Hey all. Somehow My tank has been full of diatom red slime and algae lately. I want to know wat kind of crew would be best for these. I might be getting some snails for the algae. But wat about the diatom and red slime?

Red Slime Algae isn't exactly an algae, but rather a bacteria. I researched it and there doesn't appear to be a certain animal that will eat it. It seems to be caused from excessive nutrients in the aquarium. Perhaps too much lighting, excess food, etc. It did say however, that snails and crabs could help clean up the detrius and this will help decrease the chances of red slime algae. It did warn against using any type of red slime algae remover, as it could completely eradicate your biological filter.

I noticed, though, that it said Red Slime Algae doesn't stick very well. It said the smaller pieces could be scraped off and the larger pieces could be sucked out with a turkey baster, or if you could grab it, I'm sure you could pull it out by hand.

The snails and crabs are a good idea though, as they will help keep the detrius to a minimum by eating uneaten food, etc.

You might also trying doing a 10-20% water change and putting in fresh salt water.

Keep us posted and let us know how you are getting rid of it!

Ok. Today since it was dirty, I did a 50% water change. Add some fresh saltwater to it. I might go to my local food store that sell saltwater snails as food. About 4.99 per pound. I may pick up some oyster since they filter the water. I maybe just grab a few pounds for lunch later too :P

How much current do you have in the area were the red slime is growing?? If you don't have much it will deffinately help to add a powerhead.

Theres no current when the red slime is. I washed all of my base rocks already and the red slime seem to have been gone. Is this any way to prevent it from happening again? I also rearange everything in the tank.

Power heads would definitely help eliminate any dead spots that you may have in your aquarium.

Alright thanks. Im might be ordering another powerhead. 315 gph if im not mistaken. Its going to have a sponge on it too. That would alsp just give me the right flow to my tank.