Kind of a general question so I thought I'd put it here. I've got 11 Neolamprologus leleupi fry in a 20 gallon long tank. The only spare filter I have is for up to 75 gallons but I don't run it all the time. And of corse I have heat and air. I'd say they are about 3 weeks old now. I am getting a big algae problem. I do about a 25% water change once a week and use a gravel vac. After the gravel vac the tank looks good but I guess the algae covered rocks are just being turned up side down so the algae is pointing down. I thought about getting a small algae eater but then I won't have anything to do with it when it gets big since it won't work anymore next time we have fry. I also thought about removing the fry and throwing my 8 inch pleco in there. lol. I doubt that would be good either. Any suggestions?
Algae control in a fry tank?
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If the fry are big enough to get out of the way, an otocinclus is fairly safe with them. I would not use one in a tank that just had eggs or newly hatched fry even though they do stay small.
We have a bare bottom fry tank up right now, i take the few rock that are in there a scrub them in a pail of tank water, and use an algae sponge on the bottom and sides, a BN pleco stays fairly small and could be put in one of your other tanks, like said as long as the fry can get out of the way, the pleco shouldn't have any interest in them....
Algae is only caused by high nutrients and light. It would be best to address the cause and remove what you can physically.
Otos are a perfect fit for your tank, but they can't keep up with an algae issue in a tank (normal algae growth sure).
Like all fish, they are advantageous, but admittingly I have only seen them eat fish that are already dead. Go to a box fish store and look at the tanks with Otos - if they're dead fish in there odds are they are on them. They will not harm living animals though, ever.
Otos are a perfect fit for your tank, but they can't keep up with an algae issue in a tank (normal algae growth sure).
Like all fish, they are advantageous, but admittingly I have only seen them eat fish that are already dead. Go to a box fish store and look at the tanks with Otos - if they're dead fish in there odds are they are on them. They will not harm living animals though, ever.
I agree^^^
You could do one of two things, or both...
1) Cut back significantly on lighting. Since it's not a display tank you technically don't even need the light. The fry will be just fine without it, but it's nice to be able to observe them. So I would just turn the lights on when you are viewing the tank.
2) It's hard to decrease feeding with fry, so you can decrease the nutrient levels by doing larger or more frequent water changes. Shouldn't be too hard on a small tank.
You could do one of two things, or both...
1) Cut back significantly on lighting. Since it's not a display tank you technically don't even need the light. The fry will be just fine without it, but it's nice to be able to observe them. So I would just turn the lights on when you are viewing the tank.
2) It's hard to decrease feeding with fry, so you can decrease the nutrient levels by doing larger or more frequent water changes. Shouldn't be too hard on a small tank.