Algae Eaters--Good Idea?

You are correct, the Chinese algae eaters can get quite large and some do get kind of agressive.

Your best bet would be to get what is called a bushynosed (or bristlenosed) pleco. They are small (top out at about 5-6") and typically stay busy looking for food the other fish miss or eating the algae off the glass or ornaments in the tank.

I have about 50 or so scattered around in my tanks and they do a great job. Of course you are correct, weekly 30% water changes and monthly gravel siphoning are the only way to keep a tank healthy and happy. Change out your filter cartridge every 6 weeks or whenever it starts running slow. I rinse mine off in dechlorinated water and use it over and over.

8

Otocinclus are great small algae eaters, especially in a planted tank. Can be hard to find sometimes, but 3-4 in a 20g tank with some algae can keep these guys employed for a while. Also some shrimp such as japonica shrimp do good jobs at eating algae. Also snails, although not certain on the species.

There are many different types of algae and no algae eating creature deals with all or most types. So the best thing for algae cleanup duty is to get a mixed crew.

Generally I feel plecos poop far too much, the cons outweigh the benefit since they're not really that great at algae eating. If your water quality is good enough, get a small group of otocinclus midget sucker catfish mainly for common green algae that sticks to tank walls & plant leaves. Another good choice here are hillstream loaches (or Borneo suckers), suitable also for coldwater tanks. Snails like nerites that don't breed in freshwater are another option.

For the more stringy & hair algae, get a few Siamese algae eaters & a group of Amano shrimps. A lone ruby or red-tailed shark also helps, though they can get aggressive. Livebearers like guppies, mollies & platies also graze on algae. Avoid the Chinese algae eater who comes to prefer fish food over algae and gets more territorial with age.

A bristlenose pleco is a good choice for a 20gal+ tank. They dont get too big, and actually eat some algae.

Otto catfish are another small algae eater (actually a mini-pleco)

Siamese Algae eaters (Flying fox) are another option.

Avoid Chinese algae eaters or the Common Plecos unless you have a big tank. They give up eating algae as they get bigger.

Ian

i NEVER suggest plecos, these guys get big and aggressive when they get bigger.

small but effective algae eaters i would recommend are :

otocinclus

red cherry shrimps

amano shrimps

snails

and there you have it.

shrimps and snails are also known to be great scavengers, so they can eat leftovers and that helps you with the maintenance. but you still have to clean up once in a while.

good luck!

people are going to say a pleco. dont get a pleco unless you have a 175 gallon tank and even then, its still going to be overstocked.

get an otto cat also known as a midget sucker fish

i have 3 and theyre about this long each

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and its full grown. its not that expensive, i got mine for about 3 dolars

its a pretty cool fish, its pretty hardy and its not agressive at all

I HAVE A PLCEO AND HE CLEANS REALLY GOOD IS ABOT 2ft LONG BUT I HAVE HIM IN A 150 GAL TANK U SHOULD GET A PLECO IF U HAVE A SMALL TANK HE WON'T GROW BIG TRUST ME,,,,, BYE