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Well I went to my local fish store today, and one of the women said that the reason I have diatoms (brown algae) in my tank is because of poor water quality. (but I just tested it upon return and the parameters are perfect) But people here have suggested it is because the tank is still fairly new (set up around November). The current stocking is listed below, and she suggested a gold algae eater. Now correct me if I am wrong, but don't they grow to be around a foot long? And she said two or three of them wouldn't outgrow the tank. She also listed a pleco (I forget which one, but I am pretty sure that it is a butterfly pleco) that would grow 6-8inches long, and she suggested that I put that in my tank. I am pretty sure the diatoms are normal, and I am focusing on getting rid of them, and I don't think I should add any more fish, (but maybe a ramshorn snail). What do you think?
Ten Gallon Tank
~4x khuli loaches
~2x cherry barbs
~1x betta

Ammonia~0-25ppm (test kit doesn't specify)
Nitrites~0-25ppm

Any suggestions?

Fish are like potato chips. . .you can't have just one

Gold algae eaters (AKA Chinese Algae Eaters) do get about 12 inches long. They also get aggressive with age and get more carnivorous. Eventually they may prefer the slime coats of your existing fish to algae. I had one kill two danios before because it sucked on them. I wouldn't get one of those.

I also wouldn't add a fish that gets 6-8 inches long. That is too big for a 10g tank, especially one that already has fish in it.

Take our suggestions of upgrading the lighting and see what happens. Throwing more fish in the tank won't help the problem.

The appearance of nitrite and ammonia does suggest poor water quality (but not horrible). If your tank is cycled, then you shouldn't be registering those. Do a 50% water change today and then do another one in a couple days and see if nitrite and ammonia is definitely at 0.

What kind of test kit do you have? Is it strips? If so, they are not that accurate. I suggest getting a liquid test kit. Aquarium Pharmaceuticals makes a master test kit that has nitrAtes, nitrItes, pH, and ammonia. Its not that expensive either. Big Al's Online sells it for $13.

Start doing 50% water changes weekly, if you are not already. And go back to the other post (in the aquascaping forum) and take our suggestions./:'

*Kristin*

Chinese algae eaters can be a behavioural pain in the bum. Wait a couple of months for the water to improve and the brown algae to dissipate a bit with the help of regular cleaning,and water changes until impurity levels in the tank improves so that the brown algae has less material to create its structure from. Wait until green algae starts appearing, and then go for a small ,relatively trouble free algae eater like an ottocinclus, or better still, two or three of them.

I think you misunderstood, girl. I have the drop kits (not the inaccurate ones) and they just have 0-25ppm on the yellow strip, so my water quality is perfect, no? It doesn't specify whether or not you have 0 ammonia or 25ppm ammonia, it just has a range. Anyways she also said not to do any water changes for a month.

Fish are like potato chips. . .you can't have just one

Gold Algae Eaters are a xanthic morph of the CAE.

Gyrinocheilus aymonieri can hit 12 inches with ease if it has the space. Juveniles may minch algae, but as they grow older, they turn their attentions to other things. Large ones may even be predatory. Plus, as already noted above, they become bad tempered with age, which is why big specimens are more suited to the rough and tumble of, say, a big Cichlid aquarium than a setup with more peaceful occupants. Large specimens should also be kept with fishes that are too fast for them to latch on to, as quite a few large specimens WILL develop a taste for rasping slime coat.

Otocinclus are FAR better for the job. They're small, peaceful, diligent algae eaters that will mix happily with an unbelievable array of other small community fishes, and what's more, if you have the money to buy them, you can treat yourself to those ever so desirable Zebra Otocinclus, and their care and maintenance is practically identical to that of the commoner species.

If your aquarium setup is a bit larger, and you want an algae eater that's intermediate in size between the small Otocinclus and the Bristlenoses, you have two Genera to choose from - Parotocinclus (which includes the lovely Parotocinclus maculicauda with bright red petoral fins) and Hypoptopoma (a bit of a mouthful, but still an excellent, small peaceful algae eater that tops out at around 3 inches).

As for the suggestion that you put a Butterfly Plec in there, well, I think you can take that with a truckload of salt to be honest - anyone suggesting that you put a Plec of ANY sort in a 10G, other than for quarantine purposes as a newly acquired juvenile, quite frankly needs their head examining!

The item on that stocking list that worries me is the Kuhlii Loaches. Now the words "Kuhlii Loach" cover a multitude of sins, and span several different species of loach with a similar body plan that range in size from 1½ inches to over 4 inches fully grown. How do you know which one you have? The bad news is, that unless you're a professional in the field, determining which of these you have prior to them becoming adult is a major headache ... this page gives you several clues as to what to look for in order to determine which of the numerous species you have, but be advised that if you have one of the larger species, you could be looking at upgrading their home in a couple of years' time!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002