good algae eaters

[i love planted tanks]

does anyone know of some realy good algae eaters that eats a lot of algae and dont get no bigger than 4-5 inchs big?

[@marko@]

you just gave the exact description of a SAE (siamese algae eater). careful though, lots of sellers try to give you a look-alike instead. if you want i can give you some tips on how to tell its a true SAE.

[Ozymandias]

oto cats though thay can be picky about the algae. also bristtlenose plecos don't get bigger then that i think. there are other people who could help. (i would also say SAE but not sure how big thay get) also looks at nerite snails

[@marko@]

they get from 4-4.5 inches.

[dthb4438]

I was just reading a post on nerite snails. It was just posted. Also it depends on what kind of algae. Different algae, different critters.

[Gar]

Panda Garras actually eat algae really well, too.

Though they can be a bit aggressive at times. :x

[Natty]

Plecos (till they get big, I have a small one that is very useful and nice)

SAEs (Find a thread from me that has SAE in the title, talks about how to find true saes and not fake ones) (Note: Has been known to go for certain plants and mosses. I think you can lessen this problem by feeding them regularly. If you want to take them out of a tank, its also a bit hard to catch them because they're smart and fast. They are active algae eaters but will prefer REAL food, I don't blame them)

Oto (They're pretty cute and small and one of the most harmless, but their usefuless is lacking due to their size, they're still pretty good)

Shrimps (They're great but more sensitive to water chemistry. Some common ones used are cherry shrimps and amanos. The more shrimps, the better the clean up)

Snails (One of the more useful, more efficient algae eaters. Pros is that they eat algae better and seem to take care of the hard algaes that stick to your glass surfaces. Cons is that if they're hungry, they will most likely go after live plants and once you dont want them anymore, GOOD LUCK! You'll need it to get rid of them, some easier to exterminate than others. Some will also lay a lot of eggs on your glass or plant surfaces)

-----

I'm currently keeping balloon mollies and they seem to do a pretty good job cleaning my flame moss from algae as they peck at it often. They don't eat the moss either.

But the best moss cleaner IMO I would say is a swarm of shrimps. I've never seem moss more cleaner and healthier than with a swarm of cherry red shrimps.

[pope_luke]

Originally Posted by @marko@

you just gave the exact description of a SAE (siamese algae eater). careful though, lots of sellers try to give you a look-alike instead. if you want i can give you some tips on how to tell its a true SAE.

It seems important to point out that it's quite possible that a seller doesn't know the difference, and isn't actually trying to trick you. When I bought my SAE, it was actually mixed along with Chinese Algae Eaters, but both were marked as Flying Foxes, of which none of them were. It might be hard to figure this bunch out, but I gotta say, the one I managed to get that actually was a real one turns out to be a better cleaner than I could have ever hoped for.
Ditto what Natty said about them eating mosses. My java moss should be renamed Bare Thread Moss.

[Lupin]

Originally Posted by Natty

Plecos (till they get big, I have a small one that is very useful and nice)

You're forgetting most Ancistrus grow no more than 5 inches.

SAEs (Find a thread from me that has SAE in the title, talks about how to find true saes and not fake ones) (Note: Has been known to go for certain plants and mosses. I think you can lessen this problem by feeding them regularly. If you want to take them out of a tank, its also a bit hard to catch them because they're smart and fast. They are active algae eaters but will prefer REAL food, I don't blame them)

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums...d.php?t=132241

Don't forget a few others.
Jordanella floridae-These are not suitable for community tanks where placid fish dominate. They can be semi-aggressive and may harass other fish. These are nevertheless effective in consuming BBA.

Garra flavatra-I have four of these currently. They're indeed effective in consuming algae like all other Garras.

Perhaps these links will convince you to keep cypriniformes.
http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic....hlight=morleti
http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic....hlight=#115625

[Natty]

Originally Posted by Bluebell

You're forgetting most Ancistrus grow no more than 5 inches.

Yeah I already know bristle noses stay small but I'm talking about other types of Plecostomus which in many times grow quite bigger.

I'm not very fond of bristle noses, because when they get bigger they don't eat much algae and they tend to damage my plants, at least in my experience. I've just had a bad experience with bristle nose plecos and IMO they aren't as good looking. My sailfin, even after 1 and a half years of feeding, is still only 4 inches and is still doing a sweet job.

[Homer_Simpson]

FWIW and IME

Amano Shrimps: They say shrimp are the most sensitive to water quality. When it comes to Amano Shrimp I have seen them survive in tanks where other fish died. Why that may be or is, I have no idea. I would have expected the opposite. Not only do Amano Shrimp consume algae, I have also seen them consume dead plant matter which if not all siphoned sometimes tend to feed algae due to organic matter breakdown and can fuel ammonia spikes.

Otocats: No one can match the diatom consuming skills of otocats. I have seen Amano Shrimp clear a tank of diatom algae, but they don't nearly do as as quickly as otocats. While otocats are cute, I find them to be too sensitive and it took me a while of repeat purchases to find ones that survived longer than a month or two.

Bristlenose Pleco: I have never had a problem with mine. He continues to consume algae and I have yet to see him damage any plants.

Siamese Algae Eater: This is the only fish that I observed grazing on and devouring the Black Brush/Black Beard Algae in my 40 gallon. His/Her hard work actually helped control and eventually eliminate the breakout. So far, he has not got lazy, but time will tell.


My suggestion, get an army of Amano Shrimp, Bristlenose Pleco, and if your tank is large enough a Siamese Algae Eater. Note: The Siamese Algae Eater will exceed 4-5 inches so you may have to cross that one off your list of potential candidates.

[@marko@]

they dont exceed 4-5 inches. i have had one that i think is a male and he topped off at 4.5 a year ago. my other one who is plumper and eats more (just like the females of most fish, thus making me believe it is a she), she is 4 and her growth slowed dramatically and i think she wont get bigger then 4.5 either.

[DaveS]

Originally Posted by @marko@

they dont exceed 4-5 inches. i have had one that i think is a male and he topped off at 4.5 a year ago. my other one who is plumper and eats more (just like the females of most fish, thus making me believe it is a she), she is 4 and her growth slowed dramatically and i think she wont get bigger then 4.5 either.

That may or may not be typical, but I had one pass away earlier this year that measured at 6.5 inches, so I would say they can and do get larger than 4.5".

Dave

[@marko@]

REALLY!? thats AWESOME! i never heard of a SAE that grew over 5.5 inches before, and i hear thats pretty rare too. how old was it?

[DaveS]

I was really bummed when it died because it was just so big. It was probably six or seven years old I guess. Lots of battle scars on that one too.

I don't know if it got so large because it was the only one I had in my 75g tank, or if it was just luck. I have always had the hardest time getting SAEs established. That was probably the one out of about 10 that made it past a week in that tank.

Dave