What other fish do you intend to stock? How big is the tank? Parameters?

I don't think cories eat algae, but they are cute!

 

My tank is going to be a 30 gallon column. I have a dwarf neon rainbowfish and I'm planning on getting more, a female betta, and different types of tetras. I want to get more livebearers and just very friendly species fir the most part.

Corydoras sp. should never be kept as two. They are a social fish that need to be in groups of at least 6 or more. So that makes the decision a little easier.

I meant two different species out if the 4 options, not just 2 fish/shrimp/snails. Someone else did say that corys arent good algae eaters though.

I've had problems with long-term snail survival in CO2. It eats away at their shells, even if there's plenty of calcium in the water. I don't add snails to my tank anymore for that reason.

I agree with Mike A. that you shouldn't add otos until the tank is established, probably for 3+ months. Have you considered red cherry shrimp? They're fairly cheap, and they make babies in fresh water. I have a mix of cherries and amanos, and they stay busy cleaning the tank.

I have thought about cherries but I've heard they arent great cleaners though they are cute so they are differently an option. I am trying to decide whether to use CO2 or not and I'm just not sure.

Thank you!

 

...Should I get otos, corys, amano shrimp, or nerite snails?

Yes. ; )

They're all good but kind of better/worse at different jobs. e.g., Nerites are great at cleaning glass and other surfaces but they're not going to pick algae from moss or finer plants like Amanos do. But the Amanos won't do much for the glass or surfaces as well as the Nerites. Corys do eat some algae but not mainly and are much better at cleaning up extra food. Otos are great but better to wait on those until the tank is more established. You'd want a small pack of either of the latter so depending on tank size/cost that may make a difference. The shrimp and snails don't care and will live alone fine.

I guess if I had to pick two from those when starting up a new tank I'd go for the Nerites and Amanos. They're both very good at what they do, are relatively hardy, inexpensive, and will work with most anything else that you'd add.

 

Corydoras sp. should never be kept as two. They are a social fish that need to be in groups of at least 6 or more. So that makes the decision a little easier.

 

I've had problems with long-term snail survival in CO2. It eats away at their shells, even if there's plenty of calcium in the water. I don't add snails to my tank anymore for that reason.

I agree with Mike A. that you shouldn't add otos until the tank is established, probably for 3+ months. Have you considered red cherry shrimp? They're fairly cheap, and they make babies in fresh water. I have a mix of cherries and amanos, and they stay busy cleaning the tank.

 

I have a friendly tank like you're building. Just small fish and shrimp. It's a good approach.

I agree that cories don't do much for algae, but they're good cleaners. Cherries probably don't eat as much algae as amanos, at least not individually, just due to size. But they stay busy, and don't contribute much to bioload. If I didn't have CO2, I'd definitely get some more Japanese trapdoor and nerite snails. You can order Red Racer nerites online. They look great against the green plants.

 

You can order Red Racer nerites online. They look great against the green plants.

They definitely stand out against the greenery.

 

Not to hijack the thread, but I love me some algae eaters! (I've got red cherries, amano, oto, and bristlenose pleco in various tanks.) The only creature I don't employ is the nerite snail, and that's because I am afraid of the eggs. Why bother keeping the algae in check if I'm going to have to clean their eggs off of everything?

Can anyone speak to the reality of this chore?

 

I keep 5 Nerites in a 36g, low-tech, planted tank w/2 mating Angles, a Ctenopoma, 12" Dragon Fish (violet goby), Albino Bristlenose and Bumblebee catfish. The Nerites were added to deal with a stubborn Diatom/algae outbreak and they Destroyed it! They keep my tank looking great.
Anyways, I find the eggs are typically left in pretty non-viewable areas and very seldom on any glass. They seem to prefer the back side of my Mopani wood that I can only see in the mirrored backing, and occasionally along the sand-line (substrate) where it meets the back glass panel.
I'd say these are the way to go if you're not using CO2.
I add shrimp, but they don't last long around the Ctenopoma
The Amano is great at cleaning plants, in my Betta tank.

 

Before I had CO2, my nerites laid lots of eggs on my rocks. It was a little annoying, but not a huge problem to scrape them off, either. Japanese trapdoor snails are neat, and they eat soft algae and leftover food/gunk. They might eat some soft plants if there's nothing else available, but most planted tanks have enough decaying plant matter to feed them. They give live birth once in a while, so no eggs to worry about.

After I added CO2, my nerites stopped laying eggs, which is just one more thing that shows me they're not happy in CO2. I still have a few survivors in my tank, but won't add more. My poor Japanese trap door snails' shells fell apart and they died. I do still have some Malaysian trumpet snails, because they keep reproducing. They never get bigger than about 1/8", unless bigger ones are staying in the substrate. They had a population explosion before CO2 when they snuck in on a plant, but now I just see a few babies.

 

IME, the silver flying fox ( not the Chinese algae eater) will take good care of the BBA. They constantly graze on the leaves looking for BBA. The down side is they seem to only eat BBA and not other types of algae.