Is my arowana gonna be safe?!?!

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N

ndkang

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 23, 2010
27
0
0
Vietnam
Hey Guys,

Just a really quick question. I have had my tank for a few months now and I am consistently having problems with green algae. It gets so bad that I have to clean the algae every week. What I want to know is that if I use algae removal treatment, will it harm my Arowana? I have tried using a UV light and it does nothing for the tank and I am getting tired of doing a throughly cleaning every week. Any other suggestions on how to reduce the algae? I feed every second day, water changes once a week about 25%, close the curtains everyday.

Any advice would help.

Dai
 
Gonna have to find the reason for he algae and eliminate it. You can risk your aro and use some chemical for a quick fix, but likely the algae will still come back. May need to test water and find what nutrients are feeding the algae.
 
v_ilovebass;4438705; said:
throw a few plecos in there.
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Wrong advice.

Ndkang, which green algae are you exactly having issues with? Green floating algae or green spot algae? Algal bloom is often a result of excessive lighting and excessive nutrients in your water.

For both algae to be kept in control (but not totally eliminate in the case of green spot algae), reduce or restrict the lighting period. Only by reducing the light will discourage the algae from producing very quickly.

Addition of fast growing plants such as hornworts and Egeria densa will guarantee the reduction of algae as they will outcompete the algae for food. I prefer the latter in this case as hornworts tend to be very brittle and can disintegrate into pieces making a mess especially with inadequate lighting.

If you are batting hair algae, green spot algae and diatoms, UV sterilizers are very much pointless. They must pass the system in order to be destroyed. They are more useful with green floating algae but if it's helping at all, perhaps the green floating algae is producing as quickly as it is destroyed by the system.
 
You hadn't mentioned the location of the tank, but I'm guessing by drawing the curtains, this tank is located infront of a window?

I would cover the front of the tank with a blanket, reduce or stop feedings altogether (you didn't mention the stocklist either, but as Lupin mentioned, one culprit of an algae bloom is excessive nutrients i.e. over feeding), and do weekly water changes until this issue is resolved. Your aro can go weeks without food, so do not worry about cutting it's feeding down to once or twice a week, and ensure that everything you throw in is eaten or removed.
 
even though lupin disagrees, i dont see anything wrong with throwing a few plecos in there, but do not have that algae as there main source of food. plecos keep all my glass perfect and clear, they are great!
 
alexx-w;4438831; said:
even though lupin disagrees, i dont see anything wrong with throwing a few plecos in there, but do not have that algae as there main source of food. plecos keep all my glass perfect and clear, they are great!
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Until you figure out a) the type of algae and b)the culprit, this could be a bad idea. If the issue is overfeeding + underfiltration, adding plecos will actually do more damage than good. Contrary to popular believe, most plecos produce more waste than they "clean up."

If you do go the pleco route, I'd add any of the ancistrus sp. species (common or albino bristlenose is the most available). These are one of the few plecos who do a good job of eating algae.
 
Has he even mentioned what species of arowana he keeps? If this is a jardini, forget adding plecos. I'm still all for correcting the actual cause of the current problem instead of correcting the problem itself.
 
bcarlos;4439024; said:
Until you figure out a) the type of algae and b)the culprit, this could be a bad idea. If the issue is overfeeding + underfiltration, adding plecos will actually do more damage than good. Contrary to popular believe, most plecos produce more waste than they "clean up."

If you do go the pleco route, I'd add any of the ancistrus sp. species (common or albino bristlenose is the most available). These are one of the few plecos who do a good job of eating algae.
Click to expand...

I thought about adding plecos but i also have 2 stingrays which i dont think it will be a great idea. The algae is spot algae that grows on the glass, ornaments and filters. I am feeding them every second day and its whatever they can consume in a couple of minutes.

In my tank i have;

1 Asian Arowana
2 Teacup Stingrays
7 Discus

I clean my tank every week so I am not really sure what else to do except add in the algae removal treatment however, i don't want to harm my arowana. What should i do next?

Dai
 
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