Whats a good algae eater?

[Bristlenose Fan]

I'm going to throw in a vote for the bristlenose or otos as well. I love them both. The bristlenose is the best cleaner I've seen, but I think the otos are the most fun to watch. Don't forget that the bristlenose should have more than algae wafers for supplement. Throw in a slice of zucchini. It's good for them and it's really fun to watch them go to town on it.

 

[Que]

This is a shot of my SAE.



Notice no gold or bronze colored line above the black line as you would see in a false SAE. Also notice the black stripe is jagged along the edges where on a false SAE it is smooth. Also notice the black stripe goes through the tail where on the false SAE it stops at the base of the tail. Last notice that the fins are transparent where the false SAE has yellow highlights and the flying fox has black highlights.

I have never seen SAEs attack or even harass any other fish in the tank but I can't say that of the false SAE I purchased thinking I got true SAEs.

So do you have an SAE or a false SAE or something else?

Q

 

[BIGgourami]

we call that a flying fox and they seem to do better insmall groups
the brown suckermouthed things are soo territorial i had one in a 75 that just PI@$ed the hell out of everything in the tank. i'm glad hes gone.

 

[Lupin]

I'll never believe true SAEs would ever be quite territorial. CAEs and false SAEs on the other hand...

Que, that's a stunning SAE. I have 5 of them and they grew very fast nipping vigorously on black brush algae. I had old ones and they lived for 5 years. It is possible they'll live longer.

 

[Que]

we call that a flying fox and they seem to do better insmall groups

Flying fox is a different fish from the one I posted.

All three... the SAE, the Flying fox and the false SAE look similar. The differences are subtle.

For comparison see this: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/PlantedTksSubWebIndex/saesags.htm

Q

 

[tjr635]

Ok Glad you put that up,have not got a pic of the thing yet , but from what i just read , it's a CAE THX an now have more to read on

 

[hitman12131976]

If you've got two Otos in a 20g tank and you still have an algae problem, then no suckermouth catfish will take care of it for you. There must be another issue, such as excess lighting, overfeeding, or waste buildup. In my experience, there are no better algae eaters than Otos. They are absolutely insatiable, and two of them in a 20g should have everything clean as a whistle within a couple days. If this is not the case, you have a nutrient problem and should address the cause, not the symptom.

I ended up getting rid of my rubberlip pleco because he was a bully (it just took two days to get really territorial) and I kept the 2 otto's. They were a bit skinny, but not with a sunken stomach, and now they look pregnant. LOL! They are eating all the time. I don't have a horrible algae problem, just brown algae on some of the plastic plants (which I see they love) and some green spotted algae on the top of my driftwood.

I think Wesser or Mgamer2000 told me that I was keeping my light on for too long (I had it on for about 10 -12 hours a day) for a non-real plant tank. I've lowered it to 6 - 8 hours a day. More towards the 6 hour though.

I have left a veggie (zucchini) in a veggie clip and the otto's haven't even noticed. They might be too happy with the algae. I guess now the question is, if you know that you can get rid of the algae, what do the otto's eat after they are done cleaning the tank? Should I keep the light on longer to ensure algae growth, or will they just adapt to the veggies and algae wafers?

 

[Aislinn]

Some Otos will learn to accept foods like veggies and wafers. Others will only ever eat algae, and you have to ensure that you've got enough algae for them. You'll have to try training them to take prepared foods and see if they adapt to them.