Algaefix (API)...

[Amalthea]

I have 2 aquariums:
#1- planted with tropical fish, a female betta harem, and a scaleless catfish (bulldog/rubber lip pleco)
#2- divided aquarium with 2 bettas and two different types of snails ("mystery" and trumpet snails).
Both tanks have algae - hair algae, black beard algae, smiley green algae that builds up in my Java Moss and blankets the small sword grass, diatoms (doubt Algaefix will work on those), and green algae that adheres to glass. Algaefix claims to get rid of all these types of algae (minus the diatoms).

So... Anybody have experience with this stuff? I'm mostly worried about how it will affect my fish, especially the bettas, snails, and catfish. The product claims it's safe for tropical fish - but I don't know if they test it on labyrinth fish, scaleless fish, or snails. It says it's harmful to crustaceans (snails aren't crustaceans).

As far as alternatives, I can't add algae munching snails to my larger tank because my loach will make a meal of them. Otos don't last very long - a combination of the local water supply and the fact they are nearly starved to death by suppliers. The longest I've had an Oto survive was ~2 months. So adding another organism to combat the algae is out of the picture, especially because the algae is out of control. I've tried varying levels of light. I've tried feeding even less. Nothing works. So now I'm considering using Algaefix D:

[Lady Hobbs]

All I know about this product is what I've read here. It says nothing about snails, tho.

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[rich311k]

I have no idea if it works or not, but if it kills all that stuff it cant be very good for the critters.

Forget chemicals, forget animals to remove it, you need to find the cause of your algae problems and fix them.

[Spardas]

How often do you change your water, clean your filters, wipe the glass, clean the gravel bed, etc.? Do you change new bulbs in your fixtures and how often? Is your tank right in front of the window? How often do you feed and how much?

Find the problem and address the issue and it'll be fixed. No chemicals in the world will help you and it'll keep coming back if you don't get it at the source.

[Pleco380]

I've only heard of bad luck with algae fix.

[crdoit]

I never like to add chemicals to my tanks other than what it takes to kill clorine and some salt for fresh water fish.
First I would check the bulbs and be sure they are for aquatic use and not some bulb from a hardware store that is not intended for this purpose.
Next be sure the tank is not getting direct sunlight.
People say I change my water to often, but hey if it works for me.
There is something causing the excessive algae. Find the culprit, address it and I think you will be ok.

[Amalthea]

Tank #1:
The algae either came with plants I bought through aquabid or through my local water supply. Before I ordered the plants from aquabid 2 years ago, I never had a problem with algae. The plants I received looked clean of algae and parasites - no sign of black beard algae or anything. I rinsed them and rubbed off the mud that was on the leaves. The only problem I've ever experienced was the usual brown diatoms, due to changing the substrate to sand (Estes). The diatom problem eventually subsided. There is no way to get rid of black beard algae except with chemicals. Picking it off doesn't work, and there are tons of areas where it's growing - sand, decorations, plants like java moss, etc. My tank isn't near a window. There is no sunlight coming in contact with the glass. I use 2 compact fluorescent bulbs that are 6700 K, using a shorter than normal daylight cycle - they are on a timer and only come on for the very minimum amount of time to keep my plants alive. I replace them once a year (yes, this is perfectly fine for compact fluorescent bulbs). I wipe the glass every weekend. I do a 25% water change and siphon the bottom after wiping the glass. I also rinse out the filters during this time. They get replaced every month, though I replace the filter floss in front of those filters more often. I feed every other day - there is no food left over, and I do not feed a lot of food.
Tank #2:
Same care as tank #1, though I change out more than 25% since it's a smaller tank. This tank somehow has black beard algae even though the substrate in the tank was new and there are only plastic plants in the tank. This has lead me to conclude this algae is present in my local water supply. I have no way to address this issue, except with chemicals. It will keep coming back, no matter what.

FYI, adding chemicals to an aquarium isn't bad, as long as you know what you are doing, understand what you're adding, and what reactions it will cause.

And seriously, stop with the condescending questions. You make me not want to post here. I know how to properly maintain an aquarium, hence why I asked for opinions on Algaefix. Don't assume everybody who has an aquarium is incompetent.

And please don't suggest Siamese Algae Eaters. They are not sold where I live.

Lady Hobbs, I read that overview/review(s) before posting here :S

So... Can anybody answer my question?

[dmagerl]

My personal opinion is that Algaefix should be pulled from the market. Not only have I never seen it do anything to algae, but fish violently react to it.

You can see the fish all act like something is terribly wrong. My angelfish open their mouths and shake their heads back and forth as if smelling something bad. Then they swim wildly around the tank. The BN plecs all come out from hiding and swim wildly around. The cories all start swimming up and down the tank.

Later the cories just settle to the bottom with their fins clamped. All the other fish get quiet and act like they're sick. This lasts for a couple hours and then everything seems to get back to normal.

Its a traumatic experience to see this happen. You want to run and do a full water change and remove the stuff from the tank. Some people claim to have lost fish and I can see why that would happen but I personally have not lost any.

My opiniion is to steer clear of the stuff. Two thumbs down on Algaefix.

[rnj79]

My personal opinion is that Algaefix should be pulled from the market. Not only have I never seen it do anything to algae, but fish violently react to it.

You can see the fish all act like something is terribly wrong. My angelfish open their mouths and shake their heads back and forth as if smelling something bad. Then they swim wildly around the tank. The BN plecs all come out from hiding and swim wildly around. The cories all start swimming up and down the tank.

Later the cories just settle to the bottom with their fins clamped. All the other fish get quiet and act like they're sick. This lasts for a couple hours and then everything seems to get back to normal.

Its a traumatic experience to see this happen. You want to run and do a full water change and remove the stuff from the tank. Some people claim to have lost fish and I can see why that would happen but I personally have not lost any.

My opiniion is to steer clear of the stuff. Two thumbs down on Algaefix.


I know this is an exceptionally old thread but I had a problem with AlgeaFix so I did a forum search and landed here...

We had green water and could absolutely NOT get it to clear so after several months we bought the AlgeaFix which, yes, did an excellent job by giving us crystal clear water within minutes but I noticed last night our Jack Dempsey was acting strange with all of the symptoms mentioned above. I told my husband it was as if Jack was having convulsions and couldn't get away from himself :( Its weird because it took me a week to even notice so how long had my poor guy been suffering? We noticed today that 2 of our other cichlids were having the same problems hence is why I came here. I did a 90% wc as suggested and I guess we will wait it out.

My water parameters are alright... Ammonia 0, pH 7.0, Nitrites 0 and Nitrates are 10 ppm. I would expect nitrates to be lower tomorrow when I retest.

Long story short... the AlgaeFix is going into the garbage. I hope my crew recovers and I never have to witness them suffering like this again :(

[Lady Hobbs]

Apparently the OP wanted opinions on AlgaeFix but the answers were not what she wanted to hear so she never returned.

[rnj79]

Apparently the OP wanted opinions on AlgaeFix but the answers were not what she wanted to hear so she never returned.

I only wish I would have read about it before using it. It very well may have cost me all of my fish and thats not something that makes me feel good deep down :(

I have gotten lots of help off this forum. I don't know what happened to my original account, I was pretty high up the ladder but had to start a new one.

Oh well. Whats done is done. I have done all I can do to help my cichlids. Lessons taught are lessons learned. Thank you for your help :)

[Lady Hobbs]

Read your PM.