14 Gal with algae problems. Can I add a Mexican Dwarf Orange Crayfish (CPO)????

[Dan420]

I have a 14 gal tall tank that was doing great until I upgraded my tank light to florescent and I like it much better but it caused blue green algae to start growing and cover all my plants (which I have a lot of).

I have been at war with this algae for a couple months now. I have been using algae fix but I would prefer a more natural solution than adding algae fix every water change.

In my tank now I have 3 harleyquinn, 2 red phantom, 3 corys, and 7 glow light tetras. none of my fish eat vegetation at all. so I was thinking about adding a clown plecostomus or I really want a Mexican Dwarf Orange Crayfish (Cambarellus Patzcuarensis)

My question is can I add a Mexican Dwarf Orange Crayfish or even a clown plecostomus or something that will help control algae? Or is my tank to crowded as it is?

My main quest is to get this nasty algae under control and save my plants

Let me know what you think?

 

[COG Commando]

It's hard to tell from the pictures, but if it's cyanobacteria (blue green algae), then algae eaters won't take care of the problem. I've found that the only thing that works WELL against cyano is to take the tank apart and bleach it out and scrub everything well.

 

[Manafel]

I know when I added an oto to my 20g tall he decimated all of the algae in that tank within a few days and they stay small. but that was with green algae

 

[Dan420]

I have had outbreaks of this algae in the past and I was able to control it by adding more plants and changing the substrate in another tank. I also have a smaller guppy tank and I have added some plants with some of the blue green algae on it and it was eaten by the guppies.

I know there is no way to remove it but there is a balance that I want to achieve where all my plants consume the nutrients and there isn't any left of the algae.

Algae fix slows the growth and my some of my friends use it to control algae but it will kill crustaceans like mexican dwarf oj crawfish. So thats why I was thinking about adding clown plecostomus instead.

I think that if something can just go around and pick at the algae it won't overtake my plants and they can get large and strong enough to out compete the algae.

 

[jayla2251]

algae is sometimes caused by excess nutrients, have you tried to cut back feeding or doing more water changes? also, maybe you should cut back the amount of time your lights are on. Oto's are good for algae.

 

[Dan420]

I have been trying to feed them less and changing the light hours and I haven't been able to stop it.

An Oto sounds good (not as cool as a Mexican dwarf oj crawfish) or a clown plecostomus.

I read that an Oto needs to be in small school and needs at least a 30gal and my tank is a 14gal and its kind of crowded. I don't want to overpopulate my tank. Do you think my tank will just be too full if I added like 2 Oto's?

 

[vwill279]

CPO's (mexican dwarf orange cray) wont eat algae. They might nibble on it if they are bored, but if you want something to get rid of the algae, a crayfish is not in the cards.

 

[Dan420]

Aw but I thought so.

what about few Oto's in my 14? would it be way to crowded in my tank?
again I have 3 harleyquinn, 2 red phantom, 3 corys, and 7 glow light tetras in a 14 tall

 

[jayla2251]

Hmm....oto's are pretty darn small. I think you could easily add 3 or more. It's more about how much waste a fish produces. All your fish are pretty small and aren't going to create a lot of waste. Or you could go with the pleco.

 

[Nepherael]

Hmm....oto's are pretty darn small. I think you could easily add 3 or more. It's more about how much waste a fish produces. All your fish are pretty small and aren't going to create a lot of waste. Or you could go with the pleco.

I agree. Size is always a factor but bioload makes a huge difference. I had been told that my tanks were either fully stocked or close to it but then that I could stock with alf a dozen kuhli loaches. So waste produced is definitely a factor alongside size. I can't remember how big the clown gets but I remember someone telling me not to put it in a tank with a 10g footprint (I would assume since yours is a 14 tall it has the same L and W of a 10g?) I could be wrong about that though