Algae Eaters

Well, don't get the Chinese algea eaters. They are notoriously vicious when older. They will suck on the other fish's slime coats. They also aren't great at eating algae. Butterfly loaches also aren't that great at eating it, as far as I'm aware.

What kind of algae do you want them to eat? The soft kind, or the long, filamentous kind?

Otocinclus are the best soft algae eaters. Peaceful and small, the quintessential algae eater.

Also, whatever you get, you will need to suppliment their diet with algae wafers and fresh veggies.

Ottos are great but I can't get them in my area. Stay away from the Chinese algae eater like Leopardess says and also avoid many of the plecos. Common plecos get huge and some of the others aren't big on eating algae. A small bristle nose would be good and the usually max out at about 4 to six inches.

otocinclus Catfish (aka "oto cat" or "dwarf sucker mouth catfish")



IME it took 1 of these lil buggers to completely clean my tank in about a week. I bet he's tired of algae by now

More Oto Cat info

Latin Name
Otocinclus affinis or Otocinclus mariae

pH Value
6.5-7.0

Water Temperature
74-80 deg. F

Size
2"

Breeding
Egg Layers

Feeding
Algae, Vegetables, Tablets

Notes
They are very similar to the Chinese Algae Eaters but smaller. They do well in tanks under 20 gallons

Lighting
Bright, but not direct sunlight

Temperament
Peaceful, a very good community fish. Loves rocks and vegetation. They love hanging on the glass walls of the aquarium

Comments
They are a necessity for any small aquarium but an absolute must for a larger environment. For larger tanks, try to get at least a school of 4 fish or more. They love to swim around together and are a somewhat active swimmer. They can be often found hanging upside-down under a leaf or behind a piece of driftwood. They can grow upwards of 2" in length. A very inexpensive fish, which can be distinguished from other algae eaters by its distinctive angled head shape.

I just bought 4 oto's last week because my 29 gallon of tank was covered in brown algae. They had the tank spotless by the next morning. I love these little guys.

ALRIGHT!

Thats what I'm talking about carttman, one awesome lil fish, huh?

You Better Believe It!! The Best Money I Have Spent on My Tank so Far Was Purchasing Them!! They Love Zucchini and Spinach Also.

A couple of points of disagreement:

Otocinclus do not eat filamentous algae - their mouth is not built that way.

To me, and Oto is nothing at all like a CAE. They do not look alike, act alike, eat alike.