Which is the BEST Algae Eater Tankmate?

[raymondevil]

I'm having 2 adult balloon mollies, 15-20 molly fry and 2 albino/chinese algae eater. Somehow this algae eater is not doing a very good job in clearing all the algae. I guess I need to get a good algae eater for my 10gal tank. Best of all, the algae eater mustn't grow much in size.. any idea? :huh:

[Raskolnikov]

Otocynclus catfish and amano shrimp both eat some kinds of algae, and are small enough for a 10g tank.

I'd definately loose the CAEs in that setup.

[OrionGirl]

Rather than adding a fish, up your maintenance--algae grows when there are too many nutrients in the water. Adding plants will also help--they compete for the nutrients. More fish in a 10 will probably just increase the problem--and those CAE will need a bigger tank as they mature. What type of algae is becoming a problem?

[raymondevil]

i didn't add any fish into it.. my mollies just breed alot of them.. plus, i did change water every 3 days because the water turns yellow due to the driftwood. these algae only grow on my live plant's leaves. some says it's red algae but it looks like brown to me and it's not those hairy type of algae.. it's just brown patches all over the leaves..

[OrionGirl]

What are the nitrates, in both the tank and the source water? Phosphates? Silica? Lighting (type, wattage, and time)? What type of plants? Sounds mostly like diatoms--does it peel off easily? With live plants already in there, I'd guess there's an imbalance in nutrients or light--meaning more nutrients than the light will support the plants into using, or else a shortage in a specific nutrient the plants need to really grow well, or third, that you have slow growing, low light plants that won't be able to outcompete the diatoms. In any case, adding more fish won't be the solution.

I understand that you are not adding more fish, but with livebearers, you either have to remove the fry to another tank, or add something that will consume the fry to avoid overstocking.

[Kasakato]

FWIW: Its ok to let the water turn yellow, because of the driftwood. No harm there,

[Lobo.]

the best algie cleaner is yourself, if you dont want it, just rub/scrape it off the glass and rub it off the plants.
the best algie eaters are snails, they reproduce rapidly when there is lots of food, and then reduce in numbers until it comes back again, i like ramshorn snails

[mooman]

I would not use snails. I would think twice about adding an organism that the industry has actually developed a product to erradicate. Otos are very hard working algea eaters that only get about 1-11/2 inches long. They are especially good at keeping the brown algea off my plants.

[OrionGirl]

A product developed to remove something that is misunderstood and indicative of other problems...Surely that can't be a good guideline. Look at Smokey the Bear--50 years ago, he was the solution to the 'problem' of forest fires, but now we realize the fire is a normal, healthy part of these systems and the results of years of suppression are a bigger problem than seasonal fires ever were.

[mooman]

Fair enough orion girl, so what is the cause of the much bemoaned snail take overs that show up in threads from time to time. I've got no personal experience, just an irrational fear that it will happen to me. What can raymondevil do to keep that from happening in his tank if snails are what he goes with....cough....otos...cough...cough. :cool2:

[f8ldzz]

oto cats - otocinclus - are pretty good.
Siamese algae eaters are also recommended, but are pretty rare and get big when they do grow.
Also, some of the smaller pl*cos are recommended.

[OrionGirl]

Most snails reproduce in direct proportion to the food supply. If the tank has little uneaten food, dying plants or algae, and organic waste, snail populations are small. When there's lots of food, many more eggs are laid and the hatchlings survive. For some species, however, population control is simple--apple snails lay eggs above the water line in a large, foamy-looking blob, easily removed or prevented with a high water level.

Pretty well all my tanks have snails--some very few because of predators in the tank, others a moderate population that helps keep the tank clean. If either population start increasing, it means I need to up my maintenance--not that the snails are somehow bad.

[homerHart]

Dwarf Oto's - mine are great - I love watching them munching. They seem to get everywhere.

[rzak]

If you had a larger tank I'd recommend a BN pleco. They stay small, are quite hardy, and do an awesome job of keeping a tank clean of algae.

[Kissofthegorami]

Mollies are an algae eater. I'd feed less, do more water changes, get a better filter?