Algae in fry tank.

[sabhain]

Hello all,

I have a healthy group of platy's in my 20g high tank. 3 females and one male adult & 7 growing fry from a batch dropped back in April. About every 30 days I get a batch of fry. I tend to save every other batch or every third .. so I've got about 30 fry in a 10 gallon tank which used to be my quarantine tank.

Recently I'm noticing that I'm starting to get a bit of algae on decorations in the fry tank. The larger tank isn't really subject to natural light, so I haven't encountered any algae yet there.

So I'd like to add a janitor to the fry tank, so long as the janitor sticks to the plant matter & not animal matter. I rather like this cycle we have going with platy fry .. so it's likely we'll try to rescue and separate about a batch every 3 months. This 10 gallon tank will remain a fry condo until the cycle stops, so maybe long term.

Anyone have a suggestion as to what to put in there to control the algae? I'm open to anything as long as the fry won't be bothered (eaten), and the size of the tank (10g) won't be harmful to whatever I choose. I'm also fine feeding other vegetable matter in times when the algae volume is insufficient for the fish. I suppose if algae appears in the larger tank, I could move the janitor periodically.

BN Pleco? Otto?

Anyone have a janitor in their fry segregation tank?

Thanks in advance for any & all suggestions!

[Cliff]

I would like to suggest something completely different.

I ran into the same problem with blue acara fry in my 10 fry tank (which used to be a quarantine tank). I started getting a lot of algae in there. I just chose to allow it to grow. I could not find a clean up fish that would not clean up the fry and could be suited for a 10 gallon tank. I would not keep a BN pleco in a 10 gallon, but that’s just my $.02. I don’t have any actual experience with Ottos so I’ll leave that for someone else to comment on.

The algae in your tank will actual help to maintain your water parameters just as your filter dose. As this was my first time for setting up a fry tank, I will admit I had no idea / experience on the amount of food to feed these little guys. As I have a tendency to over feed, I allowed the algae to grow.

I have between 23 to 28 fry in that tank for about 6 weeks now (maybe a little longer). I’ve only lost two of them. Water parameters always check out 0 across the board with a PH of 7.4 (same PH right out of the tap). It looks terrable, but the water is good and the fry seam really heathly.

For me it has seamed to help by leaving the algae in the tank. I would never do this on any one of my other tanks.

Just a "off the wall" suggestion for you to think about.

[toddnbecka]

Algae may not be pretty, but it is actually beneficial if you don't have other live plants in the fry tank. If you really want to get rid of the algae a nerite snail would be a fish-safe alternative. So would fast-growing floating plants like duckweed and/or Najas. They will outcompete the algae for nutrients unless the bioload is exceptionally high.

[chrisfraser05]

I'd go for duckweed after a manual clean (wipe off the algae).

[sabhain]

Thanks for the feedback. The water chemistry levels have been pretty good. I think I'm going to let it go for a bit, but if it starts to get really green, I may try the nerite snail. Especially if they don't breed in freshwater .. I think a snail may be a good option.

[little hawaii]

Algae is free organic fish food for live bearers. Leave it except on front glass. A brnose would cleana 10 gallon in a couple of days. Ottos would work too, just slower.

[Garrett]

I've got one wall of my fry tank completely green from algae, I think it benefits the fry. Not only does it help with water params, but it's host to all sorts of microorganisms that the fry find to be healthy snacks, not to mention they nibble on the algae itself. I also have a number of red cherry shrimp in the tank, so it basically means I can skip feedings if necessary.