snail or oto?

[sir kyle]

As I'm gearing up for a live plant tank, I've noticed some algae growing on the glass and on the live plants. I am wondering, should I get a few otos or a few snails.

1.How many would be enough for a moderately planted 55 gal tank
2. Will either choice eat the algae off the plants?
3. If I get snails what species would be best as I only want a few?

[Couesfanatic]

10 Otto and 10 Amano shrimp. Each eats different types of algae.

[msawdey]

otos definitely...

[gy960]

Both eat different kinds of algae. What type of algae do you have?

In my tank, i have otocinclus and horned zebra nerites to clear brown diatoms and green spot algae respectively.

Otocinclus pros: Diligent, clears brown diatoms fast.
Otocinclus cons: Difficult to acclimatise at start, high prob of getting an already stressed one. Some may not eat algae wafers, some may eat fish mucus coat.

Horned zebra nerite pros: small and light, able to climb onto leafs, will not cause tonnes of offspring (eggs dont hatch), will crawl out of tank if water conditions are not favourable.
Horned zebra nerite cons: Have to be careful when picking them up (spikes), unsightly eggs that have to be removed manually.

[ThatGuyWithTheFish]

Neither, in my experience, eats algae off of plants. Snails, except for tiny pond snails, are way to big to hand on to most leaves, and otos just like sitting on them. You'll need shrimp that aren't Singapore bamboo shrimp to get other kinds of algae.

[HybridHerp]

I would have a mix of otto's, nerite snails, and amano shrimp for algae control
what other fish are in your tank anyways?

[cawolf86]

Originally Posted by sir kyle

1.How many would be enough for a moderately planted 55 gal tank

You could get a sweet school of Otos for that tank - 20 or so would be a happy school of Otos.

[In2wishin]

I am really happy with nerites. I have a mix of 2 zebra, 1 red spot, and 2 horned in my 12 gallon and have no issues with algae. The eggs aren't that unsightly since most are laid on either plants or driftwood and kind of blend in until they dissolve.

[sir kyle]

I have 5 danio, 2 cory, 3 tetra, 3 rosy barbs, 5 platy and 7 ghost shrimp. Today I ordered 4 otos.

Does anyone have micro crab? If so...pro and cons?

BTW, I should probably mention that my pH is 8.0, gH is 7-8. Also, if I get the nerites, can I use excel?

As far as what type of algae I have, not exactly sure ATM, but the green is on the glass and the brown is on the gravel.

[gy960]

Yeah, u can use excel. I dosed excel in my tank with 3 horned nerites daily with no problems

[gy960]

Maybe pics of the algae?

[garfieldnfish]

Good choice on the otos. I would also get 3 to 5 nerites, preferably different types so they won't lay eggs everywhere. The eggs won't hatch anyway but they are unsightly and I found if I mix for example a horned, a tracked and an olive they will not breed.
When you add the extra plants, odds are that will also take care of some of your algae problems as they will use up the nutrients the algae needs to survive. In a heavily planted tank I rarely have to do anything to counter algae.