Pleco For 76liter/19 Gallon Tank?

[Alps]

I've been researching BN (ancistrus) and Clown plecos (peckoltia?) and was wondering which specific species would be good for green algae and maybe some brown?

- Would a Bristlenose get to big and leave to much waste in the tank?
- what specific clown plecs would be good for algae as I've read that many aren't very good with algae?

Another option would be ottos which have done well in my 10 gallon tank (2 of them), but they don't seem to be into green algae much and don't seem to have made a difference in the algae level at all.
I've tested my 10 gallon for nitrites, nitrates, and ammonia and their all at zero.

Any suggestions for good algae eating plecs for a 76liter/19gallon long tank would be great.

 

[stang1]

Plecos will eat algae but you can't rely on them to get rid of it all.
Ottos probably are your best bet as they can do a great job with keeping your tank clean. Saying that, they won't rid you of all the algae. Sadly, most of it you'll need to clean off yourself just before you do a water change.
Ottos prefer to be in groups so I'd get at least 4 and perhaps add another 2 to your 10G tank.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Oto's make excellent algae eaters, but once you keep them, its better to always have a little algae in the tank since they do much better on a fresh algae diet than a prepared foods one IMHO. If you are looking to completely rid the tank of algae, i would much more advise finding the cause of the algae problem (after ID'ing the exact type of algae you have) and dealing with that, otherwise you can only really expect for it to keep coming back unless you deal with the root cause of the algae problem.
There are many types of algae which can be caused by a variety of things, not all algae's are caused by excessive light for example, so finding out what sort of algae you have is very important in dealing with the problem if you don't want to have algae in your tank/s.

Clown pleco's don't make good algae eaters, in the year or so i have been keeping clown plecos i have only very rarely seen them eat algae- they are primarily wood eating plecos, and to keep them healthily and successfully you really need a variety of peices of wood in the tank for them to feed off and hide in/under (like mopani/driftwood/bogwood etc). However as far as clown pleco's go, they make very attractive small little plecos and if you are simply looking for a nice little pleco that will fit in a tank of say 19gals, then they make good little plecos .
However, i would say that if you go for clown pleco's, try to go for at least 2-3 as in my honest opinion, i think they do better in groups (they seem to enjoy each others company, plus they become more active when kept in groups so you are more likely to see them out and about). The only drawback of clown plecos though is because of their woody diet, they poop an incredible ammount for such small plecos (their poop is like saw dust), so strong filtration is a must (i would advise having two filters in the tank, one at the bottom to help deal with the poop, and one at the top to help keep the rest of the water clean) .

 

[Alps]

wow, dunno about clowns then b/c of all the poop that I'll see on the white sand.
I like the look of the BN's though, especially the bushy-nose one, would they be too big for the 76 liter tank (I'm also paranoid about algae in a new tank also)? Do they need bogwood to rasp on?

- ottos will eat brown, but not green algae right?
-i'll definitely get more ottos in the 76liter tank ( hopefully 4-5 ottos + a BN?) and my 10gallon now.
- my 10gallon now has a good bit of brown and a little green algae, because I didn't plant 50% of the subrate from the start
(learned my lesson) I also hope to improve the lighting in my larger tank and plant more.

thanks Tokis and Stang

 

[dwarfgourami]

Bristlenoses also poop a fair bit. I am currently keeping a female bristlie (c. 4 inches) in a 70 ltr and I'm doing twice-weekly gravel vacs. Not impossible, but a bit messy I'd say. They are quite good at eating algae but I still have to scrape the glass from time to time. They rasp on wood to aid digestion, though they don't eat as much of it as the panaques.

 

[Rhiannon]

I find my BN is not that good of an algae eater, he is way more interested in sucking on cucumber 90% of the day, so I have on order some otto's because after reading everything on here, I see they are fantastic algae cleaners.

As for the poo, I have gravel so I dont notice it much, have never seen poo coming out of my little man, but I still keep up my 2nd weekly gravel vacs and weekly water changes.

Goodluck, but I think BN's are beautiful. My hubby and I love to watch ours.

 

[Alps]

i love watching my ottos, eventhough I only have 2 in my 10 gallon they're always together. They don't seem to make much of a dent in the algae , but maybe I need 4 or 5 of them?

- I've been asking tons of people about ottos and I still get people saying that they like brown algae, not green and visa versa. Anyone confirm either side?
-maybe I outta try amano shrimp, but they don't eat green algae right? (just dissappointing b/c amano shrimp cost almost twice as much as ottos)

 

[stang1]

To be honest, I don't know if they eat both types of algae but I do know that I don't have any in my tank at all. I have 3 ottos in my tank and it's always clean.
You are best adding 2 or 3 more as they prefer to be in groups. I am planning on adding a couple more myself when my lfs get some in.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

The oto's in my tanks eat green algae, but i never had brown algae in their tank so can't say if they prefer that more.

 

[Alps]

Well, it looks like both a BN and some otos would be good for my 19gallon/76 liter
so I'll try and go with both.

- First off do you guys think that the tank is large enough for a young BN if I get him at about 2-3"? Will he outgrow the tank?

- second if i get both otos and a BN how many ottos would you guys recommend?

thanks for all your help

 

[dwarfgourami]

Well, it looks like both a BN and some otos would be good for my 19gallon/76 liter
so I'll try and go with both.

- First off do you guys think that the tank is large enough for a young BN if I get him at about 2-3"? Will he outgrow the tank?

- second if i get both otos and a BN how many ottos would you guys recommend?

thanks for all your help

If you get both that won't leave you room for much else, also I wouldn't as otos can be sensitive to water stats. I'd go with one or the other.

 

[LisaLQ]

Yeah I agree, I'd go for one or the other. It also depends on what other fish you have in there? Or have I missed that (it's late, I probably have)...

My otos are always eating algae. But they are very sensitive fish, we bought six and only had three left within a week (and that's with perfect stats - being sensitive plecs, they can have the same problems as folks have had with their bigger cousins like the gold nugget - the gut flora dying off in transit and therefore starving to death because they have nothing to process their food with, before they get a chance to grow it back). Make sure the shop have had them in a week or two at least before you get them, just to be safe. A lot of people lose theirs because they dont have much algae in the tank, but as that's not the case with yours, that shouldn't be a problem. But the maturer the tank the better

A BN will clear some algae, well - most will - but given pleco wafers and veggies, they might just turn lazy like my two - and prefer their food handed to them

I think otos are your best bet - mine are always - and I mean always - eating!

 

[Alps]

Well, I guess I'll try some more ottos first and if they don't do to well I have a friend that will take them and I'll get a BN.

The BN with fit in the tank right?

 

[LisaLQ]

Yep - a common bn will be fine I would think, as they get to anywhere between 3-6" (my adult male is about 4-5" max including tail). There are some ancistrus species that get bigger, but they're not that common in LFS