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Ah ha. THAT is probably whatcha want to be focusing on here, not 'what's the best algae-eater'. Sudden algal growth is TELLING you something.
First, have any fish or plants died recently in the tank (or any fish 'gone missing', e.g. "I used to have two tetras in there but now they're gone" or "boy, it's been a long time since I've seen my kuhli loach even though granted he does hide a lot").
Second, and really no matter what the answer was to question one
, DO WATER CHEMISTRY TESTS. At least nitrates and phosphates (although since it is a recent problem it would be ideal if you could also do ammonia and nitrites, especially if there has been a fish disappearance or plant death). Get a reasonable quality test kit and do the test exactly according to instructions.
Chances are preeettttttty good that you will find the answer to your algal bloom in the water chemistry results. Then you can decide whether the solution lies in a water change (be it a normal one, a larger one, or several smaller ones within a week), buying some nutrient-adsorbing filter material as a quick fix, or just let the algae run its course with scraping and vacuuming to remove it from the tank.
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
Ah ha. THAT is probably whatcha want to be focusing on here, not 'what's the best algae-eater'. Sudden algal growth is TELLING you something.
First, have any fish or plants died recently in the tank (or any fish 'gone missing', e.g. "I used to have two tetras in there but now they're gone" or "boy, it's been a long time since I've seen my kuhli loach even though granted he does hide a lot").
Second, and really no matter what the answer was to question one
Chances are preeettttttty good that you will find the answer to your algal bloom in the water chemistry results. Then you can decide whether the solution lies in a water change (be it a normal one, a larger one, or several smaller ones within a week), buying some nutrient-adsorbing filter material as a quick fix, or just let the algae run its course with scraping and vacuuming to remove it from the tank.
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
