?'s About bristlenose Nose and Clown Plecos

[msouth468]

Alright, I bought some otos a while back to help combat my algae in my 55g tank. They did alright but seem to be letting the algae get away from them. I remember someone saying that bristlenose and clown plecos eat algae too. So I was wondering if they would get too big for my tank and if they are even worth getting for my tank? Are they hard to take care of or require some bizarre diet? Understandably they can't just eat the algae; I just need some info on them.

Thanks

[wildman117]

both should be okay with the bristle nose getting to about 6 inches
the clown pleco stays slightly smaller and mine is about 4 inches
they both should be okay with standard offerings of wafers and blanched vegetables

[Star_Rider]

clowns need wood in their diet..and it is best to supply that to bn's too

the bn's seem to do a pretty good job on algae.. you should easily be able to keep a pair of them in a 55(either species) make sure to supplement their diets tho.

[jpappy789]

both should be okay with the bristle nose getting to about 6 inches
the clown pleco stays slightly smaller and mine is about 4 inches
they both should be okay with standard offerings of wafers and blanched vegetables
I have never seen a half foot long BN plec.

[NeonFlux]

BN plecos are usually 4 inches

[Lupin]

Depends on the species. There isn't only one species of Ancistrus that exists.

[Barbie]

While there are a few species of Ancistrus that get more than 4", very few of them are commonly available and not regularly mistaken for a "common" type Ancistrus. The problem with these answers is that without knowing that type of algae is causing the problem, there's no way to figure out which fish would actually be able to utilize it.

Barbie

[jpappy789]

While there are a few species of Ancistrus that get more than 4", very few of them are commonly available and not regularly mistaken for a "common" type Ancistrus. The problem with these answers is that without knowing that type of algae is causing the problem, there's no way to figure out which fish would actually be able to utilize it.

Barbie


:iagree: My bristlenose eats "green" algae like crazy but when I have one earlier it never touched my diatoms. What type of algae do you have?

[Rbishop]

I would be more concerned about why the algae is bad. Normally, for me, a good group of oto can eliminate all algae issues. Also, what are the other fish in the tank?

[fishorama]

Don't expect a clown plec to help too much with algae. They eat some but are more omni- than herbivore.