Green Algae

[Minderella83]

I have some green stringy fuzzy algae on my fake plants in my fry tank. It is easy to remove but there is alot of it and it seems to grow fast. What can I do because I dont want to hurt the babies but dont like the algae?

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

How much water are you changing and how often are you changing it? As a general rule, fry tanks need to have the water changed more frequently then normal tanks.

[Minderella83]

I change about 30-40% weekly, like all my other tanks. How much and how often should I change the water?

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Personally I'd be doing that much every other day on a fry tank.

[Minderella83]

Just so I know, why change water so often?

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

2 reasons. First, when the fish are fry you are feeding a bit more and so more waste is being produced. Second, the cleaner the water, in combination with a good diet, will help your fry grow faster. Poor water quality is one of the contributors to slow growth in fish.

[Minderella83]

Thank you for the information. I will change the water every other day, the only problem is I get my water from my sister who lives about 30 mins away because my water has a ph of 6.0 and hers has a ph of 7. Any suggestions?

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Do a series of small changes to adapt your fish to your pH. There's really no need to worry about that. The 7.0 is a concocted ideal. I would do a series of small 10% water changes every day over the next week to adapt your fish to the pH of your water. What kind of fry are we dealing with?

[Minderella83]

I have guppy, one platy, one swordtail, but mostly guppy

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

IMO the 7.0 water isn't necessary, just keep the quality of the water up. However, upon some reflection, you may want to wait til they are larger before adapt them to a new pH. I failed to take into account the age of the fish in question.

[Minderella83]

So I shouldn't try changing the water one gallon at a time every other day?

[Minderella83]

bumping for hopefully answer. :c12:

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

How old are they?

[Minderella83]

Between 3-4 weeks old.

[Ryuu]

Sorry, with the algae is the tank by a window, or is there a lot of natural light getting in the tank

[Minderella83]

No there is no natural light getting to tank, I have shades on my windows, and the tank isnt by the window either. I think like someone said, it is a fry tank and I need to change my water more often than once a week. Today I changed 1 gallon and will change 1 gallon every other day and see if that helps.

[Ryuu]

Yeah it might a little, but water quality has nothing to do with algae, it may prevent a little but not solve the problem. How often is your light on?

[Minderella83]

from about 10am-10pm

[Ryuu]

Hmmm what kind of light? flouresent or industrial?

[Minderella83]

eclipse T-8 15 watt, on 10 gallon.

[Ryuu]

So im guessing its fouresent!? If it is, I would clean out all the algea and keep the light off for a minimum of three days, fllouresent lights generate algae when left on for a large time periods, however, water changes and and cleaning it off will help greatly

[Minderella83]

Yes it is flourescent

[Ryuu]

mmk then yeah just clean off all the visible algea and then shut off the light so it wont have a chance to grow back, do you ahev live plants?

[Minderella83]

I have one bannana plant. What does mmk mean?

[Ryuu]

sorry, mmk, is just like ummm kay, lol sorry, and since you do have a plant keep the light on for an hour at the most a day, for three days after you clean out the algea