The Puffer Forum

Is there anything that we can keep in a brackish tank to eat control Algae? We had a chinese algae eater but he went belly up (but still breathing so we transfered him to our fresh water tank) What are some of the things you all use?

What's your SG at? It's probably best just to scrape the algae till your up to marine water.

For me it's just cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, although I do have 3 feeder shrimp that have managed to survive attempts at being devoured, and they seem to do a reasonable job too

I only clean the glass front and sides of the tank, and I do that with one of those magnetic scraper thingies, the back of the tank and the rock gets left

what shrimp are they jenny ?? , ive just been given 3 mollies to see how they get on there and so far they have munched on the hair algea all day and night

Algae is getting out of control , anyone have any secrets for getting the algae off sand and java moss? Does anyone think mollies might pick at what on the java moss? I tried a plant safe algaecide but it didn't even slow it down. I want to ad flounders to the tank, I'm hoping them turning the sand over might help.

crazedpuffer wrote:What's your SG at? It's probably best just to scrape the algae till your up to marine water.

I'm curious about it. My Takifugu ocellatus tank is at 1.017 and GSP tank at 1.016 and should be going full marine in a couple more weeks. Do you think I can eventually put some kind of marine algae eaters in my tanks with my little hunters?

Thanks!

I've got 5 mollies in my brackish F8 tank (1.005), and they cleaned up the brown algae within 2 days. Granted, I didn't have a ton. The back wall was 70% covered, and there were several patches that were a couple inches by a couple inches. They even cleaned the algae off the fake plants (bacopa, hornwort, and corkscrew val).

I'd imagine that mollies would definitely clean up the java moss, but they might also eat the java moss (they've omnivorous leaning towards herbivorous).

recombinantrider wrote:

crazedpuffer wrote:What's your SG at? It's probably best just to scrape the algae till your up to marine water.

I'm curious about it. My Takifugu ocellatus tank is at 1.017 and GSP tank at 1.016 and should be going full marine in a couple more weeks. Do you think I can eventually put some kind of marine algae eaters in my tanks with my little hunters?

Thanks!

You might get away with turbo snails too, but that's entirely up to your puffer. Mollies can apparently work to lol.
There are plenty of other algae eating fish, but that kinda changes depending on the size of the tank.

I picked up 3 mollies, so far they have picked the algae off a few spots. I put no food in the tank for them, if they are lucky then they can bet a few pieces of shrimp when the puffers are fed but the mollies manage to constantly have plump full bellies.

sunburst wrote:what shrimp are they jenny ?? , ive just been given 3 mollies to see how they get on there and so far they have munched on the hair algea all day and night

Sorry to bump this post up again...just wondering how your mollies got on in your F8 tank sunburst? Teh shrimp I still have running around my F8 tank (even though the brown and hair algae issues are still there) were just known as river shrimp?
I am looking at anything I can put with the F8's )if there is such a fish) that will also eat algae.

I have mollies in all my tanks. They are great for algae control. They even eat the white algae that grows on plastic and rubber. I have a small black molly with my F8's they all get along very well.

My silver mollies chased one of my GSPs, but I think I got a really docile GSP.

I recently took my gigantic black molly out of my marine tank because she was just too fat. However, I found that since taking her out, none of the other fish eat from the substrate and food is left on the bottom. Algae growth started up again. So, back in she went. Now, I have a clean tank. I still have to wip algae off the glass sometimes, but the molly diffently helps.

Removed

I've read that zebra nerites are low to mid salinity. Mine are fine with the scats but i wouldn't trust my figure 8's with them!

Scats also eat everything! they are constantly picking the algae off my rocks and should be far too big to be bothered by a f8. the only thing is that they love plants and they've ate every plant that i've put in with them apart from the java fern. I put vallissneria in with them yesterday though and when i woke up this morning it was still there, so fingers crossed, i've found another plant species that the scats don't eat!