Aquila Posted March 31, 2010 Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 I would recommend not moving the Botia out at all. You may shock them if you take them out and put them back when the concentration may still be high. They will be fine with a normal dose of flourish. I use to dose Excel to my 220L where I had a Botia angelicus (aka kubotai) and clown loach and they were absolutely fine. I had a couple spots of black beard algae at the same time as black hair algae. I start treating with flourish excel by squirting it directly onto the algae (it would turn orange a few hours later and then fall off by the next couple days). In the end I opted out for just buying a couple of SAE instead and also switched to DIY Co2, as i though excel would be too expensive in the long run. Haven't seen either kind of it since. You mentioned that your SAE is eating the 'hair' but not the 'beard', this maybe just because it was overwhelmed by the amount of it, but once you get rid of most of it, the SAE will be able to keep the rest in check. Once your plants take off (especially with that dosing of the excel), they should be able to out compete the algae and prevent it from returning. Goodluck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted March 31, 2010 Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 Everyone has their own ideas but there is a pretty foolproof way to avoid trouble which most people don't seem interested in. If you heavily plant a tank and get them estacblished then gradually introduce only a few fish you will not need a filter or airstone. If you add a filter and airstone as a bonus and only feed the minimum of good quality food that is low in phosphate so you don't have excess left you will probably have little trouble with algae. Most people want only a few plants and lots of fish but if you make an underwater garden and enjoy a few fish whern they show up you could be away laughing. Most algae problems are caused by an excess of phoshate. All proteins are a string of phosphates with amino acids hanging off them so if you leave food uneaten it will provide an excess of phosphates. Some sites suggest adding nitrate to cure algae problems but this will only work if you have the other nutrients, carbon and light to get the plants growing better and starve the algae. Overstocking and overfeeding are usually the main culprits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supasi Posted March 31, 2010 Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 Everyone has their own ideas but there is a pretty foolproof way to avoid trouble which most people don't seem interested in. If you heavily plant a tank and get them estacblished then gradually introduce only a few fish you will not need a filter or airstone. If you add a filter and airstone as a bonus and only feed the minimum of good quality food that is low in phosphate so you don't have excess left you will probably have little trouble with algae. Most people want only a few plants and lots of fish but if you make an underwater garden and enjoy a few fish whern they show up you could be away laughing. Most algae problems are caused by an excess of phoshate. All proteins are a string of phosphates with amino acids hanging off them so if you leave food uneaten it will provide an excess of phosphates. Some sites suggest adding nitrate to cure algae problems but this will only work if you have the other nutrients, carbon and light to get the plants growing better and starve the algae. Overstocking and overfeeding are usually the main culprits. I agree with the above statement Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tukituki Posted March 31, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 i used to have 3 sae's, one with gold and a red stripe, 2 normal. when we moved from the north island i sold the 2 normal types and just kept the nicer looking one. maybe this algae is too overwhelming for him! i've not realised its taking over until quite recently. so perhaps i should move the loaches back? how long would it take for the flourish levels to settle down so it would be safe for them to return? i'd ideally not have them in my breeding tank for too long. would be best to have them in their usual tank if its going to be safe. i have not added any flourish yet. i tried to scrub the ornaments but nothing seemed to get the algae off. i'm considering adding 1-2 capfuls of flourish to the ornaments with them in a bucket. would it do the job? i've put some other ones in the tank for now. is it best to start with a triple dose of flourish as stated on the label? this is what i'm reluctant to do... i fear for the fish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted March 31, 2010 Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 No point using excel on something that can be scrubbed :-? Use only on plants really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supasi Posted March 31, 2010 Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 i have not added any flourish yet. i tried to scrub the ornaments but nothing seemed to get the algae off. i'm considering adding 1-2 capfuls of flourish to the ornaments with them in a bucket. would it do the job? i've put some other ones in the tank for now. is it best to start with a triple dose of flourish as stated on the label? this is what i'm reluctant to do... i fear for the fish! If it is just on the ornament and not plants, take the ornaments out. put them in a bucket with water and add a few capfuls of household bleach. Leave them to soak for about an hour then rinse and scrub.You can even do this to hardy plants like Anubias etc. As Sam said. Its a waste of time using Excel if you dont have plants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tukituki Posted March 31, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 thanks. i'll use some bleach on the ornaments. i have several amazon swords, 5 in total in my different tanks. i have removed most of the algae leaves but not all of it is gone. can someone advise on the correct dosage please? start with 1 capful for a 160L tank, or 3? thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted March 31, 2010 Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 A 1:20 solution of bleach for 15 minutes will work wonders for the ornaments and is dirt cheap. Rinse very well afterwards until you can smell no more bleach. A slightly higher than normal Excel dose of 1ml/14 litres works well and is safe for most fish. Use a little less to start out with to see how they go before upping the dose. For those interested in algae, here is a useful kink to Tom Barr's forums. The first two stickies are quite interesting: http://www.barrreport.com/forumdisplay. ... tive-Index Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tukituki Posted March 31, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 the loaches are preparing to return to their tank (currently caught and waiting to go back in). i will start with 1 capful for my 160L tank, which is less than stated but i think its safer so as not to shock the fish, i'd rather have algae than any deaths. the ornaments i'll see to tomorrow although i think they quite like the ones i've put in for now. i can add the same dose daily for 5 days perhaps, and see how the tank & fish are looking. does this sound ok? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tukituki Posted April 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2010 the ornaments are looking great after a soak with watered down bleach, thanks for the tip there. i will rinse them heaps before they go back in the tank. i have been continuing my low dose of flourish, and will continue daily for about 10 days. all fish fine, including the loaches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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