So many things happening...

I don't know where to start. Let's do it tank by tank:

1. Girl Guppies

Major problems with green algea. At least it's green algea which doesn't hurt the fish, but it's a pain in the nether regions none the less. I scrape all of it off the walls every week at cleaning time, scrub all the rocks and wood, filter, heater, thermometer and four days later everything is covered with thick, green growth. In the beginning I thought it was the Spring sun getting too strong so I covered the back walls of the tank which face the window. It's a north facing window and not that much light gets in, but you never know.

That did not seem to make much difference. So I started to feed the fish a lot less. The result? Same green walls and very hungry fish.

And then I realized that a few weeks ago I did some major trimming of plants because it was getting to be a jungle in there. Eureka! Less plants - more food available for algea to grow and more light getting through, again helping the algea. The balance in an aquatic world is truly delicate. I'm hoping that in a few weeks, as the plants catch up, the problem should disappear and for now I put three otos in to help with the algea.

2. Bubbles.

A couple of days ago I noticed two white spots on him looking very much like ick. Not good. I was a bit puzzled though because I keep his tank pristene clean, use about a teaspoon of aquarium salt per galon and also add Aquari-Sol to his water as an ick preventative.

And then I realized why - about a week prior, when I did the last cleaning, the heater did not kick in like it should and Bubbles spent half the day in rather cool water. It just goes to show you - no matter what preventative measures you use, if the water conditions are not up to spec, the fish will get sick.

I raised the water temp slowly to about 82-83 F and was ready to add some meds the next day, but one of the spots disappeared. The second seemed smaller. Since I don't like to overmedicate my animals, I decided to leave the medicine for now and just watch him. The second spot is almost gone and I'm hoping his own immune system is taking care of it but I guess I have to watch him to make sure the cycle of the parasite doesn't repeat. We just finished growing his tail out, for goodness sake. The last thing I need is for him to get ick and then some secondary infection.

Will watch and keep everyone posted.

3. Male Guppy Tank...

The darn SNAILS!!!!!!!! They are driving me up the wall. There are eggs everywhere and their poops are littering the bottom of the tank. I'm trying to scoop some of them out, but it's futile with the sand floor. I've also rearranged the tank a bit a couple of weeks ago and now the Otos are not happy. Not sure if they did not like the remodeling or whether they are bothered by all these snails as well. They hide most of the time (I'm not even sure I still have four in there), or hang on the side of the tank. I have not seen much activity from them at all lately. Today maybe I'll but a slice of cucumber in to see if I can get them excited, that is if the snails won't get to it first and devour it before the Otos have a chance to find it.

If anyone has any ideas on how to get rid of this snaily infestation, by all means, please let me know!