Is There A Cold Water Pleco Or Similar Algae Eater?

[fishnovice]

Is there a cold waterequivalent of a pleco or similar algae eater? My large outdoor tank although kept in shade has green algae on sides which I'm fed up of scraping. There is also lots of debris on the bottom. Other than that , water is clear and clean and fish (3in golden rudd) are healthy. Last test showed pH same as tap water and no nitrite.

 

[smoggs]

my lfs suggested to somebody that could put a heater at 15oC into their tank and buy a normal common plec but what good it will do to both plec and goldies i wouldnt want to guess

 

[Nick16]

look at a hill stream loach, i dont know if the eat algae, but they look cool

do some research first. google is your friend.

 

[Truck]

hill stream loaches are very hard to care for...unless your tank provides the same conditions as a river it wont last long

 

[Nick16]

really? i kept mine in a 3.5ft tank (120L) at 20C with a ph of about 7. i had it well oxygentaed and with stong flow and it did great, munching algae and eating veggies.

 

[Truck]

really? i kept mine in a 3.5ft tank (120L) at 20C with a ph of about 7. i had it well oxygentaed and with stong flow and it did great, munching algae and eating veggies.

the key to keeping the healthy is strong flow and when I say strong...river type flow. lots of oxygen and algae will also keep them healthy...a shallow tank is beneficial too

 

[sheag35]

hill stream loaches are very hard to care for...unless your tank provides the same conditions as a river it wont last long

as long as the tank is highly airated the hill stream loach is fine as it does need a high oxygen content in the water and preferably a strong flow which fancy goldfish will not appreciate and if this isn't so then as truckasauras123 said they wont last long, alternatively the Japanese weather loach is another option but if the tank is overfed in the slightest it wont touch algae as it wont have to search out food if your providing more than enough.

 

[RadaR]

There is also lots of debris on the bottom.

Hence your algae problem. Limit the organic decaying matter in the tank and you reduce algae. Limiting the light will also help.

 

[fishnovice]

There is also lots of debris on the bottom.

Hence your algae problem. Limit the organic decaying matter in the tank and you reduce algae. Limiting the light will also help.

Thanks everyone for your ideas but I need to clarify the situation. When I say coldwater algae eater I mean COLD (not 15'+ indoors!) Size is no problem as it will end up in a pond but the pleco will have to survive a London winter outside where it can snow sometimes every other year (though I could always bring catfish indoors for a week if it freezes). So, does anyone know of any algae eating cats (maybe from China/Japan/ North America) who can live happily outside at 8 'C ?


The tank is outside in the garden with NO access to electricity so any form of heater or fancy "river effect" current device is out of the question Currently housing some small rudd who will be moved to a pond I'm planning next year when they are bigger. The tank has a cover on top to keep out light but even in shade enough light gets in from tank sides to cause algae problem. Don't think it's overfeeding as fish greedily consume all their floating pellets in a couple of minutes. Also noticed that any bucket etc with a little tap or rainwater in it left outside goes green in a few days -even in the absence of fish poo!

 

[shadowspar]

plecos arent very good algae eaters at all they much rather eat plants and leftovers. but a pleco that could do good in colder temps would be the snowking pleco and also the common pleco would be next in line. ive kept snow kings before they did fine in the winter had them for a few years, though they were about 2ft in length each.

 

[Spishkey]

yeah but once most common plecs hit a certain size they no longer eat algae!!! you'd be better treating the cause rather than finding a quick temporary fix. less light, less debris in the bottom...buy some apple snails or pond snails.....they are what i use in my outdoor pond to munch algae!! you might have to bring them in (apple snails anyway) when its cold.

 

[fishnovice]

yeah but once most common plecs hit a certain size they no longer eat algae!!! you'd be better treating the cause rather than finding a quick temporary fix. less light, less debris in the bottom...buy some apple snails or pond snails.....they are what i use in my outdoor pond to munch algae!! you might have to bring them in (apple snails anyway) when its cold.

Thanks. Light is ineveitable outdoors but I like the snail idea. What big algae eating snails can survive outdoors in winter?

plecos arent very good algae eaters at all they much rather eat plants and leftovers. but a pleco that could do good in colder temps would be the snowking pleco and also the common pleco would be next in line. ive kept snow kings before they did fine in the winter had them for a few years, though they were about 2ft in length each.

OK thanks. I'll look into snowkings then

 

[3ndl3r]

To be honest, plecs dont eat that much algae, they'd rather munch on leftovers or decaying plant matter.

You could try Barley extract. Works wonders.

James