Is there any plecos that stay small

thanks for the info i will check out the snails.I would love to put corys in but its only a ten gallon and has 9 guppies already,so i wasn't sure how many more fish i could put in.
 
Vince G. said:
If the oto's don't work out (I hope they live a long life for you, but honestly, they can be delicate)Pitbull plecos are a good option for you. They are related to otos, but are hardier than them, and in my experience, don't stop eating algae when they get bigger like SAE's (and they don't bother your other fish like SAE's also).
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I thought it was the CAEs that do that not SAEs.
 
CAE=chinese algae eater, SAE=siamese algae eater. The chinese are much more commonly available, even at wal-mart. If they survive long enough they grow large and aggressive, becoming a real problem for other fish in the tank.
 
Cool thanks for clearing that up.I don't know all the terminaligy yet with aquariums,so i get kinda lost.
So are oto's in either category or on there own?
 
From what I understand, (although I have never kept them), Chinese Algae Eaters are very aggressive, and will even begin to kill/stress out other fish when they get bigger.
True SAE's, which I have kept before, start out as good algae eaters when young, but become more agressive and eat less algae when they mature. It seems that you have to almost starve them to make them keep eating algae. If they get enough of what's left over from feeding the other fish, they get lazy on the algae front. Mine started to attack the slime coats of much bigger fish (severums,large angels) when I had them, although it just seemed to annoy them, and never do any real damage. They are truly great algae eaters when young, and I've heard that if you keep them in a big enough tank, that they will continue to be peaceful even when mature.
 
redbullbill said:
Cool thanks for clearing that up.I don't know all the terminaligy yet with aquariums,so i get kinda lost.
So are oto's in either category or on there own?
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Otos are a sucker mouth catfish - family Loricariidae, basically a "Mini-Me" version of a pleco.
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=107

Chinese Algae Eaters are Cyprinids, more closely related to Barbs and Goldfish, and grow into a large aggressive fish.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyrinocheilus

Siamese Algae Eaters are also a cyprinid, but stay smaller and are more peaceful, a better option for a medium size tank, but too big for a 10gal.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siamese_algae_eater

There you go :)

Ian
 
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