Any algae eaters besides plecs?

[PunkRock050]

I need a couple algae eaters in my 55 but I dont really want a plec. I have had bad luck with trying to get them to eat for me. Are there any other fish that would be compatible with my Malawi's? What about the siamese algae eaters?

 

[impur]

You could try them. A lot of Malawi's are vegetarians. They eat algae as well as plants. So they compete with the plecos. If you need to feed a pleco, best bet is to drop an algae disc into the tank about 30 min after lights out.

 

[Flippin'thing bit me eye]

Are your Malawi's Haps or Mbunas, if Mbunas then you should try a golden algae eater, they are fairly tough and pretty fast and very nice to look at.

 

[PunkRock050]

Theyre Mbunas, got any links for me?

I know I could search myself but im laaazy heheh

 

[Flippin'thing bit me eye]

here,
A little link above, I have kept loads of these guys and they will keep eating algae when mature.

 

[YngUrbanCMH]

What about synodontis (sp?) I also really like ottocinclus, they're so small and fast that other fish seem to tolerate them.... at least my krib's ignore them. Anythen else that goes near their cave gets severely heckled.

 

[Flippin'thing bit me eye]

Syno's hmmmm well not very well known for algae control but I think the decorus likes a fair bit o' the green stuff.

 

[cichlid_freak]

The thing with most Plecs is that they are NOT solely algea eaters. They need other stuff, most algea waffers are formulated to give a variety of plant matter, also you may find that you plec may like your cichlid pellets. The key to keeping plecs is knowing that you need to feed it more than just the little bit of algea growing on the rocks. Some hardcore mbuna keepers prefer to allow algea to grow up on the rocks and just clean it off the glass. This provides natural food for the mbuna. In this situation, you wouldn't want a plecko. Also, all plecs come from south america, so they are not exactly biotypical of a Lake Malawi tank, I say this, but I have a clown plec (it stays small and hides most of the time) in my Lake Tanganyka tank.

 

[Xenity7]

Cichlid Freak's right your plants will get shredded if you go with pleco's. I have an Algae Eater and he only eats algae, they harass slow moving fish though so watch out. they get large and aggressive too

 

[Alien Anna]

What about synodontis (sp?) I also really like ottocinclus, they're so small and fast that other fish seem to tolerate them.... at least my krib's ignore them. Anythen else that goes near their cave gets severely heckled.

Synodontis are insectivores - sorry!

 

[YngUrbanCMH]

Hey, how do people feed insectivores?

 

[Alien Anna]

Hey, how do people feed insectivores?

Frozen and fresh bloodworms, daphnia, brine shrimps etc. Freeze-dried bloodworms, various flake and pelleted foods. That sort of thing.

 

[-=DG=-]

My sae is perfect with m y malawi as he fights back

 

[Alien Anna]

My sae is perfect with m y malawi as he fights back

But I thought you just said he was a CAE, a Chinese Algae Eater? Which is he? I have an SAE in my community tank. He's great and although a little territorial, he tends to rule the bottom of the tank while my gourami rules the top. I would not describe him as aggressive.

I notice someone mentioned a "Golden Algae Eater". I believe that's another euphemism for the infamous Chinese Algae Eater (CAE), Gyrinocheilus aymonieri. I got caught out like that when I bought a pair of CAEs for my tank, planning to let them eat the algae. I was fooled because the shop called them "Golden Sucking Loaches". I had gone into the shop intending to buy a dwarf plec (which they told me didn't exist) or an SAE, Crossocheilus siamensis. They savaged my other fish and I returned them to a different LFS a few days later.