Algae

Everything you ever wanted to say about "Zebra luvin", but didn't because you thought everyone would take the mickey! Plus general topics for discussion including everything from what you feed them to your personal experiences.

fluffyninja
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Algae

Post by fluffyninja »

Hi I have 9 zebs in a 160 litre tank , they are all different sizes I just wondered what the members on here use in their tanks to get rid of the algae.In the tank set up shots all the tanks on here are beautifully clean , my zebs have been together 3 months and the algae is now thick.

I have tried a cherry and a mountain shrimp , both weren't that good now we have thrown in 3 golden apple snails and the algae is still thick , what's the best hints and tips on what to use ?

I have other plecos but putting anything else in the tank with the zebs is a no no isn't it ? I have a small clown pleco and an l144 lemon for example.

cheers people , neil :D
tinkshouse
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Re: Algae

Post by tinkshouse »

hey,
im new here to so im going to mention a fish i caught a long time ago. you can buy these guy and the will glean up a tank with algae because the love that stuff. they are a great fish with others temperment with other fish is awsome. i caught one in the wild a long time ago lookin for bait to fish with. the name is the American Flag fish. it is a north american native. from what i understand it found all over the east coast. look them up im going to get some this spring....hopefuly. if not will have to purchase some. i dont belive they will mess with your zebs. hope this gives you something to check out. you can also check out the rubber mouth pleco i have one and its been eating algae since i got it. but not sure how it will do with zebs.

paul
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Joby
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Re: Algae

Post by Joby »

I never have any algae but I don't have lights on my tank, just put one on for maintenance. Not sure there is anything that will eat the algae in a tank that is warm enough for zebs :dunno: I know the L144 would do an awesome job in no time but would it survive the temps am not sure sure.
BRIAN09
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Re: Algae

Post by BRIAN09 »

Algae is 99% of the time to do with light (my light is only on for about 6-7 hours due to the fact i have a few plants in my zebs tanks) and water conditions! over feeding to much waste ect! and a big cause which few pepole check for is phosphate! which can often come from your tap water! I used to have a problem with algae untill i started useing deionized water for all my tanks i also use ROWA PHOS in all my tank filters now its great for adsorbing phosphate silicate and other heavy metals! it is used in marine tanks for the effective visible control of algae!
And of course i also have a few clean up crews in there hillstream loaches and some pitbull pleco( dont let the name put you off there not aggressive) not only do they eat the algae but they also eat some of the left over food which helps to keep the tank clean
hope that helps :)
fluffyninja
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Re: Algae

Post by fluffyninja »

tinkshouse wrote:hey,
im new here to so im going to mention a fish i caught a long time ago. you can buy these guy and the will glean up a tank with algae because the love that stuff. they are a great fish with others temperment with other fish is awsome. i caught one in the wild a long time ago lookin for bait to fish with. the name is the American Flag fish. it is a north american native. from what i understand it found all over the east coast. look them up im going to get some this spring....hopefuly. if not will have to purchase some. i dont belive they will mess with your zebs. hope this gives you something to check out. you can also check out the rubber mouth pleco i have one and its been eating algae since i got it. but not sure how it will do with zebs.

paul
Ok cheers that's an option they are a little killifish that looks like a dwarf cichlids I had one a couple of years ago they have them for sale in my local shop just seen em ! As for the plec I wanted to see if anyone else has zebs in with another plec , like I said I have places spare I can put in there just don't know whether to or not.
fluffyninja
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Re: Algae

Post by fluffyninja »

Joby wrote:I never have any algae but I don't have lights on my tank, just put one on for maintenance. Not sure there is anything that will eat the algae in a tank that is warm enough for zebs :dunno: I know the L144 would do an awesome job in no time but would it survive the temps am not sure sure.

That's our problem I think joby the lights come on via a timer 12 hours a day when my friends at work , the zebs are used to light and don't exactly hide now they're so used to it.Simple answer don't turn them on as much I know d'oh !
fluffyninja
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Re: Algae

Post by fluffyninja »

BRIAN09 wrote:Algae is 99% of the time to do with light (my light is only on for about 6-7 hours due to the fact i have a few plants in my zebs tanks) and water conditions! over feeding to much waste ect! and a big cause which few pepole check for is phosphate! which can often come from your tap water! I used to have a problem with algae untill i started useing deionized water for all my tanks i also use ROWA PHOS in all my tank filters now its great for adsorbing phosphate silicate and other heavy metals! it is used in marine tanks for the effective visible control of algae!
And of course i also have a few clean up crews in there hillstream loaches and some pitbull pleco( dont let the name put you off there not aggressive) not only do they eat the algae but they also eat some of the left over food which helps to keep the tank clean
hope that helps :)

Anything helps cheers Brian we are not using deionized water so would it still be worth buying and using ?
BRIAN09
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Re: Algae

Post by BRIAN09 »

That depends on how bad your tap water is! i would test your tap water first and then see i know a few ppl like useing R/O ( Reverse Osmosis water )
and others are happy with just tap water so down to individual choice really :P i know my filter for my Deionizer last a round 5/6months before it needs a change thats doing about 20/25% water chnages every weekend
mikeyboy
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Re: Algae

Post by mikeyboy »

hi i agree lights on for 12 hours will result in prbs with alge
i had same problem i now only put lights on for 4-5 hours a day all sorted now :)
fluffyninja
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Re: Algae

Post by fluffyninja »

I have swapped the 9 zebs i have into a new tank on a timer with the lights on for 5 hours a day and I'll see how that goes , i have a shrimp a golden apple snail just in case but personally i find the snail useless even when he glided over the huge pieces of algae in the old tank he only seemed to suck up a small bit :lol:
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Tankfull Tropicals
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Re: Algae

Post by Tankfull Tropicals »

Hey Fluffy. Love the name too. I don't agree with the no no crowds on cohabitation. I keep a few small Bristle nose and 7 Farowellas with my 7 Zebras in a 135 gallon. Bristlenose are good but The farowellas are Better by far. I also include plants in all my tanks and the Fs are always busy and very delicate with my plant life. They have never bothered any other fish and are fast becoming my favorites. They look more like insects or reptiles than fish and I always like to watch them do their thing. They are also not hiders and easy to breed too. Near perfect Algae controllers IMO.
:D :aok:
" Always be Tankfull "
Fern
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Re: Algae

Post by Fern »

I keep my zebras in the dark, they only get light from some other tanks in the fish room during the day. They do have MTS ramshorns and assassin snails in there like all my other tanks....
fluffyninja
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Re: Algae

Post by fluffyninja »

Thanks for all the replies the algae has now gone I keep the tank dark most of the day and just have the lights on for 4 hours a day.

I suppose I should be happy about this really but I'm not sure , one of the big zebs and a small one too both have developed beer bellies , the big one looks like a weeble and can balance on his belly without his head and tail touching the floor :lol: I reckon I'm overfeeding them but from what I've read on here they don't eat much !!! I'll try and get a photo to post.
peanut
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Algae

Post by peanut »

Beer belly? Interesting.. Hope to see your zeb pics soon!
fluffyninja
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Re: Algae

Post by fluffyninja »

Sorry for the bad quality mobile pictures attempting to post for the 1st time , don't know if they are well overfed or just healthy normal looking zebs but the big one in the photos is about nearly 2 inches long plus I have four juvies (inch and a half) and two of them have the same sort of pot belly :lol: At first i thought it might be a female stuffed with eggs :D but It's not big enough yet probably just a chubbster.

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