Wanted: Algae Eater!

[cornishgiant]

I'm in the process of getting up and running with my first tank, a 130L tall tank. My aim is to have a medium planted tetra tank.

At the moment I have 8 black phantom tetras and 6 diamond tetras, which is enough for now. B)

At some point in the not too distant future it is likely that I'll get some algae growth.

What algae eater would be suitable, bearing in mind the size of my tank and it's other inhabitants?

 

[kris-b-]

snails (Malaysian trumpet snails) or maybe some shrimp

 

[debiasir]

maybe a Bristle nose plec mine does wonders with algea

 

[modernhamlet]

Otocinclus catfish. Nothing is more efficient against the standard algaes.

 

[andywg]

If you have no algae now, you have no need for an algae eater.

A tank does not have to have algae, it is caused by an imbalance in nutrients. If you like the planted look then check that end of the forum out and you should be able to stop algae from appearing (and if you don't, those guys know the best ways to get rid of it without resorting to animals).

 

[daza]

Rubbernose Pleco (aka Bulldog).

Not great algae eaters mind you, but they stay small.

 

[Torrean]

What makes you say they are not very good algae eaters? My gf has one and he does a great job. Are there particular algae that they don't like? Rubbernose/rubberlip/bulldog pleco incase you didn't know which fish I was talking about.

how to deal with algae
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=95077

what algae eater should I get
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=101658

 

[daza]

What makes you say they are not very good algae eaters? My gf has one and he does a great job. Are there particular algae that they don't like? Rubbernose/rubberlip/bulldog pleco incase you didn't know which fish I was talking about.
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Because mine is often grazing on the algae (rocks/glass/etc) but doesn't clean much up. It tends to stay put in one place for a long time. I suppose it would depend on how much algae you get though. If you only get a little bit then they might clean it all up, but I get quite a lot.

 

[soritan]

It would also depend on what type of algae you get. If you have an abundance of beard algae, an otto or 'hungry molly', might not do you much good.

I find it's better to think of algae eaters as fish who happen to enjoy an existing circumstance in my tank, rather than a solution to a problem. My otto and my shrimps help me with most of my algae, but my beard algae remains rampant, and my slight BGA problem only rectified myself when I changed out filters (don't ask ).

 

[JDS]

I had a common plec who did a brilliant job on algae ... but I didnt really notice, til i had to rehome him (he got too big) ...

The algae really began to build up again within a couple of weeks.
I bought a small bristlenose plec last Friday (very cute little fella in an ugly kinda way ) and by Sunday, 95% of the visible algae had gone.

 

[kris-b-]

The bad side of having a plec is the amount of waste that they produce.

 

[morgan]

A Common Pleco would be a brilliant algae eater (mine is) but would get too large for your present tank. And apparently they stop eating algae when they are older. Also they do grow quickly in their first year. Mine went from 2-3 inches to 10 inches in seven months. You could try a Golden Apple Snail. I have one, when my new tank is running I am going to put another one in.