what's a good algae eater for my tank?

R

ryansarge

AC Members
Sep 4, 2006
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I have a 70 gal, lightly planted tank with an angel, 2 gouramis and 3 clown loaches. I also have 2 large pieces of Malaysian driftwood in there. What would be a good algae eater that would keep algae off the glass? I'm really open to options right now. I've heard certain snails and plecos are good for taking care of the algae. Would there be an issue with the clown loaches bothering the snails? Also, would the snails bother any of the plants (java ferns, water sprite, ozelot sword and anubias nana)?

Also, what other invertebrates would be safe to add to this community? I'll move the loaches to a 180 gal when they get bigger, but right now they're only about 2-2 1/2 inches. Thanks for the help
 
I would say some ort of small pleco or apple snails. Just get them large enough to where the loaches wont bother them!
 
if you are worried about algae on the glass, the best way to keep it down is to keep the plants growing well, have lots of them and when you do your weekly water changes, just clean the galss yourself. no matter how many "algae earters" you have, you will probbaly still have algae on the glass
 
the best algea eater for eating algea on glass in the entire world is......(drumroll please)



the good old fashioned algea scraper!!! it is so easy to just scrape all of the algea off during the PWC, and IMO you shouldnt be getting fish to do work for you that could be done with a small movement of your arm. algea scrapers dont add any bio-load, so you can use that space for some other cool fish instead of a poop factory like a pleco.
 
I think some small plecos would be nice. I like clown plecos but you could get some bristlenose or other small ones. But as said the best algae eater is an algae scraper.
 
thanks for all the help. I've been using a long handle algae scraper and it works fine. Are those magnetic algae scrapers worth getting? So it sounds like snails are definitely out. Are there any other good invertebrates (shrimp, crayfish, clams) that I could add that the loaches wouldn't pick on? Not so much for working on the algae, just to have a nice diversity. Thanks
 
I highly recommend Siamese Algae Eaters! I have two and they are extremely busy algae eaters and very peaceful. They t\have that cory magic about the, being that no body bothers them and they don't bother anyone. Do not get these confused with Chinese Algae Eaters who are extremely aggresive and when grow big stop eating algae! Just make sure the horizontal black stripe extends in to the tail, Here's a picture of mine... Did I mention how cute they are??
SAE.jpg
 
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