# Do Algae eaters count for Bio Load?!?! And a couple other related questions.



## Tazzy_toon (Jul 25, 2011)

OK, hope I don't start a debate here, but I was at a petstore in guildford mall and the guy was telling me some stuff that I'm really not sure about.

1st- he said catfish and algae eaters do not count towards the 1 inch per gallon guidline (i realise this isnt a hard a fast rule and has lots of variables, but didn't sound right) 

2nd- he suggested I put 2 panda cory's and 1 otto or pleco in my 6 gallon tank along with the 3 guppies I have because I asked if I could add a panda cory to my smallish tank. Can I have 2 with my 3 guppies?

3rd- he said I could put a chinese algae eater in my tank but I heard they can be agressive, is that true?

I'm not ready to add anymore fish right now, so I said I would think about it.

It seems everyone has different ideas on the subject and since I've decided to use you folks as my source of info, could you please advise? Thanks


----------



## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

1st) agree that doesn't sound right, they are still fish and imo should be included in that factor and are very much part of the bio-load imo

2nd) I don't see why you couldn't put them together, I wouldn't go with a pleco in a 6gal however, maybe just 2 cory's or 2 ottos

3rd) stay away from Chinese algae eaters, they grow quick, suck at eating algae, are somewhat aggressive & when they discover how good the food you feed the rest of the fish is, will become big time competitors at feeding time & very aggressive at feeding time as well from what I have experienced with them.


----------



## Rastapus (Apr 21, 2010)

Bottom feeders and catfish can be some of the messiest fish and put a load on your system for sure. Ask the employee if you were to put a 12" pleco in your aquarium would that count?

Cory cats would be fine in that aquarium, just ensure they get enough food.

Chinese algae eaters can be extremely aggressive in smaller aquariums, Oto catfish would be a much better choice.


----------



## Tazzy_toon (Jul 25, 2011)

thanks for the advice, i'd really like to get a couple panda cory's for my tank, but first i want to get it planted properly and make sure the water quality stays good.


----------



## Luke78 (Apr 24, 2010)

Your panda cories will apreciate some plants in there as they use them for cover and to feel safe with.I would try to keep a group with three or more,much more active and they like the company.In your 6 gallon three would ok.Otocinclus are great little work horses,and do keep the house cleaning in check.As already mentioned, make sure the bottom feeders are taken care of food wise.


----------



## rescuepenguin (Apr 21, 2010)

A smaller cory might work too. You maybe able to track down some pygmy corys, or hasbrosus. The pygmys are often labeled as hastatus. I have not been breeding any this year, and don't have any available.


----------



## pistolpete (May 2, 2010)

A 6 gallon is a great size for a tank, but is actually much more difficult to maintain than a larger tank. Toxins can build up very quickly and even mild overfeeding can be disastrous. Before you add any more fish, let us know how the tank is filtered, how long it's been running, and what your water change regime is.


----------



## Tazzy_toon (Jul 25, 2011)

ok, good to know that he wasn't completely off his rocker.  I do like the lil catfish but was only going to add one, but then found out they get nervous on their own.

I have 3 live plants and I'm going to be adding a number of fake plants until I can afford more, this has cost us a lot more then we expected, with all the test kits and water conditioner, cycle etc.

This tank was giving to me by my son, I cleaned it up (too much as I now learned) and now I've had it just over a week with 3 fish and a load of yucky snails. A havent seen a smidge of amonia and I am using a cycle treatment. I have 3 guppies atm and won't be adding anything for quite awhile. Just planning ahead.


----------



## neven (May 15, 2010)

generally speaking, many consider don't count algae eating shrimp towards their bioload. But if you look at the stock calculator stickied in the freshwater section, it says otherwise


----------



## Tazzy_toon (Jul 25, 2011)

And there lies the confusion. Some say yes, some say no. I think I should be ok with 3 guppies and 2 cory's in a 6 gallon. 

But don't think I should add them for at least a month.


----------



## neven (May 15, 2010)

i would start with the cory's though, guppies can be aggressive in smaller tanks when you introduce new stock. If all your guppies are male, they'll keep their aggression between each other. one thing i noticed with guppies is if they feel theres not enough room for all of them, they will drive the lowest on their hierarchy out of the tank. A few times before i densely planted a tank, i found a guppy sitting in a glass of water next to the tank, lol.


----------



## Rastapus (Apr 21, 2010)

Tazzy_toon said:


> And there lies the confusion. Some say yes, some say no. I think I should be ok with 3 guppies and 2 cory's in a 6 gallon.
> 
> But don't think I should add them for at least a month.


What does bio-load mean? Simply put any fish that produces waste is part of your bio-load. That waste puts "load" on your "biological" filter. Not counting something that produces waste makes no sense.


----------



## Tazzy_toon (Jul 25, 2011)

Nice thing about the fluval edge is that it is totally sealed although I guess a fish could easily jump out into the filter.


----------



## Ursus sapien (Apr 21, 2010)

Rastapus is totally correct - just watch the back end of a cory, plec or oto. Anything that eats a high percentage of vegetable matter is going to produce lots of waste (think goose versus owl). 
Also, otos and corydoras are much happier in groups. You may want to consider rescuepenguin's suggestion of a dwarf cory species, so you can have a group of 5 or 6.


----------

