Best Algae Eater For A Planted Tank?

[trojannemo]

i need some suggestions for algae eating fish for my upcoming planted tank.
i'm going to change the substrate, begin a liquid dosing regime and later on in the year add CO2 and more light into the system.

here are the fish I am planning to keep:

- neon and cardinal tetras (possibly 6 and 6)
- turquoise and boesemani rainbows (2 & 2, or 3 & 3, haven't decided)
- one clown loach that I already have and am keeping
- one red wag platy I have and i'm keeping as well.


i would love (really LOVE) gold algae eaters but in my past experience 1) they have become too aggressive for my other fish 2) they haven't done much in the way of cleaning algae. i've had 3 gold algae eaters and 2 chinese ones in the past, so i think my experience is enough to say no to them?

so then I decided to try plecos. right now I have a regular plecostomus and a clown pleco. they have done wonders for the algae in my woods and filters, but 1) regular pleco grows way too big so i'll have to return him 2) clown pleco is eating my wood and poops WAY too much. so i'll be returning both plecos.

i found a store by chance (far from home but i can make it there) that stocks both flying foxes and siamese algae eaters. now these are what I would like to try, but am i going to end up with another disappointment like with the GAE and CAE?


essentially, which would be the best fish to get that will 1) eat any and all algae in any and all surfaces in the tank 2) not damage plants 3) not devour my wood 4) not poop exponentially their body weight like the clown pleco 5) do well in a pair rather than a big school

thanks guys and girls!

 

[monkeywobbler]

Hiya! I had a slight problem recently with algae and decided I needed to do something about it too. I didn't see the size of your tank, but mine's a Rio 180 so I can't go for anything big.
I decided on a Whiptail Catfish as they don't get too big and they look pretty cool. After about 3 days, he'd eaten all the algae in the tank and not one leaf was munched on. He doesn't produce much waste and he's really, really cute. I'd recommend them!

Monkey

 

[BigIan]

Bristle noses are amazing algae destroyers. and quite fun to watch....

 

[trojannemo]

Hiya! I had a slight problem recently with algae and decided I needed to do something about it too. I didn't see the size of your tank, but mine's a Rio 180 so I can't go for anything big.
I decided on a Whiptail Catfish as they don't get too big and they look pretty cool. After about 3 days, he'd eaten all the algae in the tank and not one leaf was munched on. He doesn't produce much waste and he's really, really cute. I'd recommend them!

Monkey

i actually had a Farlowella Cat once. i thought it was the coolest thing but unfortunately it died within hours a very horrible death. to this day i dont know what caused his death and that's why im afraid to get another one...but i had thought about them 'cause they are very unique

both of ya suggested plecos...huh. the last store i went to (to this day the biggest and most impressive fish-only store i've seen) said plecos werent really the answer to algae as they eat more wood than algae so now i'm confused

 

[monkeywobbler]

Hiya! I had a slight problem recently with algae and decided I needed to do something about it too. I didn't see the size of your tank, but mine's a Rio 180 so I can't go for anything big.
I decided on a Whiptail Catfish as they don't get too big and they look pretty cool. After about 3 days, he'd eaten all the algae in the tank and not one leaf was munched on. He doesn't produce much waste and he's really, really cute. I'd recommend them!

Monkey

i actually had a Farlowella Cat once. i thought it was the coolest thing but unfortunately it died within hours a very horrible death. to this day i dont know what caused his death and that's why im afraid to get another one...but i had thought about them 'cause they are very unique

both of ya suggested plecos...huh. the last store i went to (to this day the biggest and most impressive fish-only store i've seen) said plecos werent really the answer to algae as they eat more wood than algae so now i'm confused

Well I can't speak for his experience, but mine hasn't really touched the wood - maybe because he's too small - however if he did it'd take a heck of a lot of sucking for him to eat my bogwood

 

[the Guru]

I have a bristle nose in my planted tank, it totaly destroys the algae but the amount of waste it produces is insane

 

[aaronnorth]

BN are your only option that eat all algae, otherwise it is ottos.

You have to look why you are getting algae, it is possible to have a tank with almost no algae at all! Take a look in my sig then see which algae you are getting, and how it is caused.

 

[trojannemo]

BN are your only option that eat all algae, otherwise it is ottos.

You have to look why you are getting algae, it is possible to have a tank with almost no algae at all! Take a look in my sig then see which algae you are getting, and how it is caused.

up until now my algae has always resulted from lack of nutrients, leading to totally bottomed-out nitrates. now with this new attempt to do it "right" I hope to maintain algae down to a minimum. but I still would like to have my bases covered with at least one algae eater in the tank.

I am going to be getting ottos for my male betta tank as I have heard wonders. for my main tank on the other hand, i'd say they'd look too small no?

the tank is 38G (36x12x20 i think)...if i were to do ottos, how many would i need so that they would efficiently cover the entire tank? (nevermind stocking levels)

thanks for all the help so far guys

 

[hellohefalump]

My flying foxes do a good job, as do my otos.

 

[Nick16]

to do an effective job you would need at least 8 ottos. i have 5 in my tank and they dont quite eat it all. considering getting an albino BN. if they eat brown algae. diatom?

 

[trojannemo]

to do an effective job you would need at least 8 ottos. i have 5 in my tank and they dont quite eat it all.

thats exactly my concern...8 of them is just too much!

how good are the flying foxes? what about the SAEs? (they are NOT the same!)...


im now between one farlowella or 2-3 of the above (either species. not mixed)...comments on this?

 

[hellohefalump]

I only put my flying foxes (2) in my 100gal a week ago and already the algae on my java fern windelov is receding. They're spending a lot of their time eating!

SAEs tend to get rather unfriendly to other fish as they get older, I'd advise against them.

The bulldog plec is meant to be a good algae eater

 

[Socks]

I only put my flying foxes (2) in my 100gal a week ago and already the algae on my java fern windelov is receding. They're spending a lot of their time eating!

SAEs tend to get rather unfriendly to other fish as they get older, I'd advise against them.

The bulldog plec is meant to be a good algae eater

I've heard the other way around.Flying foxes are more agressive and slow down or even stop eating algea as they get older.Again may want to check that out becasue it's only what I've read here and there.
I do have 3 true SAE's tho and they do a really good job of eating algea,they even keep that horrible hair and beard algea's down to 0.They do get a little cranky with each other from time to time but in a 70 gallon with alot of plants and bogwood they get away and cool off fast.They have never chased or harassed any of the other fish in the tank,they preaty much just ignore everyone eles.Two of them have been together for over 2 years and the third was snatched up from the lfs about 4 months ago.True SEA's are sally a bit hard to find so gota grab them while you can!

 

[Loony Fish]

rainbow sharks will graze on algea, not destroy it, my hyposamus plecostamus does a great job and wont touch my sword plant...

 

[fattikins]

I know you said fish...but have you considered malaysian trumpet snails? I've heard they scavenge and eat algae and do all the good beneficial stuff! The only thing is that if you were to get them, you would need to get rid of the clown loach...