Identifying Siamese Algae Eater

[Essjay]

Otocinclus need intestinal bacteria to break down cellulose to the fish can digest it. When they are starved too long (in transit, shop tanks etc), the bacteria die and when the otos are finally fed they can't digest their food.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Siamese Algae eater, bit of a misnomer really as far as I've heard and read about these.

Quoted from Seriously Fish -

"‘Crossocheilus siamensis’ (see ‘Notes’) is famed as a consumer of ‘black brush’ algae (BBA), also known as ‘red’ or ‘beard’ algae. These members of the Division Rhodophyta can be otherwise difficult to remove once established in aquaria so the ‘species’ has achieved huge popularity among hobbyists who maintain planted set-ups.


Presumably this saleability is also one reason why several fishes, including C. langei, are offered under the name. These do browse on BBA but to varying extents depending on species and in some cases the availability of alternative food sources. C. atrilimes, for example, shows a preference for fine-leaved, higher plants such as Vesicularia spp. but will also feed on various types of algae. C. langei sensu amplo is the most efficient consumer of BBA although some reports state that only younger, softer growths are eaten and that the fish should be introduced prior to any potential outbreak."

Crossocheilus langei – Siamese Algae Eater (Crossocheilos langei, SAE) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

Also SAE grows pretty big actually, 5 to 6 inches which means you'll eventually need a tank of around 285litres/75 US gals

But the real fact of the matter is, essjay touched on this, is that you should not rely on fish, shrimps and snails as CUC (Clean Up Crews) to deal with algae, this is always best done by you and resolving WHY the tank has algae in the first place.

And then following through with treatment to resolve the algae issue, usually falls to an imbalance of lights, ferts and even the flow can all contribute to algae issues.

BBA is particularly difficult to get rid of once it has established in your tank, I've had this before and it's a royal pain, in the end I removed and replaced ALL my plants that had even the faintest hint of BBA and cleaning tank glass etc and a big water change once had done all that in one day, a lot of trouble tbh.

And I have found since, it was a combination of my water flow being too soft or nonexstent in certain areas of the tank, called dead spots, and too much light contributed to this, so lowered my light time from 8.5 hours to 7.5 hours, and increased flow from my filters and rearranged some of the tank decor to eradicate these dead spots which after a week or two led to my BBA problem being solved.

 

[BoomerXIV]

Hi!

Thanks for the input I really appreciate it! As for using algae eater I never meant to only rely on them to fix my algae problem, I only want them to help me eating some algae that I may missed when cleaning it. As for the problem I suspect it's because of Lighting, since my brother in law sleep here my tank essentially become his "night lamp" So my lighting schedule is really screwed