Thinking about adding a few otos to DP tank

[Pandora114]

Hear me out, my Dwarf Puffer tank is 20 Gallons. It only houses two of the little critters right now, and has for about 2 years now.

I was thinking of adding some Otos into it once (as in immediately after so I can sneak them in) I get it nicely planted again (Once the Mr puts in a ballast/light kit from the LFS)

Good idea or bad idea ?

Thanks

btw the water params in that tank are usually 0amm 0 nitrite and less than 5 nitrates because I do weekly %80 wc's

[Agnate]

Otos and DPs generally go well together, so go for it!

[Myaj]

Be sure you have some supplimental food for them on hand (algae wafers, etc) as they can be very picky and starve to death once the algae in the tank is eaten.

I'd go for it, just be sure to quarentine them.

[Pandora114]

well I highly doubt 3 Otos will be able to work through this mess in short order that's for sure, but I will pick up some wafers for when they eventually DO get through it.



Of course once I get some more real plants in there...I think I'll be smooth sailing

btw that's with pretty much weekly scraping/scooping out into the bin...it's insane in there.

there I dropped Hover the Golden Apple Snail in there...let's see how long he lasts >.>

[Myaj]

ah, you might want to hold off on the otos then, if you don't have any live plants.

That "mess" looks like BGA (blue-green algae), which is NOT an algae, rather a cynobacteria. Does it peel up sort of like sheets of tissue paper? I doubt the otos would eat it, and if you end up having to medicate the tank to get rid of it, they won't do well in that.

[Pandora114]

yeah it comes off in sheets and clumps of..slime...stuff.

Would....Melafix get rid of it???

Or total blackout? How long of a total blackout be needed?

*along with some phos-zorb*

Edit: Ok did an %90-%95 WC sucking out whatever sheets I scraped off (again) scooped out alot of the detrius with a fine cheesecloth net. I put in some phos-sorb in my filter (Just till this crap clears up, then the normal insert is going back in) and will be blacking out for 3 days.

This all started when my natural plants melted for no apparent reason. been doing huge weekly/biweekly water changes scooping all I can out..but failure is evident in that picture.

Figure once I get all that under control, I'll be getting better lighting, and some real plants to outcompete.

[Myaj]

Water change and manual removal of all you can (which youv'e already done), full blackout for as long as it takes.

The only medication I know of that can kill this is metronadazole.. and that can be risky to your biofilter. I *think* I remember reading something about dosing with hydrogen peroxide.

What I found worked for me was to increase water flow/current and constant manual removal.. it went away eventually. Everything else I tried it just kept coming back.

[Pandora114]

I remember seeing some Hydrogen Peroxide advice in my google adventures when you mentioned cyano. I'll put it on the list to pick up today when we go grocery shopping. My Dwarfs weren't too terribly happy with the second huge water change in 3 days but...gotta do what I gotta do. Once I get my husband to retrofit some ballast and nice lights into my hood I'll be planting it again...I have no idea what caused the meltage...but I'm guessing it was low light and lack of CO2. (since it happened right after I ran out of Excel)

At least when I do my tank this time, I'm gonna take the DP's out and put them in the snail breeding tank after doing a huge WC in it (it's only a 2.5 gallon but it's only for the duration of the substrate addition/switchout and planting, when I add some flourite to the gravel bed in there.

Might get some real bogwood instead of that plastic one in there.

Who knows. As funds allow eh?

[Agnate]

Personally, I'd just do a blackout for about a week or so and increase the movement (add a small powerhead). I'd avoid dosing your tanks with things while the fish are still in it.

Melting of plants can be very quick. The lack of excel dosing is probably what did it. I had some beautiful crypts growing in my 10 gallon cherry shrimp breeder. I decided to take down my 20 gallon community, and the only fish that didn't sell were my 5 small tetras, so I tossed them in the 10 gallon. Within 48 hours, the crypts had COMPLETELY melted, with only a tiny stump remaining from the root system. It was very sad to see. My guess was that it was from the increase in ammonia produced by the tetras.

I'll give a heed of warning for switching out all of the substrate and decorations in one shot. There's a huge chance that this will cause a massive re-cycle of your tank. As such, I would keep the top 0.25 inches of gravel and put it into a fine mesh bag (you can get those at a pet store for $1-3) and place that either in the filter's media container or place it somewhere near your filter's output (placing it on the gravel will work well, too, as long as water passes over/through that area). This should prevent a problematic re-cycle, and will allow your new substrate to be quickly seeded.

[Pandora114]

oh I'm not switching it out, I"m gonna mix the existing gravel in with the Flourite. Basicly remove the gravel put it in a bucket, then add the flourite (rinsed under the tap then dunked a few times in a bucket of Prime treated water) mixing it up then putting it back in the tank, making sure it's nice and mixed. Might get some Flourite red to compliment the natural river gravel in my tank...

And I'm not dosing, just put a phosphate removing filter media pad in my filter for the time it takes to remove whatever extra phosphates that is keeping the Cyano alive. Killing light and nutrients to it. As soon as the cyano dies, I'm putting in the carbon again.

[Pandora114]

ok got some Hydrogen peroxide. How much should I use for a 20gal tank?

I don't want to OD because according to Aquarist Google, (who doesn't ever give strict amounts...) sais if I use too much I burn the gills!

Mabe a few drops???

[Agnate]

I have *no* idea. Sorry.

[Myaj]

Research it first, the information IS out there.

And I think there's something about you have to squirt it ON the algae (like with a syringe), not just add it to the water, but its been years since I've researched it.

I've got to get dinner cooking and jump in the shower, but I'll try to look it up later if you haven't found it already.

[Sponge bob]

Otto's and Dp's are like a perfect combo like Chocolate and milk.

[Pandora114]

Found it. 1oz for every 10gal.

I don't think I need to do it because I checked and what I didn't remove is almost all dead in there without the phosphates and light to feed it. (also had to feed my fish!)