Algae Problems

lamberb2

i have a 5 gallon tank set up with just my betta fish in it. Its still water with just a heater and a couple of decorations in it, problem is i have algae floating on the top of the water and its getting pretty bad, I change the water but it comes right back a week later, is there any algae eaters i can put in with the betta in the still water that will eat the algae?

Hanky

is it just floating on the surface or is it on the glass and decorations? I dont know of any algae eaters that eat off the surface, you'll need a small filter to circulate and clean water either way without a filter you should be changing all the water every day

lamberb2

for a single betta 100% water change every day? thats seems a little much.

Hanky

you can check through the betta threads but thats what they say for tanks with no filter because there is nothing to get rid of ammonia, exspecilly if your going to add any more fish/snails.

lamberb2

I just changed all the water in the tank for him, looks more pleasent now, Do you believe if i added 1-2 snails that would help? Im going to wait a bit any ways, just to see how fast the algae really does grow, because i dont want to add snails if there is no food in the tank for them.

Hanky

Good, glad he seems better, is the algae only growing on the surface or is it on the glass and stuff? Is the water green when you change it? See what I mean about the water change though,it doesnt take long for ammonia to build up in the water and no bio- filter to get it out I guess maybe 100% everyday is a bit drastic, but at least every other day. I would get yourself A small filter it would help you alot. keep us updated on the algae so we can see how long it takes to develop good luck

Also how long has the tank been running? is it properly cycled? do you test the water for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates?

lamberb2

tank has been up for about 3 months, it was established before i added in the betta, The tank is in some sunlight, so that could also speed up the algae growth. I will keep you informed on how long it takes to grow. I have the smallest filter i can get right now on the tank, but since the tank isn't very deep it makes alot of current, and i was reading that bettas do better in still water.

Hanky

They dont like alot of current but you do need to filter the water, try to read up on ways to baffle the water flow so it doesnt seem as strong. I would definitly try to move it out of the sunlight if possible that will grow algae quickly

thekoimaiden

Your biggest contributor to the algae is the sunlight. Alternatively you could get live plants (especially fast-growing species) as those will out-compete the algae. Algae isn't exactly a bad thing. All tanks have algae and no healthy tank is without it. I would not get snails as they will just contribute to the ammonia load and actually make the algae worse. Plants before snails always.

How did you establish the tank? Fishless cycle?

About the water changes: in an uncycled 5 gal tank you are looking at 2 water changes weekly. One 50% and one 100%. There is no need for 100% daily changes unless you are fighting an illness. With a filter you can cycle a 5 gal, but it is going to take some time (unless you already did it). If you go with a filter, get a bubble filter as they provide the least current.

You should check out the betta forum. You can find it as a subforum under Freshwater and Tropical Fish. There are many threads there about cycling and water changes with small tanks.

lamberb2

Thank you for the information maiden