Amano shrimp the only shrimp good for algae?

908 Views 5 Replies 2 Participants Last post by msnikkistar, Nov 4, 2010

ponyo

Discussion Starter · Nov 3, 2010

Not sure if I should post this here or the fish section so sorry if this isn't the right spot.

My question is are Amano shrimp the only kind of shrimp good at eating algae? Like would crystal reds do a good job or not as much? Only because I prefer the pretty colors

I have a brown algae problem and I bought some nerites and some ottos but the nerites are being very lazy and napping on the job. One hasn't moved at all (hope it's not dead), the other four I had to pick up and put near the glass and finally after a day and night they stuck to the glass and are climbing up it. When they get to the top they fall off and then just lay on the substrate like they've given up on life. What is with them?

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msnikkistar

· #2 · Nov 3, 2010

All shrimp eat algae, however, not as MUCH as most people would like, and probably not enough to make a real visible dent.

Typically, the only real way to deal with algae is either decreasing your photo-period or increasing your co2. You could do a several day black out to kill some off, or dose the areas with excel, but it doesn't really fix the underlying issue of what caused the algae in the first place.

This is all subjective, as I don't know your tank or what you do with it in the first place.

Hope that helps.

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ponyo

Discussion Starter · #3 · Nov 4, 2010

It's a bit of a new tank. It's been going for 6 weeks so far. It's a low tech. The plants aren't doing too well so I'm thinking I might try a DIY yeast CO2 system. I could shorten my photoperiod I guess. I'm worried about my plant health though.

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