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Post by theamlinals on Feb 6, 2018 21:30:32 GMT -5
I could use some advice on getting some algae to grow on some stones (outside of my aquarium) so i can start to swap them in to feed to my hungry little otos.
I keep the light on in the aquarium about 10 hours a day but i guess they're just too good at their job because i havent seen a spec of algae on the glass since the day after i got them. I love them and dont want them to starve. I've been giving them zucchini to tide them over while i start a little external algae farm for them. Fron what i read you could just set some stones in a dish in a windowsill and voila it would just automaticallt grow algae for them. Sounded so simple.
Tried the window idea, didnt work. I tried tap water with flake food, tried tank water, tried dirty axolotl tub water,
Assumed windowsilll was too cold.
I then moved the dish to sit on the top of my chameleon cage so its been getting a combo of uvb light and heat lamp for about a week. I have a fresh batch of dirty axolotl water in there, and some little veggie pellets fish food, and still nothing.
I am not going to go out and buy fertilizer.
This seems like it shouldnt be so hard.
What am i doing wrong?
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Post by phish on Feb 6, 2018 22:26:20 GMT -5
It would probably take 4 to 5 days at a minimum to get algae growth under full sun in a window sill. Probably won't be visible to you until two weeks. You could get a 5 gallon tank, fill it with water from your aquarium, put some nice sized stones in it and blast it 24 hrs under a light intended for plants. Once you get heavy algae growth, it just keeps multiplying as long as there is a constant light source. Would also speed up the process if you had a rock or two with algae already on it from the aquarium that you could use to jump start the algae farm.
They will also happily feed on algae wafers. I think Hikari makes them in mini size.
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Post by theamlinals on Feb 7, 2018 21:35:14 GMT -5
It would probably take 4 to 5 days at a minimum to get algae growth under full sun in a window sill. Probably won't be visible to you until two weeks. You could get a 5 gallon tank, fill it with water from your aquarium, put some nice sized stones in it and blast it 24 hrs under a light intended for plants. Once you get heavy algae growth, it just keeps multiplying as long as there is a constant light source. Would also speed up the process if you had a rock or two with algae already on it from the aquarium that you could use to jump start the algae farm. They will also happily feed on algae wafers. I think Hikari makes them in mini size. Thanks for the idea, but i dont have a good spot for an extra aquarium right now. Also i dont have any existing algae to "seed" my container from. I will go get them some wafers if i must, i was just hoping to be able to give them a good self-replenishing supply of the "real thing" instead. But basically i'm not doing anything wrong, i'm just being impatient? That's good news. You think in another week or so i should be seeing some growth? |
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Post by phish on Feb 7, 2018 21:40:30 GMT -5
Yes, eventually algae will form as long as it happens before all the water evaporates... Will need to keep adding aquarium water if you see too much evaporation.
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Post by guppyguy on Feb 7, 2018 22:41:34 GMT -5
Mine eat both tank algae and Hikari mini algae wafers, and are very healthy and happy. At least doing it this way you know they are well fed. Many people starve there poor otos to death thinking there is enough algae in the tank for them. They should have nice full rounded belly when healthy. If there belly starts to sink in there staving. You can also place driftwood that stands upright close near the light. It will grow a nice covering of algae for the otos.
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Post by phish on Feb 7, 2018 23:31:14 GMT -5
I put 2 oto cats in my Betta's tank that had algae on the walls and gravel. In a matter of days. the tank became spotless. So I am supplementing them with algae wafers and putting in decorations that are covered in algae from my other tanks so they can keep grazing. They worked themselves out of a job and food!
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Post by theamlinals on Feb 7, 2018 23:58:46 GMT -5
Mine eat both tank algae and Hikari mini algae wafers, and are very healthy and happy. At least doing it this way you know they are well fed. Many people starve there poor otos to death thinking there is enough algae in the tank for them. They should have nice full rounded belly when healthy. If there belly starts to sink in there staving. You can also place driftwood that stands upright close near the light. It will grow a nice covering of algae for the otos. Oh for sure i have no intentions of letting them starve, i'm just surprised at how quickly they took down what i thought was a very generous lead time to get this little green rock farm going. When i got the otos, i thought i had a very welcoming environment ready for them. On top of my slightly speckled (quite neglected then half-ass scrubbed) glass, I also had two large pieces of driftwood that was downright flapping with furry flowing brown algae stuff that i had left growing on there for many years. I thought those would tide them over for at least a month once they sparkled up the glass. I've only had these little piglets for just going on 3 weeks and my driftwood now looks practically new. :/ |
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Post by guppyguy on Feb 8, 2018 15:24:34 GMT -5
They certainly do have veracious appetites. Nearly always grazing.
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Post by theamlinals on Feb 9, 2018 21:04:03 GMT -5
Well i had to top up the water in the container last night due to some evaporation, and still no green. But i did stick my finger in there and could feel that the stones are getting slimy. That should be a good sign, right?  |
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Post by phish on Feb 9, 2018 22:29:11 GMT -5
You might want to put some silica sand in there if you want diatoms aka brown algae Bright white sand will reflect the sunlight and sand supposedly contains silica and phosphates that leech into the water. Just short of adding fertilizer to your experiment. |
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Post by phish on Feb 13, 2018 17:35:49 GMT -5
Well i had to top up the water in the container last night due to some evaporation, and still no green. But i did stick my finger in there and could feel that the stones are getting slimy. That should be a good sign, right? How is the algae grow op going? |
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Post by theamlinals on Feb 13, 2018 17:40:39 GMT -5
Well i had to top up the water in the container last night due to some evaporation, and still no green. But i did stick my finger in there and could feel that the stones are getting slimy. That should be a good sign, right? How is the algae grow op going? Thanks for checking up on me The plastic container has developed some green patches on it a few days ago, but surprisingly my rocks are still not green or fuzzy, still just slimy. I did pick up some algae wafers though, and they seemed to be a hit. |
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Post by phish on Feb 13, 2018 22:24:50 GMT -5
Algae is funny like that... you can't grow it when you want to but it seems to grow like crazy when you don't want it to.
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Post by theamlinals on Feb 13, 2018 23:03:19 GMT -5
Well, the pressure's off somewhat, because i doubt they're starving to death in there - just found two different green speckled areas on my tank walls.
Bunch of slackers.
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Post by theamlinals on Feb 15, 2018 23:28:08 GMT -5
Finally started to see a little green on my stones. So, i guess just let the container keep getting greener and slimier as i keep swapping the stones back and forth? They'd better actually find these things and use them. I put one in over an hour ago and nobody's noticed it yet. Also, i lost one of the otos, so i'm down to 4.  I had been floating a sponge in the tank to try to get some good bacteria on it because i wanted to put it in a new tank i'm cycling for my little axolotls. Well one little oto managed to climb on top of the sponge and i guess got stuck there, out of the water. Poor little dummy. |
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