SAE

[Raven]

The algea hair bloom happening with the floating plants is reaching my limit. its at a point t\were the hairsare so dense on the surface of the water that its made a .... skin on the surface. so i was wondering if i could borrow a little sae to clear up the problem. please and thank you.

[Spinalcore]

This is from http://www.thekrib.com/Fish/ameca-splendens.html

Get a *real* algae eater, Ameca splendens, a smallish (platy sized)

very hardy fish that eats hair algae, green spot algae and (get this

net.sufferers,) blue-green algae.

I put a colony of 6 into a 20L that had the surface covered in

thick, robust green hair algae. The algae was threatening to engulf

the few killies and the hornwort I had in there. Result? 1 month

later, absolutely no algae in the tank, *no duckweed* (they eat that

too) but a 20L *filled* with hornwort - imagine a hornwort ball

30" long, 1 ft. high, 1ft deep and you'll be on target. The

tank is very brightly lit with a shoplite with a 4' vitalite (hornwort

seems to like that as well) and an agro-light.

The splendens, not a really glamorous fish, is a goodeid, so its a livebearer

with funny reproductive geometry that gives birth to few, but larger

(1/3-1/2" long) young. Any fish that'll eat blue-green algae has a place

in my fishroom.

: 

: You have a very similar setup to mine (38 gal, lots of valisneria

: and amazon swords), and a similar situation:  LOTS of green hair

: algae.  I added a Chinese Algae Eater and two black mollies.

: 10 days later I come back from vacation to find a tank *completely*

: overgrown w/ algae.  I added 4 more mollies and two Pl*costomus.

: They (the pl*cos did most of the work) cleaned up the tank completely

: within 3 weeks.  I don't even have to clean the glass anymore.

: 

: Add another small pl*co, and get some black mollies.

I wouldn't do that; chinese algae eaters are more trouble than they're

worth, and the water conditions described are too soft and acidic for

thriving black mollies. Find the splendens, you'll be much better off.

Or, clean the algae by hand, if you only have 1 tank to worry about,

its not a big imposition. Lower the fish load, too.

Matt

I would talk to ABWildrose about a few Amecas as she has some that are already "taking over her tank". Here is a link to her post last month about them.

http://s6.invisionfree.com/AlbertaAquatica...owtopic=614&hl=

I don't know if she has any left to part with right at the moment but they are a lovely species. She brought me a trio up last month and 1 week after they got here one of the females droped 14 fry and they are about the same size as a 3 month old Swordtail when they are born. I keep them in a 15 with 1 ram and a few swordtails at the moment. They don't even seem to try to eat their offspring. The fry are large enough that none of the other fish in the tank seem to be able to eat them as well. They are also extinct in the wild from what I have found through my research of them.

I am using this as a chance to preserve at least 1 species from extinction.

By the way just for your information on the SAE It would fall under the Cyprinids along with Sharks, Barbs, Danios & Rasboras.

Edited October 27, 2004 by Spinalcore

[ABwildrose]

I have tons of them still. I just cant catch them!!

I do notice that they eat algae as well as nibble on the plants a bit...not too badly tho. I don't have hair algae but I have heard that they are good at eating that. I actually will be going to Edmonton the last weekend in Nov. If you would like some at that time...I could attempt to catch some. Actually, I can catch the small ones fairly easily...if you don't mind those. I just wouldn't know what sex they were.

[Raven]

ok, its a deal. you can bring me a couple lol... 2 would be good, less chance of ending up with babies. So youll be in town around the 26-28 of nov? I should have the saturday off, unless im talked into working. Ill pm you with more info.