# Guppies and neon tetras eating algae...?!?!



## zerlinafish (Aug 14, 2008)

1. Size of aquarium (# of gallons) 10
2. Is your aquarium setup freshwater or brackish water? Fresh
3. How long the aquarium has been set up? 1 week
4. What fish and how many are in the aquarium (species are important to know) 3 neon tetras (1 week) 1 male and 2 female guppies (male has been in one week, females one day)
5. Are there live plants in the aquarium? no
6. What temperature is the tank water currently? 77-79 
7. What make/model filter are you using? TopFin Power10
8. Are you using a CO2 unit? no
9. Does your aquarium receive natural sunlight at any given part of the day? very little if any (it is next to a window, but not direct light at all).
10. When did you perform your last water exchange, and how much water was changed? 4 days ago, 25%
11. How often do you perform water changes? 25% weekly 
12. How often and what foods do you feed your fish? 2X daily (smaller amounts) TetraMin flakes
13. What type of lighting are you using and how long is it kept on? lights in the aquarium hood. 12 hrs/day.
14. What specific concerns bring you here at this time? fish eating algae on their cave and eating things off of plants (plastic) and eating out of gravel.
15. What are your water parameters? Test your pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Ammonia 0%-.2, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 20-40
16. What test kit are you using and is it liquid or test strips? both strips and liquid. can't remember brand.
17. When was the last time you bought a fish and how did they behave while in the pet store tank? The fish are all acting fine, just eating algae. I also have algae on the sunken ship in my Betta's tank (2 gal) kept on the opposite side of the room. It's lighting is led and gets no natural sunlight. his temps are 78-80. I feed him 3 Betta pellets 2X daily. He is also fine, not eating algae at all. How can I stop this? Is it harmful to the ones eating it?

HELP!


----------



## Flashygrrl (Jan 18, 2008)

I can't see it being harmful.


----------



## iamntbatman (Jan 3, 2008)

Compared to the neons and guppies, bettas are much more of a carnivorous fish. They mostly eat insects and other small critters in the wild. Guppies and tetras, on the other hand, will also nibble on plant matter and algae to supplement their diets. I'm watching my guppies peck at some algae in their tank as I type this. No cause for concern.


----------



## okiemavis (Nov 10, 2007)

All good- provided they're well fed and not eating it out of starvation, I'd say they're eating it cuz it's tasty and fresh. It certainly won't do them any harm.


----------

