Small algae eating fish?

[OneJun]

I want to know if their are any algae eating fish that are small but big enough not be eaten by a angelfish. will they harrass any other fish like corydoras?

[Tobaobo Koomi]

oto's usually keep to them selves and most bigger fish seem to ignore them...and i think they only get to 2 1/2 or 3 inches...

[OneJun]

Ty for your fast reply. ok ills tick to the otos then

[jpappy789]

What type of algae? Otos have only helped with diatoms and softer green algaes IME. Anything hard, stringy, furry or slimy they seem to ignore.

[chad320]

If you think your ottos arent doing the job bristlnosed plecos dont get very big either. I think the regular ones are ugly but the long finned albinos are cool.

[OneJun]

I got some brown algae.Is their any other fish besides otos that can do the job and i dont think i will get plecos because for some reason my lil bro is scared of them... 0.0

[jpappy789]

Brown algae = diatoms

Is the tank new (< 6 months old)? If so, they will eventually go away on their own. They should be easy to wipe off in the mean time though.

Otos will get rid of diatoms quickly, in my experience. The problem then is feeding them afterwards. They are not picky but shouldn't be added to a tank solely for algae eating purposes IMO. They are not the hardiest fish either...best for an established tank.

[Tobaobo Koomi]

after the otos grub all the brown aglea, i just feed em like i feed my sailfin pleco...some veggies like green beans and zuccini...something as small as the oto you can use a cheese grater to get it small enough for em to grub...or pull him out to a different tank and let the brown algea grow back?

[Tobaobo Koomi]

or you could do some nerites? i have seen those suggested before, but i have never had any...

[OneJun]

wow lots of answers :D yea it jst finished cycling bout 2 weels ago. I have some nerites but thier pretty lazy...plus im keeping angels which like soft water so i dont think it would be good for the snails.

[jpappy789]

Just let them do their thing then and they should be gone eventually.

[user_name]

I would go with snails or maybe a clown plec? What size tank are you using???

[OneJun]

I dunno how many gallons for sure but its around 30-40G Its soft water so its not good for snails and like on the other previos posts...lil bro scared of plecos for sum reason 0.0....

[jpappy789]

Just let them do their thing then and they should be gone eventually.
Again, no need to add anything.

[Haydn24]

CHinese algae eaters?? Lol

[OneJun]

alrite ill leave them alone and i think CAE can get pretty long/big and become agressive?

[FishVixen]

It will go away on it's own just scrape and vacuum to keep up with it.

[jpappy789]

alrite ill leave them alone and i think CAE can get pretty long/big and become agressive?

Correct.

[jetajockey]

siamese algae eaters are great, I would get at least 3 or 4 though, but do a good job and aren't typically aggressive. They will however try to school up with the other fish in the tank lol.

[latdow]

rather than gettting any fish to clear up the algea, i would black out the tank for a couple days. I plan on doing that with my tank, which was sigested by someone on my algea thread (i don't remeber which). what other fish do you have in this tank? my Corys nibble on the algae and so do my guppies. I wipe the walls down when i do my water changes and my algea hasn't gott much worse.

[bradlgt21]

To the original poster, something I learned early on this forum is when you see someone post who has a post count in the thousands or even high hundreds I listen to there advice. Because if you listen to everyones your going to get lots of conflicting answers and many are from people just as experienced as you that don't know exactly what they are talking about. Jpappy has over 20,000 posts for a reason. Listen to the experts they know what they are talking about. Get a fish for that algae now and it's going to be stuck with you forever even when the algae goes away.

[OneJun]

I noe that once algae is gone, i would be stuck with that fish forever.I dont really mind that. I have 3 corys and plannin to get more.I got 2 guppies and 6 glo light tetras. Do corys like beard algae?

[jpappy789]

Corys do not have the correct mouth structure to feed on algae. They may "nibble" on it, but they will not remove any algae.

[bradlgt21]

If it's really beard algae there isn't much that likes it. I heard Siamese Algae Eaters will eat it and so will Amano shrimp. But not all of them, I know I have amano's and no Beard algae while I used to. But there are other variables like I stopped using a DIY CO2 system which probably helped get rid of it more then the shrimp but you never know.

[OneJun]

Well i was just wonderin bout the ebard algae thats all.

[Keeshaw]

Eveyone says PLACO-PLACO-PLACO! Has knowone ever head of Farloella AKA twig cats? Don't get to big,and every bit as good as a placo.

[jpappy789]

Eveyone says PLACO-PLACO-PLACO! Has knowone ever head of Farloella AKA twig cats? Don't get to big,and every bit as good as a placo.

Actually, most people say PLECO ;)

[OneJun]

Lol thats funny. Hmm never ehard of twig cats. Ill look it up but the fish stores near me are usually crappy 0.0

[jpappy789]

Look for FARLOWELLA (not Farloella ;)) species. Also called whiptail catfish, stick catfish, etc.

[clogstonian]

Yet another opinion;

Here are a couple of other options depending on budget and availability. Panda Garra (Garra flavatra) . . these might get a little bigger than you ultimately want 3.5" but a pair of these are very entertaining and will nibble on your hands once they get acclimated . ... maybe more the "biofilm" feeder than a true algae eater but I always saw them grazing in my tank. Great in pairs. The second is anything from the Stiphodon genus around 2.5" (that's where mine have held fast for the past year) these get a little territorial with each other but do no real harm.

Too bad about the kid bro and pleco paranoia, bristlenose are the best!

Good luck

[OneJun]

Ty for the pictures. I really like the blue one lol. Ill do sum hw on it and try to find it/order it if it works out.

[OneJun]

I read a little about it and it says they like a river type setup/fast flowin water. Im keepin fish that dont really do good with currents :(

[jpappy789]

I was under the impression that most people actually need to grow algae for Stiphodons...

[OneJun]

dat shouldnt be to hard lol?

[clogstonian]

I suppliment mine with Hikari(sp) algae wafers which they love. The better fed they are the less territorial the dominant male is, they have a pecking order for sure.

I don't have a ton of current in my tank, 40gal with an XP2, spray bar mounted along the short side meaning the current runs right to left . . . anyway just offering some interesting alternates, I have found both of these to be curious, hardy and entertaining species.

[OneJun]

alrite. ill try to c if my lfs has any of these for sale.