Algae Eater for 35G

[Sevenstar]

Here is the pic. Now I worry that I have some horrible mutant algae. xD
The good news is that it isn't spreading. I only see it on my filter and a tad bit on one or two of the tubes.

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/7305/algaeve0.png

 

[icecubez189]

bristlenose plecos are voracious algae eaters as are otos

 

[Sevenstar]

I was looking at planetcatfish.com and it said this about Ottos " Live plants seem essential to the long term survival of this fish." Is this true?
They also seem to do well in groups. Should I get more than one (can I?)?

And someone mentioned the Bristlenose Catfish? There seems to be many different varities. Ones that look like standard plecos and ones that look ... uhh... quite interesting

 

[fishcatch22]

Oopsie. I should have updated my siggy. Its a male dojo loach and they usually don't grow larger than 5-6". I got them from a friend who breeds them. I was going to give it back to him if it turned out to be a female. And even the females here rarely grow past 8" in the best conditions.

I am familar with the BN pleco, but what is a SAE? I think I maybe have heard that some where before. I heard they eat less algae as they grow older and get territorial.

I would still say you're maxed out on stocking, and I have seen 10" long dojos. I would personally reccomend amano shrimp, as they don't add much bio-load.

 

[Sevenstar]

I would still say you're maxed out on stocking, and I have seen 10" long dojos. I would personally reccomend amano shrimp, as they don't add much bio-load.

Yikes really? lol my tank seems so bare right now My platies are drawf platies so they barely reach 1" My guppy is also quite small, but pretty and active.

Amano shrimp? Sounds interesting. However, would they be considered snacks for my other fish? My platies will pick on anything that doesn't look like its going anywhere.

 

[fishcatch22]

Yikes really? lol my tank seems so bare right now My platies are drawf platies so they barely reach 1" My guppy is also quite small, but pretty and active.

Amano shrimp? Sounds interesting. However, would they be considered snacks for my other fish? My platies will pick on anything that doesn't look like its going anywhere.

dwarf platies don't exist. they are normal platies. I bought "dwarf platies" and they grew up to be a normal size. come to think of it, I beleive you are right about males, you're okay on stocking.

actually, I think you're right. you could probably add a bristle nose pleco safely, they would take care of blue green and diatomaceous algae, and amano shrimp will take care of hair algae and beard algae.

 

[Sevenstar]

dwarf platies don't exist. they are normal platies. I bought "dwarf platies" and they grew up to be a normal size. come to think of it, I beleive you are right about males, you're okay on stocking.

actually, I think you're right. you could probably add a bristle nose pleco safely, they would take care of blue green and diatomaceous algae, and amano shrimp will take care of hair algae and beard algae.

I guess I still have to wait a couple of months on the "drawf" platies. I have had them for over two months and they show no signs of growth. Except for the female (just a bit), but she is nowhere near the average platy size. I believe they also make the same claim about "drawf" angelfish. So I wouldn't put it past them to try to pass off younger fish as drawfs.

I am considering the bristle nose, but I might go with something smaller. I also want to make sure I don't overstock. And, as a small ad on stress-reducer, I tried to vary my tank levels. The loach has the entire bottom to himself, the 3 platies and the guppy have the mid, while the 3 minnows have the top.

The shrimp might also be unique, I am just concerned about their hardiness based on the reviews I read.

Thank you for your help. I wasn't aware many of fish/species listed actually helped clean up algae.

 

[txaggies07]

3 otos would be cool. They are fun to watch. Mine took a few days to really start doing anything. But, once they did they became rather entertaining.

 

[MVandenberk]

I picked up a BushyNose Pleco on Sunday. I had a pretty big problem with mainly brown algae, I wasn't sure if it would eat that. not even 3 days later, 90% of the algae was GONE!

 

[Hurley]

If you get a fish to control your algae you will need to supplement their diet with veggies. This is because they cannot live on just algae. Also, many plecos need a piece of live driftwood in the tank as the wood is an important part of their diet.