# Algae Eaters



## neven (May 15, 2010)

The common small to midsized aquarium has several species to choose from to help maintain algae levels at a minimum. A well established aquarium still gets algae, and a clean up crew of several of these species do help reduce maintenance. This list is far from complete, but i did my best to cover the most commonly available species for the job. There are plenty of snails and shrimp that do just as well as the species i listed in those sections.

the most common crew consists of Otocinclus and Amano shrimp. Normally leaving black brush to be controlled through other methods. Malaysian trumpet snails are often used to clean underneath the substrate.

You'll need to supplement your fish with parboiled vegetables. Zuccinni is a favourite for otocinclus, Yam is a favourite for pleco and ancistrus species.

*Fish:*
*Siamese Algae Eater:* Eats red/black brush Algae! also eats tuft/hair algaes. will ignore algae if tank is overfed or if fish is fully grown.
*Flying Fox:* Often sold as SAE, the black line has a golden top to it, unlike the SAE. Territorial. Doesn't eat Red/black Brush algaes. prefers hair, Tuft, green spot algaes
*Chinese Algae Eater:* Very territorial, not recommended unless its for an aggressive fish tank
*American Flag Fish:* Hair Algae eater, reported to eat red/black brush aswell.
*Otocinclus:* Green Spot, Diatoms. best leaf cleaner!
*Ancistrus* (bristlenose Pleco): If you don't feed enough, it will eat echindorus. Wood Eater, Green Spot, Diatoms.
*Rubbernose Pleco:* Green Spot, Diatoms. Very timid.
*Whiptail catfish:* Green Spot, Diatoms. Needs Algae wafers
*Common Pleco:* Eats algae, grows to 2 feet, can be destructive as it moves around.

*Livebearers:* will eat hair algaes, but should never be relied upon for a clean up crew.

*Shrimp:*
*Caridina multidentata* (Amano shrimp): Eats most algaes. Red/black algae they will eat if there's not enough green algae in the tank.
*Cherry Shrimp:* like amano's decent algae eaters, they breed quickly, small size puts them at risk of being eaten.

*Snails:*
*Malaysian Trumpet snail:* algae eater, aerates substrate, does not eat plants
*Ramshorn snail:* algae eater, egg eater. If not enough algae or food, will eat Hygrophila
*Neritina sp. zebra snail:* Green spot algae, Green Beard algae, they will climb out of tank if they have no cover.


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## roadrunner (Apr 25, 2010)

awesome post, please make it a sticky!


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

neven said:


> the most common crew consists of Otocinclus and Amano shrimp. Normally leaving black brush to be controlled through other methods.


Not sure if you meant it to be read that way, but Patrick put up a post in the old BCA with pics which shows that Amanos are actually very effective in cleaning up BBA.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

I've heard mixed results with amano's and BBA. Im not sure whether they eat bba in its early stages, or if they only eat it in softer waters or if they don't touch it at all.

Maybe BBA draws on the carbonate hardness of the water (like pelia and other true aquatics), making it more tough, or maybe just too fast growing for the shrimps to keep up with. This is only speculation though as im far from a scientist 

Anyways, I still mentioned the amano's eat the red/black, but said sometimes as i've never seen it first hand. They are indeed handy at eating the Dead .BBA though, whether killed by increased co2 or other treatment.

edit... read further, apparently they eat it if theres not enough softer green algaes to munch on, so i edited the amano shrimp part


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

I think that applies to all algae eaters. If there is fish food, green dust algae, or brown algae around, nothing is going to touch the BBA, at least that's been my personal experience and from most of what I've read.


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## Sandy Landau (Jun 4, 2010)

IPU has gold algae eaters on sale. What are gold algae eaters, does anybody know? Are they big?


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## MadgicBug (Apr 22, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> Not sure if you meant it to be read that way, but Patrick put up a post in the old BCA with pics which shows that Amanos are actually very effective in cleaning up BBA.


Amano's do eat BBA when there is not enough food. I was over at Patricks and couple of his large sponge filter was covered with BBA. He was expecting a shipment of Amano's in and they ate it all up the week after when I was there again. He said that when they come in they are starving.

However, once they hit your tank and if there are other types of food available , they learn fast that there are much better food than BBA and leave that alone within a week.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

Sandy Landau said:


> IPU has gold algae eaters on sale. What are gold algae eaters, does anybody know? Are they big?


they grow up to 12 inches (dont see many over 6 inches though) and can get very aggressive as it grows. They hate anythign that looks like them, even themselves. They'll chase loaches, nip at slow movers and flat fish like angels or discus. Does great in cichlid tanks, aswell as with turtles and crayfish

They are also known as chinese algae eaters.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

MadgicBug said:


> However, once they hit your tank and if there are other types of food available , they learn fast that there are much better food than BBA and leave that alone within a week.


There are really no algae eaters that don't eat fish food if it's in abundance, so algae eaters only help, they can never be your only tool in a planted tank. Prevention is really the key, which means determining the cause of the algae outbreak in the first place. Otherwise, it's just a never-ending battle


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## MadgicBug (Apr 22, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> There are really no algae eaters that don't eat fish food if it's in abundance, so algae eaters only help, they can never be your only tool in a planted tank. Prevention is really the key, which means determining the cause of the algae outbreak in the first place. Otherwise, it's just a never-ending battle


That is 100% correct and I leard that the hard way!!!

My clean up crew is still around from over a year ago and they have grown on me.

Just need to get Frank (Jiang604) to custom breed some type of shrimp that just eats BBA. Now that would be a golden goose.


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## teija (Sep 30, 2010)

So are Nerite snails and Ottos my best bet to combat green spot algae on the glass? The amanos have gotten rid of every type of furry algae within the tank but now a year later I've got green spot algae to contend with. It is a never-ending battle!


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

I don't know about Nerite snails, but no fish will touch green spot algae. It's too hard. I have to use a razor blade scraper to get it off when I get it. It's usually a sign of insufficient phosphate in a planted tank.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

Nerites will eat green spot algae on glass, one of the few livestock that can tackle the toughter spots. But as 2wheels said, make sure the tank is getting enough phosphates, no point trying to cover up the problem if it isn't fixed first. You still get some green spot on the glass over time, so the nerites help keep that down, but it wont fix an outbreak of it


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