Good Algae Eating Fish?

[AshleySpatula]

I have a 20g (US) with six black neon tetras, 2 glowlight danios and two golden rams

I have tons of snails but they are all MTS and don't clean the glass at all

I am working on adding more plants. (just ordered proper lighting)

I will be adding at least 4 more glowlight danios (when I find em!) and maybe a few more tetras.

I would like either one medium sized algae eating fish or a few small ones, but don't know what to get.
I am not too partial to plecos most I think are ugly

I was thinking ottos, but would they be ok in a group as small as 3? When I was researching setting up my puffer tank
some folks suggested 3 ottos and two DP's for a 10g so thats why I was thinking they would be good?

Or maybe some SAE's?

Also if it makes any difference on stocking I am running the filter for the 20g and another filter for a 10g

Thanks for any help!!

 

[paw-paw]

I would suggest you to get ottos - they are really well at cleaning the algae.
Some people will say they are prone to just dieing for no reason but i have actually found them to be quiet hardy...

I did find out however that different species of ottos have different shoaling behaviour. The ottos I bought first don't shoal together at all or very occasionally, while the second batch of ottos (who are now in my Q tank) which are of a different species are always sticking together...

 

[AshleySpatula]

Thanks for the info, My tetras were not shoaling at all until I added the rams. now even the two danios shoal with them, It's crazy
I was thinking ottos too.

 

[Gazoo]

I am not too partial to plecos most I think are ugly

I used to think plecos were fugly looking like this dog

but I learned to love to look of them.

 

[The Mighty Boosh]

I've just got a few Siamese Flying Foxes and I really think they're great - handsome fish, very sociable and happy, and I believe very good algae eaters too

I also have 2 Oto's in another tank, and to be honest I never see them, they seem to hide behind the heater all day and I presume only come out at night - which seems kind of pointless having them really!

The only point I'll make is that the foxes grow to a good 10-12 cm's so might not fit into your small category, I love them though and they get my recommendation!!!

 

[rdd1952]

Thanks for the info, My tetras were not shoaling at all until I added the rams. now even the two danios shoal with them, It's crazy

Shoaling is actually what fish do for safety. In our tanks, once they realize there isn'tathreat to them, they will pretty much go their separate ways.

As for the algae eater, it really depends on the type algae you have. Different fish eat different types of algae. Otos are very delicate and are prone to sudden deaths. I have had no luck with them. They seemed to really eat algae like crazy at first (they particularly love the brown algae that is common in new tanks) and then quit eating once the algae is gone. I tried veggies and algae wafers but had no luck.

You might want to consider amano shrimp. They are very active and eat several types of algae.

 

[rchambers]

Amano Shrimp don't seem to eat algae off of the glass though. I beleive ottos are sensitive to being acclimatised but once settled in the tank they are supposed to be quite hardy.