Best Algae Eater

[ravekiss]

Whats the best algae eater for a 10g? Other occupants are platies, cories, guppies & 1 Gourami. I need to get rid of the brown algae forming to the tips of my plastic plants. I have lights on at least 12-14 hours a day.

 

[Phantom Thief]

Try a few otos

P.T.

 

[ravekiss]

The thing is my lfs doesnt have any ottos.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi ravekiss

Even thought they are tiny, otos do an excellent job of cleaning algae, and when it is gone they will happily eat zucchini and other green vegetables. A few weeks ago I was finally able to buy some and I got a dozen of them. Within just a few days that algae was entirely gone from the tank.

I had been wanting them for a long time and was happy to finally see them again. I have noticed that my lfs seems to go for long periods of time without them. This usually happens because some fish are only available at certain times of the year.

If your lfs is part of a chain, you might be out of luck, but if there is an independent one near you, you can tell them you are interested and ask them to order some. Most good lfs will do this,

Good luck finding them. They are worth the effort to seek them out.

 

[coryd]

I hear great things about otos. I plan on getting some soon. They stay small so they won't outgrow your tank. There does seem to be an abundance of them available right now. Be sure to slowly acclimate them to your tank, they are not very hardy. GOOD LUCK

 

[Sharkychris]

I recently got an Oto too, like a small hoover it is... also what about some japonica shrimp? they do a great scavenging job and keep plants clean without eating them, cool to watch as well

 

[FoundMoney]

If you have plastic plants why do you leave the lights on for 12 hours a day? Wouldn't it cut down on algae growth if you cut down on the amount of light?

 

[ravekiss]

I'm usually at work for more than 9 hours so I leave put the lights on before I leave. The tank is in the basement, I spend most of my time down there, so its dark there all day.

 

[WILDER]

I wanted some otto's but couldn't get any, i'm glad as I have pit bull plecs and i'm really happy with them.

 

[Nisha]

Hi ravekiss,

Brown algae is often caused by lack of light and is quite common during tank start ups. Leave the lights on for as long as you can for now. Just make sure to wipe your plants off as often as you can and do regular water changes.

I would recommend Otos too but since you can't get them you might try getting some algae eating shrimp. Perhaps 3 or more would be enough for your size tank.

Hope this helps.

~Nisha

 

[FoundMoney]

Brown algae is often caused by lack of light and is quite common during tank start ups.

Shows you how much I know!

 

[Captain Canuck]

I'm usually at work for more than 9 hours so I leave put the lights on before I leave. The tank is in the basement, I spend most of my time down there, so its dark there all day.

You could get a timer for your lights, thereby reducing the hours per day that your lights are on. I have one for all my tanks, they are great because you don't have to worry about forgetting to turn the lights on or off (which I had done many times).

 

[The-Wolf]

Brown algae is often caused by lack of light and is quite common during tank start ups.

sorry nisha
brown algea is not an algea but a diatom

the best way of dealing with it is to increase the light levels, either adding more light or keeping existing light on for longer.

otos will eat itas will apple snails.

 

[Nospherith]

aren't ottos aggresive/territorial? or is that just the CAE's?

 

[WILDER]

Ottos are not that's the cae's.