I have a 30 gallon fish tank with two Shubunkin Goldfish, Orangina and Pen Pen. I set this tank up last August, after we got Domino. The open bucket style tank was not going to cut it with a curious kitten around. So this is the first summer with the tank.
As the days have gotten longer, I’ve started getting a case of the green water. That is, algae. Up till now, I’ve has some brown algae one the sides of the tank, if I left it too long between cleanings, but never green water. I suspect that the longer days mean more light, giving the algae what it needs to grow. I’ve decided to try fighting the green water by adding some plants. Hopefully the plants will out compete the green algae for nutrients.
This is not the first time I have tried adding plants to my tank. Unfortunately, the first two experiments did not go to well as Orangina and Pen Pen devoured the previous plants. They never managed to completely kill them, however they are both on the brink. I tried an Anubias Nana and Java Fern, both were recommend as not something that goldfish will eat. Of course many pages also noted that Goldfish will try to eat just about anything.
So how do I add new plants without the fishes demolishing them? My solution is to use a tank divider. I created a narrow division at the end of the tank which is closest to the window. I moved what is left of both of the old plants (which I hope will now recover) and added a large bunch of Hornwort. Hornwort is supposed to grow like mad and thus consume lots of nutrients. If the Hornwort can out compete the algae for nutrients, then that is great, and due to its placement, it might also help block excess light.
Here is how things look today:
P.S. My fish are not possessed by the evil forces from Ringu, they just won’t hold still to get their picture taken. Using my flash reflected off the glass, so I went with a slow shutter speed and a tripod.