Have mold growing in my 3gallon fish tank what do i do?

Question

what do i use to clean the gravel?

Answer 1

If it's slimey green or brown stuff growing on the ornaments and on the glass, that's actually algae, not mold.  

This is perfectly normal and happens in every aquarium, because it's plant-like and draws nutrients from some of the by-products of the animals in your tank (such as the carbon dioxide they breathe out). And don't worry, it won't harm your fish at all!  The easiest way to control it is to do regular water changes - 25 % a week - and scrape it off with an algae scraper.

You can add phosphate and nitrate removers to your filter, or use a chemical to remove these substances, but if you have live plants it can harm them.  

There are also many types of fish (both large and small) that eat algae and can help control it.  Oto catfish and algae eaters are the most common.

Or if you have uncontrollable algae you can look into getting a UV sterilizer, which attaches to your filter and kills the algae cells as they pass through it.  It's quite expensive and not usually necessary.

Answer 2

use a siphon (gravel vac sold at pet stores) and follow the instructions on the back.

Answer 3

3 gallons is pretty small so your always going to have algae, i dont think it would be mold. if it is green stuff on the glass just take a sponge and whipe it off. and change a little bit of water every couple of days, DONT do it all at once. if there is algae on the plants/rocks just take them out and scrub them with an old tooth brush.

Answer 4

Hi,

you need to get a small filter at your local pet store and use that it filters the water and keep your bowl fresh and clean

Answer 5

Is your tank near a window? if so, the sunlight helps algae to grow much faster inside your tank, I would also suggest that you get a placo, which is a algae eater that sucks on the side of your tank and keeps it pretty clean.

Answer 6

this is most likey a result of left over food. do a water change and rinse the gravel well. Try to remove left over food from the tank if possible and feed them more frequently in alot smaller amounts. hope this helps!

Answer 7

umm clean it mabye?