Green or brown algae? whats the differance?

[JamesBenjamin]

My friend said to me the other day that plecos wont eat brown algae... is this true? i seem to be getting quite a bit of the brown stuff, and rather than scrape it, i'd like to have a fish that eats it.. (i'm odd, i know) but i figure it will end up looking more natural that way... anyone heard this? or what the differance between the two is?

Thanks!

[Dabbler II]

A pleco won't eat brown algae and it seems that the young Pleco's will eat alot of green algae and as they get older they slow down. Oto's love brown algae. I put 3 in my 20 gal and it was covered with brown algae, they cleaned it up in 3 days. you could watch them eat it, it was so cool :D .

[FishBait]

Well I'd agree that most Hypostomus sp. of plecos pass up brown algae, but man do those Pterygoplichthyes sp. scarff it up :D As do Chaetestoma sp. and Ancistrus sp. They worked great at my lfs.

[wetmanNY]

The key to information about brown "algae" is to call them "diatoms."

Try a www.google.com search like "freshwater diatoms" or "aquarium diatoms"

Lots of diatom stuff too at www.thekrib.com with the algae stuff.

[NJ Devils Fan]

As the plecos get older, the don't like to eat algae as much as they do when they are young. So fresh veggies are a must.

[shauna]

i read somewhere on here that 'brown algae' was due to not enough light in the tank. Is that correct? I always thought brown algae was due to too much light in tank.
Anyway, I tried leaving my light on longer because my tank used to be dark and dreary with brown algae all over. Now with the light on, i find its cleared up. Am i imagining things?

:confused:

[FishBait]

Well different types of algae can flourish under different environments. It does seem stated quite often that diatom algae does tend to appear under dimly lit tanks, and tanks with old bulbs that have had a shift in their color spectrum. However, keeping silicates under control will also help to reduce diatom growth as they need it to produce their "shell."