I Need Info... A Place To Start

[ICEEGRL]

I need a good algae eater that will not get big and that will work in planted tanks.
I was looking at the list pinned above. Does anyone know which ones won't eat or destroy plants?
I can't find ottos or bristle noses anywhere around here. I need to find out what my other options are.

Thanks for helping!

 

[nakomis90]

I need a good algae eater that will not get big and that will work in planted tanks.
I was looking at the list pinned above. Does anyone know which ones won't eat or destroy plants?
I can't find ottos or bristle noses anywhere around here. I need to find out what my other options are.

Thanks for helping!

I also looking for something like that for my girl sorority tank!

 

[jollysue]

A decent LPS/LFS will order for you and sell them to you at their normal retail. The fish will come in with the shop's regular shipment. The best I think for planted tanks where some stem plants may be at risk is some species of oto. There is more than one species available. I have given up on keeping them myself, because I am just not good with them. I have tried several times and they always disappear a little at a time.

There are also several varieties of BN. They can harm stem plants when they sit on them to eat off the algae. My marbles actually seem to be grazing--at least someone is--on my Java moss.

 

[ICEEGRL]

I found a place that will order. Now I have to decide which I want and how many. I am taking a tank full of corys to them in the morning and ordering my fish. That means I have to decide tonight what I want.
I just can't decide which ones. I like so many of them. I have to quit thinking about what will look good and concentrate on what will do the best job and live well in my tanks.

 

[indigoj]

Don't rely on a plec to eat algae. Some will - Bristlenose for example - but they also need other food and many of the smaller species will not eat algae at all.

A group of Otos will eat algae and probably will not harm your plants but they can be very delicate - I won't have them again as mine just slowly vanished over about 2 months for no real reason.

Whatever you get remember it will need other food as well. Many plecs (inc Otos and Bristlenose) love veggies like courgette, sweet potato etc. Some need wood in their diet (softer bogwood not mopani) and others need a meatier diet.

Best thing for removing algae? A bit of scrubbing and a uv filter. Plecs are wonderful to keep, but not the best of cleaners!

 

[jollysue]

You could try a large group of otos. I put 25 in my 100 usg and they cleaned it up wonderfully--while disappearing one by one. There is a larger species of oto. They many be hardier. Honestly some people do really well with otos and actually breed them with no effort. Check with Carmen and Alex. One of your planted tanks with few other fish and all to the otos, would possibly suit them. It is worth at least one try.

Algae discs are the suppliment for the herbavores. When I am too lazy to do veggies, they go for the discs. As a matter of fact the marbles and starlights ignore the cucumber. Maybe I will try them on some sweet potato. indigoj.

I would concentrate on BN and otos. Getting algae off of plants is not easily done by hand. My BN do keep my glass clean and the albino BN in the 25 usg have never allowed any algae on the plants (but the Synos will eat some soft leaf plants.) As I said my lf marble BN would rather graze on my moss than eat the algae on the glass, but they have controlled tha bloom I had in their 40 usg. I had an advanced bloom in the 100 usg, and I have been combating it for some time. I have a uv, two 5" starlight BN, and have finished changing the bulbs to new ones in that tank. I can slowly see a dent--there is no more algae on the glass and the big clumps are gone or reduced to reasonable size, but many of my plants are still at risk.

 

[Esfa]

Otos, amano shrimp, zebra nerite snails, ramshorn snails, bn plecs, bulldog plecs...

All will do well in a planted tank.

 

[ICEEGRL]

Can any one tell me about pitbull plecs? How are they? From what I have read they are fond of green algae and not bad about eating plants. Any one know if that is true?
Thanks

 

[Esfa]

Mine never ate my plants, but then again it was only in the tank for 5 days before it died..

They don't get large, and I think they prefer to be in a group.

 

[ICEEGRL]

I heard that the pitbulls are very good for eating green algae. Is this true?
Anything bad I need to know about them?

Thanks for helping.