Bottom Feeder

Question
I have a 50 gallon aquarium with 2 African Cichlids and a bottom feeder. The Cichlids are about 4 inches and the bottom feeder about 9 inches. In the last 4 weeks it seems as though my bottom feeder is not doing his job. I have quite alot of algae on the sides and the the bottom. Any ideas to why this is happening.  

Answer
Hi Johnny:  Bottom feeders were never meant to clean your entire tank... you are going to have to clean up some of that yourself.  Right now everyone is experiencing an algae bloom.  It has a lot to do with the time of year and the amount of light that is around.  I would just get a sponge and wipe the insides of the tank down about once per week... you can get a water clarifier which will make the algae that you scrub off of the tank coagulate and get trapped by the filter... You can stir up the gravel too for the same outcome.  dave