Algae eaters??

[gmcdonald]

My tank had quite a lot of algae in it recently, so I went to my lfs and bought a couple of algae eaters. They've done an amazing job and the tank is now spotless. I am wondering if I should now put them back to the shop as I am scared that they have nothing to eat any more? However I'm also worried that if I get rid of them that the algae will come back.

Any advice??

Thanks

 

[goldfishattack]

If you take them back then algae will regrow in no time, you should keep one algae eater so you can fight against the algae re-growing.

 

[MAM]

keep them, they'll do constant maintanence and get algae before you even see it. supplement their diet with algae wafers and other plant based wafer foods. check out your lfs for foods for them. depending on what kind they are, they might even like some vegies (do a search for others posts on this topic for ideas of what kinds they'll eat)

 

[gadazobe]

What algae eaters have you got?

 

[gmcdonald]

They are Chinese Algae Eaters

 

[yhbae]

They are Chinese Algae Eaters

Arrggg... Give 'em back!

Seriously though they get big and they become more aggressive as they age, in some cases attck other fishes and even kill them...

You should look for tamer algae eaters. For me, bristlenose pl*cos are working out quite nciely...

 

[MAM]

ooo, well, if theyre chinese algae eaters, maybe you should get rid of them. alien anna can tell you all about her troubles with them.........

 

[Lateral Line]

>>>
become more aggressive as they age, in some cases attck other fishes and even kill them...
<<<

... and you forgot to mention, they usually stop eating algae as they get older!

CAE's are not good communiy fish for a typical tank.

 

[gmcdonald]

Thanks for the advice guys, I think I'd better see about getting rid of these and replacing them with some more placid ones! Are there any more aggressive ones that I should avoid?

 

[gadazobe]

It really depends on the size of your tank. Bristlenose plecs are great little things - they grow to a maximum of 4-5" and do a great job on the algae (although one of mine also does a great job on the plants ) Common plecs grow very large 15-18" when fully grown and also give up cleaning algae after a time. Ottos are great little algae eaters - a small shoal of them will do a great job for many years.

 

[Mamaschild]

Depending on how big your tank is, Siamese Algea Eaters are about the best at keeping Algea under control. I have 4 baby Albino Ansistrus (spell?) Bristlenoses (about 1") in a 40g and 2 SAE's (about 2 1/2") in another 40g. The SAE's cleaned their tank completely in less then a week (and it wasn't pretty ) but the BN's can hardly keep up with it in theirs. It's only because the BN's are still babies, mind you. Once they get a little bigger, they will wipe the algea out also.

Either way, those two are about the best around.....with the exception of Ottocinclus. Those little guys are supposed to eat algea like they have been starving for a couple months. But, they are also sensative to water conditions and not easy to acclimate to new environments. At least that is what I have been told.

Take your pick and good luck

 

[Morrgan]

I agree with Mamaschild, SAEs are great for keeping algae under control. But only if you have large tank, for they grow to 5-6 inches and are fast swimmers too. A 4 foot tank or longer will give them enough space to swim in. They also want to be in groups, with an absolute minimum of 3.

For a smaller tank, otos can be a good choice. Most of them grow to about 2 inches. I've heard that some oto species are more sensitive than others to water conditions, but I can't say anything from personal experience. I know that they are shoaling fish and want a group of 6 or more. I've also heard that lonely otos can be a little aggressive, but that they're peaceful as long as they're kept in a shoal.

 

[AttackKoala]

I don't want to take a lecturing tone, and I could be wrong but... I believe that siamese and chinese algae eaters are the same thing. I had an aglae problem so I did some reading on them and got one... unfortuately I didn't notice the "9-12 inches" under size (I got it for a 20 gallon)

 

[Morrgan]

CAEs and SAEs are not the same. I believe the scientific name for the SAE is Crossochelius siamensis and the CAE is Gyrinocheilus aymonieri. They look quite different, but the SAE is easily mistaken for Epalzeorhynchus kallopterus (don't know the English name), which is a somewhat aggressive loner and not that good at eating algae.

 

[yhbae]

If you must know the full options, here they are:

- SAE: Probably the best algae eaters IF you can find one. I have never seen a real SAE in my city, period. Also they grow quite large and aggressive. I read reports that they eat less algae when they are fully grown.

- Oto: Stays super small and good for eating brown and some green algaes. I find that they don't always eat all types of algaes though. But still always nice to have few of these since they add such a little to the overall bioload. Can be little sensitive to water condition.

- Bristlenose Pl*co: I have 4 of the albino kinds as well, about 1.5 inches each. (smaller than my Otos...). So far, they are doing a good job - they even eat the hair algae at times - the stuff Otos never touch. They do grow up to 5 inches or so, which could be too big for some tanks.

- Rosy Barb: Only good for eating hair algae when they are hungry. Buy them if you like how they look and if you have problems with hair algae...

- Amano Shrimp: From what I hear, they are one of the better algae eaters. It costs $4 per shrimp around here, so I am for now experimenting with ghost shrimp first to see if shrimps would survive in my tank. If this works, I may end up with a few.

The other options are usually either too large (when fully grown) or/and too aggressive.