Petshrimp.com Discussion Forum

I seem to have a blooming crop of hair algae in my cherry shrimp tank, and the little guys aren't keeping pace with the food supply increase. I'm reducing lighting, but wondered if I might briefly introduce a butterfly goodeid or two-- strictly algae-eating little fish-- just to tame the infestation (it popped up while I was away for two weeks, so wasn't there to change water twice weekly).
Would the shrimp be OK with those temporary tankmates?

the adult shrimp might be OK, but the babies will most likely be eaten. Even herbivorous fish can't resist an easy protein snack. For example, otocinclus catfish like to suck down fish eggs if they ever run across them.

My recommendation is to just manually remove as much as possible. Then keep up your water changes as this will remove the excess nutrients that were probably contributing to the infestation. This last solution is long-term. If you relax on your tank maintenance, the undesirable types of algae (e.g. hair, staghorn, etc.) will return.

Thanks, that answers my question. I've picked off most of it (fortunately, it was on the anubias right near the water's surface), and will continue the minimal lighting routine as well as having already resumed the biweekly water freshening... I know unwelcome algae's always a sign of too many nutrients, so I'll deal with it properly instead of looking for a "short-cut" fish helper.

Most of us do water changes at least weekly. I do 50% each week.

I've found using well soaked oak leaves stops algae totally too.

badflash wrote:I've found using well soaked oak leaves stops algae totally too.

yes, I forgot to mention that one.

I also do at least weekly water changes on my shrimp breeding tanks. I actually try to do at least 25% twice a week, and feel guilty if they go 7 days without one!

waytiuk, do you know what the nitrate and phosphate level is in your tap water? If you are doing weekly WC's and there is still algae, perhaps the nutrients are coming from your source water. This is common especially if you live in an agricultural area, where runoff from the fields can impact groundwater.

Yeah, I keep a very close eye on the phosphates-- nitrates are never an issue, but we do see a occasional spike in phosphates in our tap water here, so I always check the levels and put phosphate sponges in the filter if need be. Also, our city water comes from an untreated large lake in the Canadian Shield system, and in summer, there's a lot of algae in that lake. I never have algae problems in my tanks in winter, but in summer--- well, it's just there in the tap water and nuthin' you can do but keep your tank's water nutrient parameters real tight!
Which, of course, I was unable to do while I was away...

If you have natural lighting, that can be an issue. The long days gives the algae lots of fuel. I use lights and no windows, so by limiting the daylight you can limit the algae.

Having no light (or very little light) in a shrimp tank is one of the worst things you can do. The microorganisms that keep the tank "seasoned" for shrimp and provide them with food need light...lots of it.

Plus...why do you guys always try to "get rid" of algae? Algae have a purpose and are actually *good* in a shrimp tank, not bad. People think algae are "bad" for aesthetic reasons, not for any reasons that make any sense in the context of a healthy shrimp/fish tank. Algae are part of the solution, not part of the problem.

In addition to being food (yes, even hair algae) they clean the water by sucking up nutrients. Go to the source of the problem instead of trying to fight the symptoms. If your water chemistry is off...then try to rectify that...in the meantime, just pick off the algae that you don't want and throw them away (or feed them to something else). That way you export nutrients that have been bound up in the algae. If your tapwater has excess nutrients, then changing water won't do anything and may make things even worse.

As I always say...why don't you just sit back and leave the tank alone. Keep picking off the hair algae as they grow. The "problem" (if you can even call it that) will resolve itself in time).

OK, OK, I'll turn the light back on...

Actually, I already turned the light back on... hey, when do I get to stop being an egg and become a real wee shrimpie?

When you hatch