# Algae in Shrimp Tank



## Shrimpressions (Jun 26, 2015)

Hi there ! Greetings from Malta ! This is my first ever post to this forum.
First of all, I would like to say that I am new to shrimp-keeping, so my apologies if I ask some newbie questions.
In April I set up my first shrimp tank. I read a lot of guides so that I was well informed before embarking on this new hobby, and in Malta practically nobody I know keeps shrimp ( in fact I had to get mine posted via courier from the UK ). I decided to plant the tank heavily because the aquarium is situated in the living room (knowing full well that the needs of a shrimp tank and a planted tank are different) and I wanted it to be aesthetically pleasing, so I used only anubias, amazon swords ect ( low tech plants ). I am keeping SS Hinomaru and SSS Mosura crown shrimps. The aquarium is doing really well as after just a month I had my first berried female ( I currently have 16 baby shrimplets and another berried female). Just to give you an overview – my parameters are as follows :

PH 6.5
GH3 ( I know this is a bit low but I have had no molting problems)
TDS 160
KH 1
Nitrate and Ammonia 0
Temperature – In winter I kept it at 24⁰c but summer is approaching and it is currently at 26⁰c

The tank is a 55 litre with ADA Aquasoil Amazonia substrate ( which I also had to get via courier, as it is not available locally) with an Eheim Pro filter with Biomech and Substrat Pro, as well as a bag of Purigen and a bag of Cubrisorp inside, and Benibachi Crimson Bee Balls at the bottom of the filter. 
I buy distilled water from a local laboratory, and re-mineralize it with Mosura Mineral Plus. Occasionaly I dose the following ( alternating as needed ) : Mosura Rich Water, Mosura Old Sea Mud Powder, Mosura Shinzen and Mosura BT-9. 

Basically now comes the problem – I have a staggering amount of what looks to be staghorn algea ( or hair algea – I’m not sure ). I try to remove it by hand although it’s not that easy, plus it’s almost impossible to remove all of it and I don’t really like mucking about in the shrimp tank as these critters are sensitive (2 days ago I cleaned my filter sponge and did a 10 litre water change – and one of my berried females died ).

I don’t dose anything for the plants as I thought that I would get away with just having the ADA soil. Now – how do I get rid of the algae without disturbing the shrimps and the babies ? I was thinking of either spot-treating with Excel or else buying a pressurized CO2 kit as I know that this helps in cutting back algae ( and run it at say 1 bubble per 3 seconds or something like that) , but I am afraid that both options might harm the shrimp. One last detail – my light is a Daytime Eco 40.2, which is a 1100 Lumen LED and I think it is a bit overkill for this tank. For the record, I have tried giving the plants a 2-hour light-break every day and still no reduction in algae. Sorry for the long post but I wanted to give you a clear outline of my situation. I’ve also attached photos for your reference.


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## DesignZ (Aug 14, 2014)

Looks like hair algae. Excel may not fully help if it spreads more than it can be eliminated. Co2 would be better or perhaps something that eats the algae? Not sure what does though. Or perhaps, don't take my word for it though...have more plants to outcompete the algae for nutris


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## Shrimpressions (Jun 26, 2015)

Hi, thanks for the reply. The problem is that I've read a lot of posts regarding Excel and shrimp, and there are conflicting opinions on whether it is safe for CRS or not. The same goes for Co2 injection - some people say they've done it successfully, others say that shrimp do better without it. For the record, my tank is very well aerated with a lot of surface movement + a Tetratec air pump with airstone, so I think I could try Co2.
I just want the shrimp to keep breeding as normal


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## jacobsears (Dec 15, 2013)

DesignZ said:


> Looks like hair algae. Excel may not fully help if it spreads more than it can be eliminated. Co2 would be better or perhaps something that eats the algae? Not sure what does though. Or perhaps, don't take my word for it though...have more plants to outcompete the algae for nutris


I don't think that c02 would do you any good. It wouldn't hurt anything, but it'd be a waste of money. I don't think that extra c02 will get your slow growing plants to grow fast enough to out-compete the algae. Excel will do the same thing that c02 does for the plants, but it will also work as an algaecide. It might be something worth trying. It looks like you've got some water wisteria growing in there, yes? I would definitely get some more of that. It grows unbelievably fast in dirt. You could try that in some pots/planters.


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## Matuva (Jun 8, 2015)

As long as you don't overdose, you can use Excel - I do on all my shrimp tanks- and reduce hair algae. Though, you won't be able to kill hair algae only with Excel.
Caridina Typus and Amano shrimps will do a nice job on that. My Red Cherries have a very clean tank too, and i often give them the algae infested plants from other tanks to clean.


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## Shrimpressions (Jun 26, 2015)

Ok, so on Friday I spot-treated with Excel and left the tank lights off until this morning. Today I switched the lights back on and it seems that most of the algae threads have gone red ( meaning they're dead) . Should I treat the rest next week or should I let it be for the moment ? ( photos attached- I'll manually remove the dead algae obviously )


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## jacobsears (Dec 15, 2013)

I'd think that it would be good to keep using it on a daily basis, as long as you're not using more than you should. Not spot treating every day, but regular dosing. At any rate, I'm sure your plants will appreciate it.


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## Matuva (Jun 8, 2015)

I second jacobears, do regular dosing now, each or every 2 days, and wait one week before spot treating again. It would be a pity to lose the nice shrimps shown on your pictures because of overdosing...


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## Shrimpressions (Jun 26, 2015)

Thanks for the positive replies  Yes they are quite nice shrimp . They seem unfazed by the Excel , and in fact I discovered another berried female today  So I'll probably start dosing once every 2 or 3 days at half the recommended dose just to be on the safe side. My next tank probably won't have any plants except mosses though, so I won't have to deal with this problem again!

Here's a photo of some Hinomaru adults and some shrimplets


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## Matuva (Jun 8, 2015)

Now I'm jealous

Congrats, really nice :icon_smil


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## Shrimpressions (Jun 26, 2015)

Thanks  sorry for the upside-down pics!


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## Shrimpressions (Jun 26, 2015)

Hi guys, I seem to be having another problem with my tank. I have an infestation of what looks like Planaria, but they seem small to actually be Planaria . Also, they don't seem to be bothering the shrimp at all, they just hang out on the glass . Could you identify what these are perhaps ? (i've attached a picture - they're stuck to the glass )


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## Trotwood (May 6, 2015)

Shrimpressions said:


> Hi guys, I seem to be having another problem with my tank. I have an infestation of what looks like Planaria, but they seem small to actually be Planaria . Also, they don't seem to be bothering the shrimp at all, they just hang out on the glass . Could you identify what these are perhaps ? (i've attached a picture - they're stuck to the glass )
> 
> View attachment 493809


I don't know for sure and it's a bit hard to see them in this photo but I think I saw something similar in my tank shortly after getting some new plants. They were very small, white, and sort of inched along more like a snail (without a shell) or a slug than a worm. Based on my internet research, which as you know can be hit or miss, and looking at lots of images it seemed to me that they were young/baby planaria. Further research indicated that they would only become a problem if the tank was overfed. I keep a shrimp only tank and feed very sparingly relying mainly on leaves and other leave in foods so I never had a real outbreak and haven't seen any at all for a few weeks. Perhaps others will have a more definitive answer for you. Good luck!


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## harp (Oct 8, 2014)

Looks like detritus worms. You may be overfeeding.


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## Matuva (Jun 8, 2015)

Can't tell by the picture, the worm are too small to identify

If these are planarias, you will see a triangle head. I use Flubendazole to kill planarias. It's safe for shrimps and give excellent results: kills all planarias in one shot!

They rather look to be nematodes, aka white worms, harmless: http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Nematode


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## Shrimpressions (Jun 26, 2015)

They don't have a triangular head - so they might be nematodes as Matuva mentioned. I tried a planaria trap overnight, and didn't catch any at all. They just hang out on the glass and crawl around slowly and don't seem to bother the shrimps and shrimplets . I COULD be over feeding - I feed daily - a pellet of Benibachi Gold Food which I remove after 2-3hrs. I also leave 2 catappa leaves in the tank. Perhaps I should try and feed every other day instead.


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## Shrimpressions (Jun 26, 2015)

Hi guys, the worms never grew in size so I don't think they're planaria. Thanks for all the comments


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## maylee (Feb 26, 2015)

Not planaria  Those are rhabdocoela worms. Harmless and should go away on their own with controlled feeding.


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## Shrimpressions (Jun 26, 2015)

Thanks ! I will try and reduce feeding


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## Daisy Mae (Jun 21, 2015)

*Algae on glass?*

I noticed that there seemed to be a lot of algae on the glass where the scraper can't reach eg corner by the filter intake and diagonal heater clamp. 

How long is your light on? I don't see it mentioned in your post. If your light is on too long, your problem could potentially come back. Esp if the tank gets any sort of sunlight, even indirect (also not mentioned). 

Good luck with the tank!


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## Yukiharu (May 3, 2014)

Probably detritus worms if they're too small to see. They may be increasing in number to eat your algae.


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## Shrimpressions (Jun 26, 2015)

Hi, light is on around 8 hours, with a 1hr break. There's no direct sunlight. I recently bought 5 zebra nerite snails as well, they seem to be doing a good job of clearing algae on the glass and driftwood ( although not on plants)


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## Daisy Mae (Jun 21, 2015)

The duration seems ok, but the proof is in the algae. Try cutting down on the duration by an hour or two. Your plants should still do well. That would hopefully prevent further outbreaks. Then later on once things have settled you can slowly increase the lighting (an hour every week or two so you can monitor the effect) if you feel the need.


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