Algae eater, Pleco, ?? for Convict tank

[AikidoGuy]

Ok bottom feeder specialists, i need a recomendation for a dim Lit 55gal. tank that has a pair of convicts. some kind of pleco? algae eaters? ottos? it gets a brownish green algea on the and the rocks start to look like a rust kinda color (guessin gfrom low light levels), not really a problem with it, but id like them to look clean. i use the same rocks and gravel in all my tanks and the ones tha have a common pleco in it are fine..
but i dont want to put a common pleco in a 55gal.


* the convict fry are removed as soon as I see them out of the cave.

[famman]

bristlenose - Ancistrus

or maybee a lot of otos, but wont the convict eat or harass them?

good luck
:)

[AikidoGuy]

how big does that bristlenose get? i think convicts are overrated, as long as the ottos arentgetting into the nest sdite theyshoudl be fine. most of the time the convicts are in the cave anyway.

[famman]

Most ancistrus will get between 4 and 5 inches depending on specific species.
If you don't think the convicts will hurt them, 8 or 10 (or more) otos would wipe your algea out. They especially like rounded gravel substrate with algae on it. If you can, get otocinclus vittatus, they're the best IMO.
good luck
:)

[latazyo]

it took about 1 day of occasional biting before my convicts accepted the common pleco, but now he kicks it behind the filter tube and all is happy in the tank

but from what I"ve noticed in my own tank, anything that moves in the convict tank will be bitten

[JamisonBWolsh]

I have a mated pair of Falwe Rock Brichardis- when I had my albiino bristlenose in their tank, they always sent that plecos to the top of the tank...a banishment..

[AikidoGuy]

im not too worried about the convicts beating the fish, its more i want something kinda smaller than a common pleco and that will eat the algae that i described. the bristle nose night work size wise. but will it eat the aglae??

[JamisonBWolsh]

I would say its the best algae eating fish. A bristlenose pleco works wonders on algae:

ex: I have a 60, 20, and a 10 gallon tank.

before I got the bristlenose plecos (1 in the 60, 2 in the 20) I would have to clean the algae myself. For the last 6 months, I never touched a algae scraper. They really do wonders. Get the albino Bristlenose. They are a GOLD color. a nice colorful pleco!