Unusual appearance in tank

Question
Hi Nathan;
Evere since I had to change a lighting unit in my tank, the balance has change... lot's of algae, etc. I have recently noted a hatch of hundreds of tiny snail-like creatures, that come out more at night. Also, there are hundreds of tiny hopping light brown critters on the top of the tank - I've never seen this before, and I have bee at this for quite a few years.

Any Suggests... anything would be helpful.

Jamie MacFarlane
Burlington, Ontario.

Answer
Hi James,

An excess of light causes algae, and this is the most probable reason. The small snails were in your tank before, and after more algae grew due to the more powerful light, they multiplied in number because of the abundance of a food source - algae.

Here's how to solve this:

-Change 10% of the water daily to reduce the amount of nutrients
-Turn on lights for only 10 hours a day
-Feed the fish only once per day, to reduce wasted nutrients


you can take a lettuce leaf and drop it into the tank, weighing it down if necessary. Do this at night, and the next morning, lots of snails will be covering the leaf. Then, you can dispose of the leaf. Multiple pieces of leaf can be used for large infestations.

You can remove the small brown things manually by wiping htem off. They are also in your tank because of the abundance of nutrients - the 10% changes will help that. They are harmless to your fish.

Good Luck, and Happy Fishkeeping!