2 Questions: Removing ugly algae & unwanted crustaceans

[zardeenah]

I have 2 questions for you experienced shrimp people:

I have an invertebrates only tank, a 6 gallon tank with 3 small apple snails (brigs), about 1", 6 red crystal bee shrimp, and 2 amano shrimp.

Recently, little tufts of dark blackish green algae have been growing on the other plants. I was hoping that the shrimp or the snails would take care of them, but they must taste horrible, because nobody's eating them. I have some "Algae Destroyer" that I used before I switched to inverts -- can I use that to get rid of this stuff, or will it harm my critters?

Second question: I have little tiny greyish crustaceans in the tank. I didn't mind a few, but now their population is getting out of control. I know I probably overfed, which kicked off the overpopulation, but now what? I've reduced the food levels and changed the water, but there seems to be little effect.

Any tips will be very helpful!

[angry pirate]

tiny greyish crustations isn't very descriptive, can you describe them or post a photo of them?

[zardeenah]

There isn't much to describe. Tiny grey spots, about the size of a grain of sand. They float about in the tank, but mostly settle on the plants and decorations.

[angry pirate]

that sounds like daphnia, although a little big. it's a good sign though it means your tank is nicely settled, mature and you have good water quality, getting rid of them i believe is impossible. as for the algae try cutting down and the amount of light the tank gets and thet should do the trick.

[randyg123]

I work for a company that manufactures bacteria & enzyme products used in commercial and household aquaculture environments. In fact commercial shrimp farming is one of our biggest industries where our products are used to maintain pond water quality and to offer probiotic benefits to the shrimp. As to not break any rules, I will not divulge my company so this reply does not appear to be a solicitation. Perhaps the "Algae Destroyer" you referred to is a similar product, but I never heard of it.

I just bring this up because these types of products can offer a means of biological control of algae in aquariums. The process is basically one of outcompetition for nutrients that are readily available in the water column. Different microorganisms offer different benefits such as the break down of organic matter like detritus, feces, proteins (foaming), and the like, while other microorganisms focus more on nutrient control. The good thing is that you are not adding copper or other compounds not safe for invertabrates.

If you are using such a product, make sure you are using it properly. If it is a quality product, then proper dosages should provide you with good algae control. So much depends on the amount of nutrients entering the system. One problem we encounter is the amount of protein included in commercial fish feeds and similar. High protein is good but it promotes growth (like how body-builders eat high protein diets). As growth slows, organisms require less protein as they are not increasing in mass. Most of their food goes to energy (higher carb requirement). So what happens is all this protein creates excess nitrogen in the system. Excess nitrogen equals excess ammonia and nitrates, which corresponds to more algae. Manipulation of the bacteria species in the system can reduce the amount of easily available nutrients in the water and thus reduce what is available to the algae. This, coupled with other measures as listed below, offer an well-rounded preventative measure for controlling water quality in your aquarium.

Algae need nutrients and light to grow. So as an earlier post mentioned, light control is important. Feed (if being used) should be controlled as best as possible to avoid overfeeding. Filtrations systems that allow maximum biological activity in small systems like this are very beneficial. And finally, a biological control product would be very beneficial in my humble (granted very biased) opinion.

I hope I haven't crossed the line on solicitaion, if so I am sure the moderator can pull this post.

I hope I offered some help.