Algae Invasion!

Several months back, the Swallow posted that her family was going to have another go at keeping fish.  Well, she is sad to say that this endeavour is officially a failure, and a worse one too!

After a week away during the June school holidays, the family arrived home to a sight of a fish tank invaded by algae.  Most of the leaves of the plants were brown although the glass walls of the fish tank looked quite clean.  A few of the fish (as well as the remaining fry...boo hoo...) were missing and the rest looked sickly.  Cleaning the tank and taking away the browned leaves did not bring recovery to the fish or the plants.  The remaining fish died a few days later, and the plants did not fare any better.  All that was left was a remnant of a Java fern.  Sigh...

In Singapore's The Straits Times last Saturday, an article on algae caught the Swallow's eye.  Having read through the article, the only conclusion that the Swallow could come to was that she still had a lot to learn about keeping a fish tank.

The journalist who wrote the article suggested that a little algae is actually good because it is a sign that the tank is able to

• support life on its own
• support the production of oxygen needed by fish and other organisms
• support the function of the biological filter

Excessive algae growth, on the other hand, is unsightly (the Swallow can attest to that!) as well as being a health hazard to fish and plants.  The algae would compete with fish for oxygen, and it could also lead to a higher level of toxin which could affect other organisms in the fish tank.

The journalist suggested several ways to discourage the proliferation of algae

• avoid direct sunlight - this was not a problem as the Swallow's fish tank was situated in a dark corner and away from direct sunlight
• don't overfeed, remove uneaten food promptly - err, there may be some enthusiasm in the family when it comes to feeding the fish!  Also, there did not seem to be any food left behind, or if there was, it was usually too small to be seen or it would be stuck in between the gravel
• change water regularly, between 10 - 15 percent of the water once a week - the Swallow is guilty of not doing this.  A week seems to go by so quickly that most of the time, the Swallow does not realise that the water has not been changed for a long while
• clean the fish tank promptly ie once algae is seen growing, clean the tank - again, the Swallow is guilty with regards to this
• keep plants - this is a problem.  The Swallow wants to keep plants but she has yet to find plants that can handle the level of light in her fish tank.  More research is required...
• keep algae eating fish - another problem.  The last algae eating fish the Swallow had, died too...

Anyway, the Swallow is not discouraged.  Failure is a step in the ladder to success, right?  So the Swallow will try again, but more research first, ok?