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mollies? two would be enough


i have been having algae problems in my 70G (US) tank, i have setup some co2 injection aswell as adding flourish excel (liquid carbon source). i have also increased my number of ottos to 8.

but apart from removing the affected leaves i have no way of removing the old algae. i've been told some of the best ways to remove old algae and also prevent new, is shrimps and mollies.

i'm getting at least 5 shrimps, if cheap enough 10, but mollies might also be a good idea, as the young can be good live food for the angel i have.

current stock.
1 angel
6 neon dwarf rainbows
12 h.Rasbora
6 glowlights
8 ottos
5 cories

cheers Shekoi

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

shekoi,

The better question is, do you WANT mollies? because if you don't then to me it makes little sense to get them JUST to eat old algae. The trick to getting rid of that algae will be increase plant mass, keep a good EI dosing regimen and keeping tank conditions stable. I'm not a big fan of randomly adding fish to treat a specific algae problem because there's always the chance the fish won't do exactly what you want them to do, then you're stuck with fish you don't want and perhaps never really wanted.

I know how you feel about the algae issue, I'm going through the same thing myself. I'm terribly discouraged at the moment but there's a way to get rid of it that isn't a risky quick fix. I tried adding amano shrimp to my tank to eat some of the hair algae but my gourami hunted them mercilessly (now in a 2.5 gallon paradise ) Sometimes it just doesn't work the way we think - have snails? get a loach. have mice in the house? get a cat. etc etc.

So stocking wise I don't think 2 mollies would hurt your bio-load, but reconsidering if and why you really want them may be wise at this point.

---

Back in the saddle!

A BN would be your best bet, but you can also add more Otos & have 10.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

I agree. You can add the mollys if you really want to, but a small pleco would be much better. In a 70g you have a lot of possibilities for bottom feeders.

Inky

Probably wouldn't notice much of a difference in that large of a tank anyway, they just kinda peck at algae.