# Beard Algae Hell



## gordonrichards (Jun 20, 2009)

What was a slight annoyance in my girlfriend's tank became a disaster.
Not sure where it all began but it wasn't long ago. Now...

Outbreak.

It isn't pretty. Posting photos tomorrow night.

Really not sure what to do at this point. In my opinion, starting the tank from scratch would work but I have a few hundred bucks in green I don't want to throw out. Call me Mr.Cheapo.

*Considering buying 40 nerite snails to start chowing down on it, thank goodness for wholesale prices.*

In my opinion I would be looking at clean leaves within a week, 3 weeks probably no algae or biofilm at all anywhere.

Looking for input regarding this route.

After using them would probably offer as a r.a.o.k. to other members in the forum, might keep 5-6 nerites in the tank since its only a 40 gallon.

Please, no silly stuff from the peanut gallery.
"Well that sounds like it can work"
"Wow, that is a great idea"
"That might work"

Straight forward answers folks!

-Gordon :eek5:


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## Nubster (Aug 9, 2011)

I did a similar thing in my tank except for snails. I added 10 assassins and now that they have eliminated most of the issue, I removed most leaving just a few to maintain. I'd do the same for your algae issue if it was me, however it would probably be better to also find the reason for the problem. My understanding is that BA likes planted tanks with low CO2 and NO3 levels. Also make sure that the lights are not on too long.


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## gordonrichards (Jun 20, 2009)

*Again. Please read. *This is not about adding assassin snails.

This is about adding Nerite snails to combat beard algae.

-Gordon


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## JEden8 (Jan 5, 2011)

What about adding SAE's? I paid $2/each with my recent attack and have been doing wonders. Would like to see some pics of it too to see how bad it really is.


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## scream-aim-fire (Nov 4, 2008)

gordon you might also try the H202 dose in the tank, treat the whole tank, cant remember how much per gallon you are suppost to add, think its like 2ml per gal. but i could be wrong i remember seeing somthing about it somewhere on here i think you also have to do more that one treatment too for it to work. I hate bba


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## HolyAngel (Oct 18, 2010)

I would think Amano shrimp would be a better choice and would get the job done quicker..
Also think there is either a lack of/imbalance of phosphorous in the tank.. Or Possibly lack of co2/too much light.


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## accordztech (Dec 6, 2004)

HolyAngel said:


> I would think Amano shrimp would be a better choice and would get the job done quicker..
> Also think there is either a lack of/imbalance of phosphorous in the tank.. Or Possibly lack of co2/too much light.


same here, but I think nuking all the bba infected stuff with h202 will definitly help. Then either lower the light or increase co2 will help more. On top of that make sure that water flow is consistent and enough around plants. 

That was my problem, to much light...not enough co2 and insufficient flow.


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## gordonrichards (Jun 20, 2009)

The situations are not the same.

Your situation was about killing snails with assassin snails.
Assassin snails don't eat *beard algae*.

I don't have a clue how that can possibly relate to *eliminating* beard algae with *nerite snails.

*Hence there is no sound advice provided.This is supposed to be a friendly forum, next time read what the OP (Me in this case) types. Don't add random thoughts. I requested people not to. See OP please and you'll understand.

Oh, and keep the crap talk to a minimum.
No need to feed a troll like me. Trust me, I'm hungry. 
Wanna keep feeding a troll like me?

SAE seems like a decent idea. 

Amano won't work but would have been a good pick. My girlfriend's tank is inhabited with 6 german blue rams. Amano would be a good snack :^(

I've considered issues with lighting but the dual light isn't in use. Low light currently in the tank, 1 ho light on (10k not even rosette) less then 7 hours on, siesta between the light period.
Ferts utilized are seachem at required levels. Growth is decent. Flow in the tank is provided by a rena xp1, airstone is running while lights are on to maintain proper exchange of gasses.

Aside from that, I'll be doing a water change in the tank. Issue started after planting some ferns exchanged in trade. Should have treated them prior, didn't see anything on them in the first place though. :^(

-Gordon


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## Nubster (Aug 9, 2011)

haha...trust me...I can eat trolls like you all day long and ask for more.


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## Nubster (Aug 9, 2011)

gordonrichards said:


> airstone is running while lights are on to maintain proper exchange of gasses.
> 
> Aside from that, I'll be doing a water change in the tank. Issue started after planting some ferns exchanged in trade. Should have treated them prior, didn't see anything on them in the first place though. :^(
> 
> -Gordon


So anyways, you are off-gassing CO2 by running an airstone AND you added more plants which are consuming even more CO2 AND beard algae likes tanks with low CO2. Seems to me that the issue might be low CO2, as I suggested in the first post and as was suggested by several others.


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## xxbenjamminxx (Aug 8, 2011)

I had gotten some zebra nerites to try and help with BBA as well, but I only noticed them occasionally munching on it only after it was spot treated with H2O2 and had turned that pinkish/red color. 

Since then I have added some Amanos and a couple SAE's. Mind you I have a cichlid tank so the Amanos hide alot, but the SAE's are making short work of the BBA for me. I have gotten my CO2 stabilized now (cause of the BBA) and the SAE's are picking out what is left over after removing all I can myself with trimmings and such. 

After trying these, I would def reccomend skipping right to the SAE's as they def seem the best for this specific type of algae hands down. Also might note that I have read adult SAE's get "Lazy" on their algae duties so I grabbed the smallest one I could and they are growing REALLY fast with plenty to eat. They even have been scouring my java moss for me and quite efficiently at that.


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## JoraaÑ (Jun 29, 2009)

Nerites won't touch that stuff.. Get SAE. I think Pacific has it now in stock: Call the store before you head out too far for you. I also heard that Algae-fix also eliminates BBA. In eebay you can get Algaecide for pond in cheaper price.. but you can't use those 2 if you have inverts in that tank. Once everything back to Normal clean filter and maintain monthly clean schedule. Main cause of BBA is flow rate/Water circulation.


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## gordonrichards (Jun 20, 2009)

Good enough to try it out. There would be endless food for them. 
How many SAE did you prucahse for your tank Ben, and what size are you running?

-Gordon


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## JoraaÑ (Jun 29, 2009)

Ah!!!once you add SAE don't feed for 3-4 days..other fish will survive with out food.


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## xxbenjamminxx (Aug 8, 2011)

I am running a 75g tank and I only got 3 of them and was planning on adding 2 more but I think I will wait and see since they seem to be winning. Mine wasnt REAL bad but was mainly in the moss and on my drift wood. If your GF's tank is under 30g Id just try like 2 or 3 and see how they go unless you got a killer deal and had a spot for them once your done with them. 

I dont have anywhere to go with them when their services are no longer needed so I tried to get by with as few as possible.


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## m00se (Jan 8, 2011)

Nerites leave eggs everywhere, and you will rip your fingernails off trying to remove them. I got rid of my BBA with 3% H2O2 - took every plant out of the tank, spritzed them with full strength peroxide, then immediately rinsed them in dechlorinated water in a couple 5 gallon buckets. The ferns were fine. The wisteria got brittle but bounced back. The amazon sword melted but I replanted the roots with Osmocote tabs underneath it and in 2 months is outgrowing the tank. Vals melted but bounced back.

It's chemotherapy, but it worked and I don't have BBA anymore. Nerites...yeesh--- eggs.


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## Monster Fish (Mar 15, 2011)

Joraan said:


> Nerites won't touch that stuff.. Get SAE. I think Pacific has it now in stock: Call the store before you head out too far for you. I also heard that Algae-fix also eliminates BBA. In eebay you can get Algaecide for pond in cheaper price.. but you can't use those 2 if you have inverts in that tank. Once everything back to Normal clean filter and maintain monthly clean schedule. Main cause of BBA is flow rate/Water circulation.


Seconding the SAEs at Pacific. I was just there Tuesday. Win a few blocks away also has them in stock. Both stores had SAEs that were about 1-1.5 inches.


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## JEden8 (Jan 5, 2011)

xxbenjamminxx said:


> I am running a 75g tank and I only got 3 of them and was planning on adding 2 more but I think I will wait and see since they seem to be winning. Mine wasnt REAL bad but was mainly in the moss and on my drift wood. If your GF's tank is under 30g Id just try like 2 or 3 and see how they go unless you got a killer deal and had a spot for them once your done with them.
> 
> I dont have anywhere to go with them when their services are no longer needed so I tried to get by with as few as possible.


I agree with ben. I would only pick up 2 of them for that size of a tank. I have 4 of them in my 90 gallon but my tank was also completely covered. You should be fine with just 2 of them.


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## tetra73 (Aug 2, 2011)

For me, I would drain the tank down to 40% of the water level. Then, toothbrush each affected area with Excel. After couple of days, you should see the affected area clearing off. With the rest of them, maybe SAE would do. With SAE, don't they get too big later and getting somewhat aggressive? May not even eat algae later? Do you have a sure way to remove them from the tank after you don't need them? The worst case? Overdose the tank with Excel 2x the dosage. Assuming you have no crypts or vals in the tank.


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## xxbenjamminxx (Aug 8, 2011)

tetra73 said:


> Assuming you have no crypts in the tank.


I have never seen the tank, but since it has something to do with Gordan Im sure there are at least a few kinds of crypts in there. I may be wrong but would be  if there wasnt at least one. lol

Yes they do have a reputation for being lazy once they are older, they do get to be 5 inches, but are REALLY GOOD AT EATING BBA while younger. Thats why I said I got as few as possible since they are a temporary thing. As far as catching I dont see it being a problem since they practically swim in the net for me everytime I tried to catch any other fish in the tank. Now the Flying Foxes I tried before the SAEs...... those were some hard fish to catch. :icon_evil


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## allaboutfish (Oct 14, 2011)

try dumping in a whole bottle of prime(might need a whole lot less but i dont know how much) someone said on another forum that overdosed prime and the bba died off.


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## tetra73 (Aug 2, 2011)

allaboutfish said:


> try dumping in a whole bottle of prime(might need a whole lot less but i dont know how much) someone said on another forum that overdosed prime and the bba died off.



Prime? Are you sure???


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## xxbenjamminxx (Aug 8, 2011)

tetra73 said:


> Prime? Are you sure???


Lol, That's exactly what I was thinking.


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## jstehman (Dec 13, 2010)

No need to start sh!t but, did you QT or dip the trade plants or just toss them in?

I've been battling BBA since the beginning with my tanks.. Whether it's fluctuating Co2 or ferts. anything that eats BBA is a Band-aid(tm) fix. You need to address what is causing the BBA (high light, no nutrient), not focus on remedy...

Adding "algae eaters" is not fixing the root cause. 

Theory:
I have a 10 gal that is low light, CO2 enriched 13w CFL dosing MPK and KNO3 EOD that does not have BBA outrbreak. Maybe BBA is "higher" light dependent? I slapped in some anubias from the 9og and the BBA has not spread. 

Still working on solution in my 90G.

We need someone to experiment with BBA in a planted tank. Lower light, lower nutrients. higher flow rate etc. 

90G, eheim 2217, penguin 330 pressurized 5.5 [email protected] 8 hours/day. light 2x54WT5HO 6" off top of tank modified EI dosing.


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## IxIBluepitIxI (Jan 25, 2011)

allaboutfish said:


> try dumping in a whole bottle of prime(might need a whole lot less but i dont know how much) someone said on another forum that overdosed prime and the bba died off.


Sure it wasn't excel....... If not prime is like the Sham-WOW of the aquarium world. We miss you Billy Mays we miss you.


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## farrenator (May 11, 2011)

Young SAEs are aggressive algae eaters (attack algae aggressively, not aggressive towards other fish). Before I injected CO2 in my 75, high light, high bioload I was constantly dealing with BBA. I got 3 SAEs that went to town on any algae I had growing on plants, driftwood, you name it. They ended up getting quite large and boisterous - uprooting more delicate plants looking for food. By this time I was injecting CO2 and adding ferts on a regular basis so the BBA didn't come back after I donated the SAEs to my LFS.

I'd get one or two of those guys but be prepared to either get rid of them at some stage or feed them with algae wafers. They are CONSTANTLY munching on something. They liked to park it on the leaves of my anubias which was kind of cool.


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## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

Get the big amanos, 2-3 inchers, they'd give your girlfriends GBRs a beatdown if they tried to mess with them. I just got 100 amanos in and a few of them were pretty big, I've been fighting to find rocks, plants and driftwood with algae on them to toss in their holding tank because they eat the algae so fast.

nerites are useless for BBA, they only eat it when it's already dead


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## robbowal (Mar 27, 2011)

First manually remove as much as posible then shorten the photoperiod treat with 3% H2o2 to intially kill off the bulk then dose excel 3x recomended dose then use the recomended dose for a week. if you are running Co2 on the tank you can increse it as well the excel will help keep the co2 levels stable/High then treat again with H2o2 to kill off stragglers.
If you want to you can then add the nerites to eat the dead algae.


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## snafuspyramid (May 27, 2010)

The only solution that doesn't involve tearing the tank down is Siamese Algae Eaters, as a lot of others have commented. Snails won't work. Shrimp won't work. Prime might work, but I doubt it.

You need either one adult SAE or at least two babies. They grow mighty quick though. They're best kept as pairs. The adults do eat BBA if hungry.

There is something else you should do. BBA only grows on decor and slow growing plants, generally. Without seeing your tank, there's a good change that at least some of these things can be easily removed. Soak the offending item in a bucket with some Seachem Excel, or gluteraldehyde, and water. Can't give you a specific dosage. Just heaps. Enough so you can smell it. Maybe a 10% solution? Obviously watch your eyes use disposable gloves. Don't inhale it, or your brain will explode and you'll die. Rinse the decor and plants in more aquarium water then replace in the tank.

Don't try overdosing your entire tank with Excel. It will kill the BBA eventually, but well after it's killed everything else. After about a week the BBA will have changed colour and died, guaranteed. 

BBA might be a sign that things are "out of balance"; I agree that CO2 is likely a factor. For myself, I keep a tank without pressurised CO2, but with relatively high light levels (108 watts T5HO) so I need SAE to prevent BBA. Using algae eating fish to control the "symptom" might not control the "cause", but who cares - the system only becomes "unbalanced" when SAE aren't part of it. As for longer term solutions not involving SAE, I'm not in a position to comment.

Some folks get carried away with the notion of a magical "balance" or equilibrium, forgetting that they're pumping pressurised gas and agricultural chemicals into a glass box full o' water.


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## Naekuh (Oct 19, 2011)

SAE's only eat hair when they are young...
And as they grow up they realize fish food taste better. 

I always learned never get live stock for a algae problem... ur shifting the problem.. not fixing it. :\ 

If i had to go a livestock route, i would probably go amanos, with the intension of pulling them out later as they cleaned the algae... but i would still look at trying to fix the problem.


A Guru like you would know best how to fix the algae problem.... leave the clean up to amanos tho, but dont expect the anamo's to fix the problem for you.


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## gordonrichards (Jun 20, 2009)

My girlfriend had the lights on 10 hours day which allowed the algae to take hold.

I'm going to depend on livestock to help deal eliminate the issue to manageable levels.

-Gordon


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## Naekuh (Oct 19, 2011)

yeah gordon dump a bunch of amanos with the intention of pulling some out later on...


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## gordonrichards (Jun 20, 2009)

Amano = expensive snack for 6 german blue rams.


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## Naekuh (Oct 19, 2011)

gordonrichards said:


> Amano = expensive snack for 6 german blue rams.


there too big for GBR's... i dont remember any GBR's trying to snack on them... are u sure u've seen a GBR go nom nom nom on a amano? 

Infact, i remember most of them just having a stare down with the amano winning because the GBR would get bored..

Now if ur talking RCS or CRS, yes... GBR's will thank you for the candy.


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## rumithesufi (Dec 30, 2011)

Aha, beard algae. I might have lost every other battle I had waged against algae but I totally kicked beard algae's ...... I used rosy barbs for this. All the beard algae was gone in 3-4 days. They ate it like spaghetti. They didn't eat any other algae type. 

However.... they nipped the fins of my poor angels until I increased their numbers to 6 and ate my entire java moss in one day. I always thought java moss was indestructible. But as they say: No pain, no gain.


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## snafuspyramid (May 27, 2010)

Naekuh said:


> SAE's only eat hair when they are young...
> And as they grow up they realize fish food taste better.


I do recall reading that this does happen sometimes, but it was never my experience, so I dismissed it.

However, I feed my fish infrequently, on average once every 3 days. Perhaps that kept 'em hungry. I used to put ornaments covered in BBA into a 90 gallon containing two adult SAE, which would clean the algae in a matter of hours.

In any case, as you've identified, they're the best short term solution.

Good luck.


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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

i know amanos don't seem like a good solution but the big ones seem to survive just fine againt bigger predators in my tank. i have about a 4 inch angel that tries occaisioanlly to grab one but it never works. doesn't even get to pluck an eye out.



SAE's are worthless for black algaes in my experiences with them. they would much rather eat fish food.. 

again a hungry herd of amanos is the best attack method. and to set ur mind at ease. just grab one and throw him in and see what ur GBR's do?? worst case is u find u lose one


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## gordonrichards (Jun 20, 2009)

Just got some olive nerites for the tank. Will be getting a couple sae for her next month depending on what happens in the tank,

-Gordon


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## Alyssa (Sep 16, 2011)

Hopefully the OP won't mind if I ask a question ... what is a good way to dip new plants to avoid introducing new algae to a tank?

Maybe get the girlfriend a timer for those lights so 10 hours of light never happens again?
(I know you didn't ask for a solution for that, but I couldn't resist! LOL)


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## Psionic (Dec 22, 2011)

I had the same problem with a 55 gallon last year. I got 2 SAE's, didn't put any chemicals in the tank or shrimp. I was leaving my lights on while I went to work. It started by slowly building on my driftwood and then started to move on out. Nerites never seemed to work for me. After the BA was gone, I threw in some trapdoors and put my lights on a timer with 5-4-5 (yes, I know it's not the 4-4-4 mix). I haven't gotten anything since then. Timers are cheap and you can add those to help out with the lighting after your outbreak is gone. I set mine to be on in the morning and when I got off of work so I can enjoy my fish for a while.


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## tbarabash (May 18, 2011)

Alyssa said:


> Hopefully the OP won't mind if I ask a question ... what is a good way to dip new plants to avoid introducing new algae to a tank?
> 
> Maybe get the girlfriend a timer for those lights so 10 hours of light never happens again?
> (I know you didn't ask for a solution for that, but I couldn't resist! LOL)



Bleach:water 1:9(10%) ratio (I hear most people do 1:19 (5%)) for 30 sec then rinse off in double dose primed water and maybe a quick shake in tank water and should be good to go. I use the stronger concentration w/ no problems.


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## Noahma (Oct 18, 2009)

gordonrichards said:


> My girlfriend had the lights on 10 hours day which allowed the algae to take hold.
> 
> I'm going to depend on livestock to help deal eliminate the issue to manageable levels.
> 
> -Gordon


If you decide to get really aggressive and go for a chemical method, Spot treat the BBA with H2o2, then when it starts to turn pink do a 5ml / 10 gal dose of Excel for 3 days, do a water change and the repeat. After a few periods of this it should kill all the rest. It worked great in my 36 gal. 



gordonrichards said:


> Amano = expensive snack for 6 german blue rams.


to be honest, I have never seen my amanos eat BBA.


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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

Noahma said:


> to be honest, I have never seen my amanos eat BBA.


 
THEY HAVE TO BE HUNGRY... but they will

and they pick at everything so much it prevents it from taking a hold for the future


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## Noahma (Oct 18, 2009)

HD Blazingwolf said:


> THEY HAVE TO BE HUNGRY... but they will
> 
> and they pick at everything so much it prevents it from taking a hold for the future


That may be why lol, They always find other stuff to pick at besides the BBA


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## gordonrichards (Jun 20, 2009)

Tank has a timer, still the lights were on for two long.
Since there is nothing in the tank that will scale back the amount of algae growth, even after dialing back the lights the algae will still stay, and grow pervasive.

At that point 3 options:

*Chuck plants* - $$$ worst option. They're expensive even for me.
Too cheap to do this method.

*Treat with chemicals* - $$ Ok option but not the best, may lose some of the softer plants which is an expense. Also takes time to treat spots. Too lazy to treat with chemicals.

*Bring in natural predators of algae* - $ Not too expensive, they work around the clock. This means I can be lazy, and save money. Two of my favorite things in life.

My tanks are all dialed in at home with proper lighting, never have any algae issues except for in two of my shrimp tanks.

I'll provide photos this weekend after introducing my hired workers,

-Gordon


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## JoraaÑ (Jun 29, 2009)

gordonrichards said:


> Just got some olive nerites for the tank. Will be getting a couple sae for her next month depending on what happens in the tank,
> 
> -Gordon


G, any update?


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## gordonrichards (Jun 20, 2009)

Besides the fact my girlfriend doesn't like her tank still? No updates.

Nerites I got kicked the bucket. I'll be getting a few sae, want to see if they'll help.
Will attempt to bring in another order of nerites though.

-Gordon


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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

i've still never seen a nerite go nom nom on bba but they do help keep things clean. and then leave egg sacs everywhere

if u are still worried about GBR eating an amano.. can u put him or them in a separate tank for a few weeks and let amanos work?

GOOD luck with the SAE's though i hope they work for u. they never did for me


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## gordonrichards (Jun 20, 2009)

I may end up restarting her tank.
Not certain,

-Gordon


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