Are some types of algae more nutritious? Could it effect shrimplet numbers?

[Akeath]

I always like to leave algae on the side and back aquarium walls for my Cherry Shrimp/Shrimplets to eat, since I've observed them hanging out in patches of algae a lot. (they also have 3 types of commercial shrimp food and lots of mosses for bio-film. Its not like I'm expecting to eat nothing but algae).
I always have some type of algae in my tanks, regardless of live plants, fertilizers, lighting, scraping, etc. due to my tap water. Previously it was brown algae. I didn't care for the look of it so I got a filter media that removes silicates, and now I have mostly green spot algae and a very small amount of black beard algae.
Since the type of algae has changed, I've noticed that the shrimp don't hang out on the algae as much, and the ones that do are as a group generally older - there are hardly any newborn shrimplets doing so, mostly larger juveniles and adults. Whereas before it was practically covered with mostly the tiniest of shrimplets that hung out on the algae. In fact, there don't seem to be as many shrimplets as before in the tank as a whole. The only change there has been in the tank from the time where there were more shrimplets is the algae type. Could that have something to do with the number of shrimplets in the tank, or could there be another cause for fewer shrimplets?
Is green spot algae harder to eat than diatoms? Is it less nutritious? Or could it just not taste as good? Or would it harbor less micro-organisms that shrimplets eat? Should I remove the silica-removing media so that I start to have more brown algae again? Or would it not really matter?
Levels are:
0 ppm Ammonia, 0 ppm Nitrite, between 0 ppm and 5 ppm Nitrate, 8.0 pH, 23 degrees Celsius. Tank is 10 gallons, planted with Marsilea, Taiwan Moss, Weeping Moss, and Christmas Moss. There is also Cholla Wood in the tank. I do weekly water changes of 10-15%. No CO2, I do dose with an Iron Fertilizer and General Fertilizer, neither of which contain copper.

[wicca]

i have to say a good question. i to leave all but the front glass and one side algae free. might try removing the silica removing media cause that its self might have something to do with it not the type of algae?

[Kwisatz]

Diatomee are the most appetible algae, even more than chlorella sp and nann. Sp...every acquatic life like to eat brown algae, while no one eat green spot algae cose they are too strong to scratc off, while bba are eaten just from garra sp in juvenile form.

Inviato dal mio Liquid usando Tapatalk

[Akeath]

Wow, it never even occurred to me that the filter media itself might not be good for use with shrimp. So I took it out and replaced it with activated carbon like I had before (I still have separate foam and bio material in the other chambers, so there shouldn't be a mini cycle or anything). Since the green spot algae is too hard for the shrimp to eat properly I'm going to clean that all off the walls. I'll update on how the shrimp react to the change in filter media, and how they behave once diatoms have started growing again.

[Kwisatz]

Let us know!

Inviato dal mio Liquid usando Tapatalk

[Akeath]

The filter insert has been out for a while now, and the adults have significantly brighter coloring than before. Not much brown algae has grown yet, and I still don't see many more shrimplets, but its a start. I'll continue monitoring.

[Murad]

The filter insert has been out for a while now, and the adults have significantly brighter coloring than before. Not much brown algae has grown yet, and I still don't see many more shrimplets, but its a start. I'll continue monitoring.

Thats a good sign then... hope everything works out...

[Kwisatz]

Good to hear that! Please go ahead reporting every news!

Inviato dal mio Liquid usando Tapatalk

[RiverAquatics]

Akeath:

I hope you are getting the algae in control but you are suffering from some typical problems that all aquarist eventually encounter.

Your water looks pretty good but your pH seems way too high, is it really 8?

When do you test, before/after feeding and what type of substrate?

With all that organic mass… cholla, food, and waste it makes me wonder about your water because your pH should generally have enough organics to swing the pH down to the low 7ph range on its own unless you use crushed coral to buffer or another additive.

Substrates can lock nutrients and have different properties than the water column so phosphates/nitrates may be more abundant than testing shows.

Silica – this has been argued for years but it’s generally agreed rarely does free silica occur in enough abundance, even in beach sand, to cause issue. It’s a trace mineral and even diatom blooms do not indicate a problem unless they are chronic. Your diatoms are the good type if not out of control.

The diatom bloom that freaks people out is generally when they see sparkling water as if it there were diamonds in the water. Your type generally dies off and gets replaced with a green type just like happened to you.

Water changes, unless RO, will reintroduce the silica.

How old is your tank, that brown alga is common in new tanks while learning to balance the nutrient load. Your silica sponge is still a mechanical filter and may have simply improved the conditions in general mechanically trapping debris like carbon.

What really sticks out is the Beard Moss; it can be an indicator of declining tank conditions or too little water movement. Is it disappearing, the same or worsening?

Read this: thetropicaltank.co.uk/algae.htm

Carbon is effective for only a few days and intended to be a sponge that is then discarded. Purist rarely used it more than 96 hours, some claim 24 or even less.

Since the shrimp prefer one type to another, sure, it could affect their success. They are many types of algae, a very general term, and nutrients and preferences will vary.

A larger tank would help, a 10 gal is more challenging than a 20gal even, consider it. More room for water to dilute meaning it takes more time to foul giving you more room to error. I’d go for a 29g ASAP when money is available.

Reducing feeding and removing uneaten food are common practices that help.

Ferts, Iron?! Like what? Assuming everything else is okay, there’s your problem.

Also, what type of lights and how long do they run?

[Akeath]

The pH really is 8.0. The tap water usually reads over 8.5 pH, but that's without aeration. Usually my tank water is 8.2 without any efforts, such as Cholla wood, to make it more acidic. All the tap water in the area is alkaline like that. We get our city's water from ground water and we are right above huge slabs of limestone, so that probably has a lot to do with it. Or it could be something the tap water company does, I'm not sure.

I test the pH before water changes, not anywhere close to feeding time. I will also test it randomly sometimes, and will get the same results. This tank has eco-complete in it as the substrate, but I have similar pH in tanks I've had in the past with inert gravel, and others with inert sand.

This tank is only 7 months old. However, I also have a 75 gallon that has been set up for 3 1/2 years and it still has brown algae. Actually, for the first 6 months I kept aquariums I never had algae problems. However, about 3 years ago my tap water company switched from chlorine to chloramine, and as a result Ammonia was produced. My tap water has 1 ppm Ammonia in it. I use Prime to detoxify that for 24 hours, during which time the beneficial bacteria turn all of that to Nitrates. That's how I can still keep fish/invertebrates. However, ever since then I've had incredibly bad diatom issues. They covered everything in all of my tanks. I finally got the 75 gallon taken care of by introducing a Bristlenose Pleco, who takes care of all the algae in there and saves me at least an hour a week of cleaning it off of the walls and decorations. I also have an Olive Nerite snail in my 5 gallon that does the same thing. In this one, my 10 gallon, I added in lots of live plants to outcompete the algae, which has worked for the most part. I still get it on the walls, but it is no longer at insane levels. I've experimented with lighting, fertilizer, water changes, etc. and found that I've always had brown algae. It will never turn to green algae, no matter how many years pass. That is, until I got this filter insert that removes phosphates and silicates. That has been the only thing that has changed the type of algae I have. I've experimented with phosphate levels a bit too, and found they don't seem to make a difference. I'm assuming that, for some reason or other, my water has large amounts of silicates and that is why diatoms are so incredibly dominant, because that's the only thing that has made a difference on the type of algae I have.

The black brush algae is only on the filter itself, and there are only 5-6 very small splotches of it. The filter has a pump that is inside the water, so it primes quickly, and that is where it is growing. So that is directly under the filter flow, so it is a high flow area. It hasn't grown for a very long time, and there is hardly any present. It doesn't seem to be going away either, though.

I also don't feed much, they are only fed every other day, and I make sure that they eat it all. There is not food sitting around.

I don't believe the fertilizers are the problem because I have algae problems in all of my tanks, but this is the only one I'm using fertilizer in. I have Kent Pro-Plant and Seachem Iron. Neither contain copper, I researched them very carefully to make sure they were shrimp safe. I also under dose them quite a bit, just in case. I put 1/8 of a mL of the iron in once a week, and 1/4 of a mL of the Kent Pro-Plant in once a week. But I've found that the fertilizer actually lowers the algae levels in my planted tanks. Presumably because it helps the plants out compete the algae. I have less algae now that I use fertilizers than I did before I used them.

I have 2 10 watt compact flourescents on this tank, they run 10-12 hours a day. I have a 40 watt flourescent on my 75 gallon, and a 10 watt incandescent on my 5 gallon. All of them have algae problems. I've tried not having any light at all and going as high as 5 watts per gallon, and in all cases the diatoms remain problematic. Although I had coatings on coatings of it with the 5, so brighter seems to be worse.

Since I have the same problems in my 75 gallon as I do in this 10 gallon, I don't think getting a larger tank would really help. I don't think mechanical filtration is the issue either. I have 2 different filters, both rated for 70 gallons, in my 75 gallon with tons and tons of foams of various pore sizes and it doesn't help with the algae. I also have 2 different foams in the 10 gallon's filter and I maintain it well.