[Delphinus]

(Steve, I'm starting a new thread so as not to hijack the other thread. [img]smile.gif[/img] )

So, I have a stubborn case of this kind of turf algae in my freshwater tank. EmilyB once called it "beard algae" so that's what I'm calling it.

I already have TWO bristlenoses (a guy and a girl), and they don't touch the stuff. How will a sailfin act towards plants? I'm always nervous that I'm going to buy something that mows what little nice plants I have left...

I tried some bumblebee corydoras once ... poor little things didn't do too well in my tank. Too bad, they were great little fish!

If I could find some algae eating shrimp I'd try them. But, I'm not so sure they could clean up the existing mess. Plus, shrimp (ie. glass shrimp I've tried on occasion) don't seem to fare well in this tank, I think someone eats them. Tankmates are: 2 clown loaches, 2 bristlenose plecs, 1 butterfly loach (aka "UFO plec" -- not sure why they call it a "plec" when it is really a "loach"), and three blackskirt tetras.

The loaches make pretty quick work of most snails I buy. I've got these "bumblebee snails" that they seem to leave alone, but these snails don't do much except just sit on the glass at the waterline ... and sit there ... and sit there ... and sit there.

I recently broke down and bought an RO unit, and I've been using this now instead of tap for water changes to see if this helps reduce the nutrient load. The tap water doesn't test out with NO3 or PO4 when it goes in, but they accumulate pretty badly in the tank. I've tried switching fish foods, cutting back on feeding, etc., not much of a difference.

The worst with this beard algae is when I get it growing on the plants. Have some java moss that I'm tempted to just throw completely out it's such a mess.

I haven't tried boiling the rocks and wood yet, although, it's on the horizon (has been on my "to do" list for some time now ... when I have some time I'll get around to it..)

So, think a sailfin will fit in this tank? Seems like a pretty full tank as it is, maybe?