Need a Cleanup Crew

JPMcQueen said:

Hi, I have a 550L aquarium and i need algae eaters. The algae I have is a combination of brown and green algae on rocks and to a lesser extent on the glass.

I have a couple of nerite snails but they well, work at a snails pace.

Plecos are out because I keep goldfish and it cant be guaranteed that the wont attack the fish for the slime coat

My local store and a few other people have suggested hillstream loach but the view is mixed on flow needs etc.

Any ideas?

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essjay said:

Chinese algae eaters have a reputation for stopping eating algae as they mature, and they have been known to start eating the slime coat off other fish. Personally I'd rather go with a plec of some sort.

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essjay said:

Chinese algae eaters have a reputation for stopping eating algae as they mature, and they have been known to start eating the slime coat off other fish. Personally I'd rather go with a plec of some sort.

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PheonixKingZ said:

An easy fix is to get some floating plants. I have salvinia and a tad bit of frog bit in my 10g betta tank and I have little to no algae. I sometimes remove a lot just so the snails/shrimp can have a natural food source.
[/ I’m a little confused @PheonixKingZ. First you said it was your pleco that got your algae off then you said with floating plants that you have no algae. Which is best?

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WhistlingBadger said:

Common plecos get BIIIIIIG, even for this size of tank. And once they grow up, they don't eat that much algae. My experience with Chinese algae eaters is similar to what others have said: They get big, mean, lazy, and don't really eat much algae.

My favorite algae eating fish are panda garras. They have a ton of personality, they're friendly and mostly peaceful, and they really do a job on algae. They seem comfortable in a fairly wide range of water temps, too, although they aren't a true cold-water fish. You'd need a pretty big school for a tank this size, but big schools are fun.

Better yet: Get a master test kit and keep a close eye on your nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia (these can all be addressed with cycling, water changes, plants, and/or reduced feeding). Try using less light, or giving the lights a break for a few hours in the middle of the day. Fish will help with algae, but usually a big algae bloom points to some imbalance in your ecosystem, Until you figure that out, adding more fish is as likely to increase the problem as solve it.

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