Best Algae Eaters for a Planted Aquarium

[Foxtrotperv]

Anyone knows how many Yamato shrimps are recommended for a one-footer tank?

[charonstix]

you need to consider what other tank mates are inside too, but for a one foot probably 5-6 max?

Anyways my otos eats all the softer algaes, like the brown and the green. They also eat green spot algae but are less effective as those algaes are tougher (i.e more deeply rooted in the glass) but those can be removed by snails. cheers

[tsunamisurfer]

Bristlenose catfish cannot be beaten as tank cleaners. The brown algae lasted only hours when I introduced a young BN Catfish.

[kopikia]

Hey, check this thread out. It got buried with time but should still be useful. Anyway I suspect what you are referring to are Golden Algae Eaters (GAEs). Less obnoxious than Chinese Algae Eaters (CAEs) but they still grow quite large.

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=59858

Thanks. Yea, had read the thread before and it was informative. Thanks for the referral .

You'd be surprised if you observe your Otocinclus during feeding time. Mine eat everything I throw in the tank. Frozen bloodworm, live brine shrimp, shrimp pellets, NLS pellets. They take everything. I saw one the other day trying to suck in a live adult brine shrimp.

When there's no other options to munch on, they'll be happily grazing away on my plant leaves. They keep my tank clear of brown algae, but come dinner time, they will rush for the bloodworms or pellets, depending on what I decide to feed.

They are omnivores, and will gladly take meaty foods if you gave them some. I used to feed mine with tubifex worms in the past, now I don't since I don't have an LFS nearby that sells live tubifex.

@seanskye:

Golden Algae Eaters are just CAE. It is just a xanthic form of the CAE, specifically bred for the golden colour. Same behaviour as the CAE.

Thanks! Learnt something new. I went back to CR328 today to compare big versus the small golden sucker. Quite sure they are different species. The big one had whiskers, while the small one didn't.

In the end, I bought 2 bumblebee snails from CR328. Was contemplating other options because the previous two which I bought died within 2 weeks. Not sure whether it was because the water temperature is too hot, or the water was too acidic (pH6.4). Giving it another try and watching water closely.

Hoping for the best.

[blackBRUSHalgae]

Best Fish for green filamentous aglae. ROSY BARB period. Seriously this fish will slurps them relentlessly as if the algae is some famous delicious ramen or something!

For best results, you have to have good and healthy plant mass to begin with. Cut down lighting and fertilization. Clean your filter, change your water and dont feed the fishes. 1 of 2 of these fishes are good enough for tank size up to 4 feet. With the proper control of light/nutrient/CO2, mechanical removal and healthy plant mass, this fish will help big time to wipe out the algae in a week time.

For Brown/diatom alage, nothing beats OTOCINCLUS


For the most of the rest of majority algae, YAMATO SHRIMPS should do the job very well and proudly!

Black Brush Algae would need mechanical removal and probably daily/direct excel dosage. Bleaching of equipment is a very effective way for removal of this algae on equipment.

Green spot algae on glass. Nerite snails or scraping of glass wall with a plastic card. Increasing of Phosphate is one way stated by some, but I never succeeded in this method.

[TyroneGenade]

Best Fish for green filamentous aglae. ROSY BARB period. Seriously this fish will slurps them relentlessly as if the algae is some famous delicious ramen or something!

By this you mean hair algae? I am so seriously tempted to dump 4 rosy barbs in my tank but don't know how I will ever catch them out! And by the time I do, will they have devastated my Cabomba, HM etc..? Such difficult choices...

[stream]

Best Fish for green filamentous aglae. ROSY BARB period. Seriously this fish will slurps them relentlessly as if the algae is some famous delicious ramen or something!

Are you referring to this: http://www.fishchannel.com/images/ar...s/rosy-500.jpg

or http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/f...641352-800.jpg

[happydanio123]

I experience with Siamese Algae Eaters has not been that great.. they actually goes after my fish food. Yamato seems to do a better job..
Siamese Algae Eaters can grow quite big as well...

My Yamato shrimp totally died on me!

[happydanio123]

1 yamato? Nano tank?

I've never heard of someone having just a single yamato.. hehe... Yah try adding a whole crew of them.

One tip though, try to get smaller ones. Big ones tend to be a bit aggressive when going after food (yes they eat pellets and fish food more readily than algae).

My Yamato shrimp hardly ever go to the surface! I think their scared of the tetras . Anyway, they all died on me!

[happydanio123]

I just want to share a good article from Aquascaping World Magazine by Tom Messenger which I came across while looking for a solution to my algae problem. Good for beginners to the hobby!

Best Algae Eaters for a Planted Aquarium
Written by Tom Messenger

Otocinclus spp.
Otocinclus spp. are one of the most popular fish used to help in the control of algae. There are a few species that I have seen available here in the UK, and these are O. vestitus, O. affinis and O. macrospilus. Most 0tocinclus sold are caught in the wild. When these fish are imported, they are often starved during the transport stages, and so many tend to die off even before they reach the wholesaler/retailer. Because of this, you need to be careful when choosing your Otos. A fish with a nice, rounded silvery stomach should be fine, as this indicates that they have been fed on adequate foods since their import and should continue to do so. All too often though, Otos found in aquatic shops are very skinny and suffering from malnutrition. This is why they are often considered to be tricky to keep, and can die off during acclimatisation.
Most Otocinclus will grow to around 2” or less and eat a wide range of algae, so making them a great choice of algae eater in large or small tanks. They should really be kept in groups of around 6 and will often stay close to each other in the aquarium. This is when they are at their most effective in a planted aquarium. In my experience they are very gentle with aquatic plants, and will not even damage soft leaved plants while feeding on the algae.

Crossochelius siamensis
Siamese Algae Eaters (Crossochelius siamensis), or SAE as it is often written, can grow much larger than the Otocinclus (up to 6”) and because of this are suited to the larger aquarium only. I would suggest a minimum being a 36” tank to keep these fish at their eventual size. I have found they can be a bit boisterous and may uproot newly planted carpet plants and disturb substrate, which is a problem if it clouds easily. Like the Ottos, these algae eaters are said to eat a variety of algae types including black beard algae, or BBA. This is a common problem in planted aquaria and it is sometimes attributed to low CO2 in the water. There is often confusion between this species and the Chinese Algae Eater, or CAE, as they look very similar. One difference between them is the number of barbels, the SAE having one set and the CAE having 2 sets.

Where do you buy these fish in SG?

[Dscheng]

Otos, SAE, nerite snails is a must for planted tank. Recently, i notice that panda loach is also very hardworking. It actually swimall the way into my lily pipe and chewing on the brown algae.

[tetrakid]

Otos, SAE, nerite snails is a must for planted tank. Recently, i notice that panda loach is also very hardworking. It actually swimall the way into my lily pipe and chewing on the brown algae.

I have kept 2 Chinese algae eaters in my tank which was covered with algae on the walls. After they had cleared all the algae, they starved to death as there's no more algae left. The lesson I learned from that is to use only one algae eater, and not two. These little creatures may look tiny but they can consume a lot of algae.

[Dscheng]

I have kept 2 Chinese algae eaters in my tank which was covered with algae on the walls. After they had cleared all the algae, they starved to death as there's no more algae left. The lesson I learned from that is to use only one algae eater, and not two. These little creatures may look tiny but they can consume a lot of algae.

I had bad experience with chinese algae eater, they are territorial and aggressive. I witness it keep sucking my tiger barb and harassing until it die. Google it, chinese algae eater rated one of top 10 worst community fish, can challenge with dwarf puffer fish. By the way, all algae eater need food too, fed them with some algae pellet. They will love it.

[tetrakid]

I had bad experience with chinese algae eater, they are territorial and aggressive. I witness it keep sucking my tiger barb and harassing until it die. Google it, chinese algae eater rated one of top 10 worst community fish, can challenge with dwarf puffer fish. By the way, all algae eater need food too, fed them with some algae pellet. They will love it.

Last time I kept it with some Rosy barbs, they did not attack them.
But I believe as you said it is not a peaceful fish, because one always bullies the other one when I had two of them.
If I were you, I would have put that Chinese Algae Eater with a Dwarf Puffer Fish, lol, as I hate to see fish bullying other fishes.

[Anders247]

CAEs are a no with other fish......