What type of algae eater do I need?

[smackitsakic]

I have a 50 gallon tank and right now I have a common pleco in it but I have learned that I need to re-home him. I will then only have a parrot Cichlid left. I am going to be stocking my tank over the next few weeks and need to decide on algae eater(s). What do you recommend?

I am aiming to stick my tank to be a non aggressive community tank.

My water is hard (around 300). What should I use? Snails? Shrimp?

I’m still unsure of what else to stock the tank with. Rainbows? Gouramis?

 

[CassCats]

Water is too hard for gouramis, so skip those, but rainbowfish would be a good choice.

As for "algae eater" honestly best method is to keep in control of your light schedule, water change regime, and keep your feeding down.

But if you want something to help, with water that hard you are a little limited.

Plus with parrot cichlids needing 78+ you can't keep some of the plecos that would have been fine in that hardness range like rubber lip plecos, who need temperatures below 75F

 

[utahfish]

I have a 50 gallon tank and right now I have a common pleco in it but I have learned that I need to re-home him. I will then only have a parrot Cichlid left. I am going to be stocking my tank over the next few weeks and need to decide on algae eater(s). What do you recommend?

I am aiming to stick my tank to be a non aggressive community tank.

My water is hard (around 300). What should I use? Snails? Shrimp?

I’m still unsure of what else to stock the tank with. Rainbows? Gouramis?

Nerite Snails are voracious algea eaters and do great in hard water. They also won't breed in your tank. Get a few of them, then as mentioned watch feeding and lighting including outside light from windows and room lights and keep up on water changes and algae should be kept in check.

 

[Utar]

Nerite Snails are voracious algea eaters and do great in hard water. They also won't breed in your tank. Get a few of them, then as mentioned watch feeding and lighting including outside light from windows and room lights and keep up on water changes and algae should be kept in check.

I concur with the nerite snails, there are many different species to choose from. I like black racers, they are really cool.