with a 13-watt Compact Fluorescent Bulb? This might help with the light needs.

 

[ghengis]

You're welcome to some of my algae if you like...hell you can have the whole lot, if it keeps your Oto's happy! What's your address??!![smilie=u:

 

[hoppycalif]

You're welcome to some of my algae if you like...hell you can have the whole lot, if it keeps your Oto's happy! What's your address??!![smilie=u:[/QUOTE]

Do you guarantee live arrival?

 

[brighty K]

Ummm... I'd just lose the ottos. They're more a functional than aesthetically pleasing fish anyway.

You wouldn't grow grass just to give a lawnmower something to do, right?

 

[Commodore 64]

Ummm... I'd just lose the ottos. They're more a functional than aesthetically pleasing fish anyway.

You wouldn't grow grass just to give a lawnmower something to do, right?

While you're at it let's get rid of all the ugly and fat people in the world too. They aren't aesthetically pleasing.

 

[Fortuna Wolf]

While you're at it let's get rid of all the ugly and fat people in the world too. They aren't aesthetically pleasing.

Maybe if the question was how to grow more corn to feed all the fat people...
And then the correct answer would be to eat healthy and stop sucking on lard.

 

[Cliff Mayes]

I am sure that it was not meant that way but some tolerance towards other likes and dislikes, strengths and weakness goes a long way to a better world. Remember that generally all businesses devolve to making a profit or going out of business. Any of the fish we keep would not be available if someone wasn't making money off of the sale.

Saying you have Algae is akin to saying you have Cancer. Which one do you have? There are many that go under that name and we all have struggled with them. Like the common cold...when conditions are right it appears. There are answers to all phenomanon and most of them have been answered but it still occurs.

Many of the things that our Fish do in a tank are things we are not aware of. Just because we do not see Algae does not mean it isn't there. The tiny fish live in a totally different world than we do. Otos can be a difficult fish. I try to buy only fat ones (distended belly) to keep the mortality down and it helps. A sign of shrunken bellies on otherwise healthy Otos that have been in the tank for a while is not good but most of mine show up regurlarly looking OK and I have been relatively Algae free for many months.

Any excess Algae can be harvested and tossed in the garbage or leaves that have some of the tougher kinds can simply be removed as well...new leaves will grow back.

 

[thief]

You're welcome to some of my algae if you like...hell you can have the whole lot, if it keeps your Oto's happy! What's your address??!![smilie=u:[/QUOTE]

HA! lol Well I have algae growing in my 10g for sure! But I didn't know that you can just transport algae? Are you saying that if I transport the algae it will promote regular growth in the tank?

brighty K- Well I oppose this statement but I assume your just joking around! Also I buy the otto to eat the algae. Also I plan to try and breed these one day as they are a gorgeous fish!

Commodore 64- If there were no "fat people" what would make you skinny?

Cliff Mayes- Well a lot more complex way to say things but basically what I am getting is that there is always algae in a tank just maybe not size able portion to the naked eye. Also I've witness how good of a cleaner these guys are. I put a shell full of spotted algae, it came out spotless in 4 hours!

So maybe they eat at such a rapid rate I don't realize that there is algae in the tank!

But anyways right now my 2.5g is just 4 baby cherries for like the past week. Still no algea. But if you said is true about adding algae to promote growth then I will start to do that.

 

[Fortuna Wolf]

Try adding algae wafers and piece of vegetables like zucchini or fresh spinach/lettuce leaves too.

 

[brighty K]

Wow! I had no idea! From otos to genocide of the obese and homely! What an amazing stretch!

Of course otos are wonderful fish. I use them in almost every tank. I wasn't suggesting flushing them. And I certainly wasn't insulting anyone's taste.

But I assume they're mostly there to eat algae... they're probably not the main focus of an iwugami layout.

My point was simply that if there isn't enough algae to feed a couple of little otos, maybe they're just not right for that tank. Some pretty drastic measures have been suggested to grow more algae when maybe the easiest thing would be to move the fish!

Give me a break!

 

[thief]

Sorry Bright,

I read my post and it was a little to serious. lol I didn't mean to get you on your offensive side.

Anyways yes you are correct. I moved him to my Mini M and hes doing fantastic!!! Active, Socializes alot with my other otto in the tank, and most all hes starting to get a tummy for the first time. I guess I can always put him in the 2.5g when a cleaning is needed.

Thanks alot guys for all the suggested ways. Does the zuchini need to be boiled first?


Now a new topic BBA has doubled in the 2.5g. Lol I know rocks are old but now they have beards!

What to do? If I remember correctly Directly dosing excel on it will reduce it?

 

[hoppycalif]

Once BBA gets a good start in the aquarium, where it is on a lot of plant leaves, and on hardscape, you just about have to remove the hardscape and kill the BBA by dipping it in a 5% bleach solution for a couple of minutes, plus, prune away all of the leaves with bad growth of BBA, and then use Excel to get rid of the tiny amount left in the tank. I have never had any success trying to use Excel to kill all of the BBA in a tank. Even when I kill that which is on leaves, the leaves are so damaged the BBA will always come back.

 

[thief]

Funny thing is that pretty much No BBA is on the HC or moss and other plants. But when I went on Vacation during the summer I took off the light and just let it sit by the window. When I came back the BBA was severely weakened. I might try it this way as I spent nearly 6 months watching this tank grow and it is too much to take if I took it down. But in the end it is hard labor that gets the job done.