algae eaters...recommendations?

J

jb_lyndon

AC Members
Dec 29, 2003
74
0
0
Saskatchewan, Canada
Visit site
Looking for advice on algae eaters in a 25g which will eventually contain:
12 neons, 2 dwarf gouramis, 1 weather loach. Wondering about behaviour, algae eating efficiency, and overall 'coolness'.

contemplating:
otos
bristlenose pleco
ammano, ghost, or other 'algae eating' shrimp. (not sure how much these little guys eat).

any favorites?
 
i have three otos in my 10 gallon and they are great...i love to put cucombers on the bottom and watch them go to town on it! they are in my oppinion the coolest algae eater around.

i dont know much about shrimp, but sometimes a snail can add an interesting touch to your tank, make it look more natural
 
They are not on your list, but I prefer Siamese Algae Eaters, not the Chinese Algae Eaters... SAE's will have a stripe going all the way through their tail, not stopping at the tail.
 
a mystery snail will constantly eat and not disturb your fish but if you have any live plants, they will devour them overnight. I picked up some ottos myself and they do a great job of algae eating. The ghost shrimp are awesome scavengers that can reach through the substrate finding food but I have heard they can catch fry and small fish when they get larger. I wouldn't really consider them an algae eater but maybe I'm wrong. pleco's work great when small but get very lazy once they get larger. I'm not firmiliar with the bristlenose version though. Kyle
 
I love my otos. My SAE's don't eat much algae... they prefer fish food. My ghost shrimp keep disappearing and I couldn't understand it until I saw a couple of them eating another one yesterday.... yep, evidentally they do eat each other.... I've got live plants and a couple of snails - probably just pond snails - and they don't bother my plants a bit.
 
Do you have plants? I have some floating plants - wisteria and some kind of duckweed, and NO ALGAE. I also dose with flourish excel to add carbot. A single light strip is on for 6 hours a day.

The tank is in some kind of equilibrium - don't know what but things are good!
 
I tried Ottos, Bristlenose pl*cos and ghost shrimps. At the end, all of them gave up to my environment and algae thrived until I cut down on the lights. Now the quantity of algae is constant and looks good overall.

If you must buy one, I suggest either SAE or Bristlenoses. At least my bristlenoses eat even hair algae at times.
 
:OT: Sorry for the hijack!
Delmore what kind of cory is that in your avatar? Is it really pink or is that a camera trick?:confused:
 
Originally posted by yhbae

If you must buy one, I suggest either SAE or Bristlenoses.
Click to expand...

It's not that I need to get one (don't have an algae problem) I was however under the impression that having algae eaters was a very good idea for any tank. Am I wrong? Oh and do bristlenoses behave similarly to common plecos?

adblair I want to ask you about your otos...
could you give me an idea of their behaviour?
Do they have a tendency (like common plecos do) to spend most of their time just boringly sucking glass and hiding out. Or are they more active and interesting? Oh and your ghost shrimp... other than their ritualistic cannibalism, are you happy with them? Do they eat a significant amout of algae? and how big will they get?
 
Well, my Ottos are usually sucking on plants or driftwood, but sometimes they move around or go lay around next to/on top of each other. Depending on your tank size you sometimes dont see them a lot, but IMO they're interesting fish.

Ghost shrimp may eat algae, but I think what you're after is the "Amano algae-eating shrimp." It looks kind of like a glass shrimp but I think it has spots? Dunno anything about those though, never actually kept them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom