which fish are good "plant nippers"

[CHINABOY1021]

i got a slight problem. on my plants, i got some dead hair algae and some dead plant particles that needs to be removed. my filter isnt going anything to them because the water current is just pushing the "strings" of particles against the stem of the plants where they are hooked. i tried manually removing it by siphoning the plants with an airline hose, but it had too strong suction. im trying to think of delicate (with plants) fish that will pick off the plant particles due to hunger. will a few rams do the job? what's their compatibility?

[PumaWard]

I had a similiar problem in my 10 gallon tank with the dead hair algae. I bought a common pleco to help with algae on the glass and he took care of the algae on my plants to. Rams are naturally a carnivorous species, so I don't thing that they will help. However, some black mollies may. Any, how big is your tank and what kind of fish do you have in it? Have you checked you ammonia, pH, and nitrite...these may be contributing to your algae problem, as well as too many phosphates which come from too much organic material in the water.

[CHINABOY1021]

well, its the only plant i got algae on. only because i bought it with algae on it.

[PumaWard]

I would make sure you get a nice you little algae eater, or something very similiar. Other options include flying foxes, chinese butterfly pleco, black mollies, and any uncommon pleco. I had algae all over my broad-leafed plants, within two days of getting the pleco, the majority of all the algae in the tank was gone, including on the plants. I don't think you want a fish that nips plants, because they will most likely prefer the healthier parts of the plant and pretty much eradicate it. As far as dead parts of the plant, they should just be clipped away with a pair of scissors.

[CHINABOY1021]

the thing with the dead plant particles is that, they're already loose, but i have a hard time getting it out of the tank. they're tangled in my thin-stemed plants. im going to get a few amano shrimp since they are very small and light, they wont squash my tiny red lotus and my hydrocotyle. ill get some ottos for the board leaves after my plants grow in.

[tricksterpup]

Check out this out:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=14114

Plus i highly recommend reading the artical that I posted on the site..
I will also post it here also.. American Flag Fish, prettiest of alage eaters. :)
http://www.nativefish.org/Articles/...la-floridae.htm