Best algae eaters for my tank

JamezMan · Post by **JamezMan** » 04 Nov 2007, 01:23

Hi I have a 120 litre planted tank and I wanted to know what the best algae eaters would be for this type of tank. I don't want any of the plecotomis or bristlenose as they can damage plants. I was thinking of 6-8 oto cats, and maybe a Royal Whiptail cat. Are there any others you could recommend?

Thanks.

Luke.

jjkolodz · Post by **jjkolodz** » 04 Nov 2007, 02:00

If you aren't opposed to adding snails I would try Olive Nerites. They are the best algae eating snails but won't touch plants. They will lay eggs (which can be an eye sore) but they won't hatch in freshwater.

JamezMan · Post by **JamezMan** » 04 Nov 2007, 02:10

Mate we only have snails sold as 'mystery snails' or ramshorn snails, and I don't really want to go with them. Cheers anyway but. You wouldn't recommend a school of otos?

jjkolodz · Post by **jjkolodz** » 04 Nov 2007, 02:53

You can't really go wrong with a school of otos as far as I am concerned but I just don't know that they can solve an algae problem.

JamezMan · Post by **JamezMan** » 04 Nov 2007, 05:44

Ok, so they don't eat alot of algae? I have two at the moment and they're diet is pretty much just algae however I don't know how much they eat. What is a better algae eating fish, from South America, that won't eat plants?

Cheers.

Luke.

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 04 Nov 2007, 14:04

Ok, so they don't eat alot of algae?

They eat algae, but don't expect Otocinclus to clean an infested tank, especially not with hair/fuzz/slime type algae.

However they will eat the right type of algae (soft green/brown). What sort of algae have you got? Provide photos if you can.

Otos will also clean surfaces and prevent further algae growth.

They will also need supplementary feeding once they eat all the algae. They are also not the easiest fish to keep, as they have a habit of dying off when you first add them to the tank. This is usually due to newly imported starved fish not getting enough food.

To avoid this, follow these "golden rules"

1. Always buy Otocinclus that have been in the shop for at least 1 month.

2. Make sure the shop have been feeding them the correct foods (see below) for their acclimation period.

3. Make sure you can watch them eating in the shop.

4. As for feeding, they should/will only eat lightly blanched vegetables (kale and spinach leaves are good) that have been in the aquarium for at least 24h and have started to go yellow.

5. They need a supply of this food 24/7.

6. Flake and algae wafers are good, but only in moderation (not every day).

In conclusion, otos are great for keeping an already clean tank algae free, however they won't fix an already severe algae problem (especially with non-tasty algae).

For a severe algae problem, best treat the root cause, which is usually poor water quality and too much light.

Here there is a section on algae.

Another option is , which also are good plant friendly algae eaters.

With regard to the , I have had reports that these are not very plant friendly.

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 04 Nov 2007, 16:07

I have never seen any Sturisoma aureum damage plants. I always have kept them in planted tanks containing mostly Echinodorus bleheri and Echinodorus Hybrid, "Kleiner Bar." They are good algae eaters but algae is not their primary food. They like frozen blood worms, live black worms and earth worm sticks. They do not get very interested in algae wafers. I only feed my fry earth worm sticks and once in awhile, freshly killed brine shrimp nauplii. They do eat some algae they find as they look for more desired foods.

Post by **Marc van Arc** » 04 Nov 2007, 18:17

racoll wrote:To avoid this, follow these "golden rules"

This orange is very difficult to read. I prefer "golden" rules in black if you don't mind

.

bslindgren · Post by **bslindgren** » 04 Nov 2007, 20:51

I have Ancistrus triradiatus and they don't touch the plants. They also do a great job on algae. It depends on what plants you have I guess, but I've never had a problem with them. The true siamese algae eaters might be another option for you.

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 04 Nov 2007, 21:17

I think supplementary feeding is a must to avoid the plants being harmed.

I imagine if I was locked in a house with no food, I would eat the house plants pretty quickly (well after the discus anyway

).

Post by **Marc van Arc** » 04 Nov 2007, 22:33

Thanks Rupert

JamezMan · Post by **JamezMan** » 10 Nov 2007, 07:29

Thankyou for the interest everyone.

My tank is planted with numerous stem plants like hygrophila and ludwigia aswell as crypts, swords and chain swords. The main algae that I am having problems with is a hair/fuzz type algae which has been identified elsewhere and most likely caused by co2 irregulation, and the algae you describe, which my other otos have been feeding on.

Im really after a south american cat that can help my algae problem, as the tank has a South American theme. Providing supplemented food won't be a problem if I was to go with a Royal Whiptail or another half dozen oto cats either.

I currently have a 5-6cm bristlenose in the tank also, who is helping with the algae, but I would prefer to not have to get any more of them.

Any other ideas that you could think of?

Thanks.

Luke.

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 10 Nov 2007, 11:18

No loricariid i'm aware of eats the hair/fuzz algae. I've heard that amano shrimp, rosy barbs and mollies will eat hair algae, but I can't say this for sure.

However, if your leaves are already algae free (e.g. new growth), the grazing action of loricariids will prevent all kinds of algae growing.

With your planted tank, I would recommend a small hypoptopomatine from one of the following genera. These will be able to keep clean your small leaves cleaner than say an adult Ancistrus.

JamezMan · Post by **JamezMan** » 10 Nov 2007, 11:35

Hey. Thanks for the reply.

Thanks for the suggestions. I am not sure our city has any of these fish in their stores at the moment. I've never seen them before, besides otocinlcus which we have, so I don't think they will be a possibility. I just don't think at the moment there is a market for them.

I can't think of any small algae eaters, apart from the oto's which is unfortunate.

I may have to make a call or two.

So the Royal Whiptails are a no go?

Luke.

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 10 Nov 2007, 11:59

You should be able to get hold of , especially at this time of year. They would be perfect for your needs.

The definately eats algae very well, but it may not do as good a job on the small plants like the chain swords when it gets a bit bigger.

They decimated my friends plants, but I think that was because he didn't supplementary feed it.

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 10 Nov 2007, 20:58

I think racoll is very correct about Sturisoma only being a danger to plants if its starving. I may mainly use Echinodorus Swords but not exclusively. They just grow well enough to multiply so I like going with the flow. I have kept Sturisoma with many Crypts, Corkscrew Val, Dwarf lilies, Najas, Ceratophyllum, water sprite, and most plants. Pygmy and dwarf chain swords are among the few plants that did not do well when I was keeping both chain swords and Sturisoma together with my Heckel Discus but the chain swords need strong lighting in deep tanks.
I know its a crude rule of thumb to use but I only have about 2 watts/gal in my Heckel Discus tank. Bottom covering plants were light starved.
If I was only allowed one choice of fish for algae control it would be the common Bushy Nose sp 3, hands down. If they are harming plants, then they are being starved.

All healthy planted aquariums will have some algae growing in them. There is no one single or combination of fish and other aquatic animals that will eat all of every type of algae.

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 10 Nov 2007, 21:13

If they are harming plants, then they are being starved.

I've noticed a similar phenomenon in my tank Larry, but with snails.

I had a good population of snails until I added two Ancistrus. The Ancistrus eat all the algae now, leaving the snails to eat my plants, which they never used to do (even when there was loads of them).

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 11 Nov 2007, 17:05

racoll wrote:
If they are harming plants, then they are being starved.

I've noticed a similar phenomenon in my tank Larry, but with snails.

I had a good population of snails until I added two Ancistrus. The Ancistrus eat all the algae now, leaving the snails to eat my plants, which they never used to do (even when there was loads of them).

I never made this association but now that you mention it, I have seen the same problem but did not put 2+2 together. I knew the Ancistrus were not doing the damage. Echinodorus bleheri and Echinodoras hybrid Var. "Kleiner Bar" would be fine for months then rather quickly develop the perforated leaves characteristic of snail damage. This coincided with an active snail reduction program of more tightly controlled feeding to deliberately reduce left overs available for the snails.

JamezMan · Post by **JamezMan** » 13 Nov 2007, 03:35

I'll probably get another half dozen otos eventually and maybe down the track get the Royal Whiptail. There isn't a huge selection unfortunately. We mainly have the larger plecos, including the quite rare ones like the buttefly plec etc, but these wouldn't really suit this tank.

Jamez.