ronan Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 How do you go about encouraging the growth of algae on tank walls? I'm trying to grow a supply for my otos in their tank. I've increased the amount of time the light is on, but it doesn't seem to do anything, my only thought was it's a cheaper aquarium light off Amazon, but it's rated well for growing aquatic plants so I don't see why it wouldn't work for growing algae too? Is there something else I can try to get more algae in my tank, because I really don't have to cash for a high-end growing light Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 Crank up light intensity. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 (edited) Otos will also eat standard biofilm. the slippery stuff that coats almost everything in the tank. So, the chances of them starving is not real great. mine will occasionally go down and finish off algae wafers at the bottom when the corys let them. you can also see if they will do blanched zucchini rounds. mine will. As long as they're not too picky, any vegetable matter will work. The key for otos is that pudgy belly. as long as they have that, they're fine. they don't have to just eat algae. Edited January 16 by Tony s 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 Both otos and nerites appreciate a good steady supply of vegetables. I usually never blanch, I just buy them frozen, soak em in hot water for a bit and thow em in the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony s Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 On 1/16/2024 at 2:40 PM, JoeQ said: Both otos and nerites appreciate a good steady supply of vegetables. I usually never blanch, I just buy them frozen, soak em in hot water for a bit and thow em in the tank. Same with mystery snail (i have a few hundred of those). Blanching is only for fresh, when they freeze produce, it kind of does the same thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeQ Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 On 1/16/2024 at 3:07 PM, Tony s said: Same with mystery snail (i have a few hundred of those). Blanching is only for fresh, when they freeze produce, it kind of does the same thing Yup! Don't blanch frozen, you end up with mush!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PineSong Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 I use powdered food (Repashy Soilent Green) sprinkled in the tank to supplement my otos. The tank sits directly in an east facing window and has a light on for 6-9 hours a day and still doesn't grow a lot of algae because of the density of plants. A tiny spoon of Soilent Green spreads out and coats plant leaves, rocks and wood and the otos can come along and hoover it up. Also good for feeding baby shrimp. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rube_Goldfish Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 I've never tried this, but I've heard of people using a flat-ish rock, putting it in a shallow cup or bowl full of tank water, then putting it outside in the sun (weather permitting) for a few days to let it build up some algae, then moving the rock into the tank for algae eaters to clean off. Depending on how fast the rock develops algae, you could rotate a handful of rocks this way to always have some ready to go. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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