Algae eater in a ten gallon?

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megsmelody

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Aug 22, 2011
Messages
27
Location
Boca Raton, FL
What type of algae eater is appropriate for a 10 gallon. I have 3 cardinal tetras, 1 ack skirt tetra
And 1 blue dwarf gourami. I don't really have an algae problem; I just think they're cool :)
 
Maybe some ottocinclus catfish? I like mine he has his own personality swimming around and sucking on the glass.:) Most get too large otherwise
 
megsmelody said:
I'd prefer fish. But I'm open to other suggestions. What do u have in mind?

Nerite snails come in several different shell patterns
 
maybe some red cherry shrimp or amano shrimp
 
I don't recommend any algae eating fish for a 10 gal that I can think of. Even the dwarf plecos are too big or have too large of a bio-load. Oto cats are somewhat popular for 10 gals but I think it's too small for them. They should be kept in groups of atleast 3 and a 10 won't produce enough algae for 3 and they can be difficult to supplement.

Nerite snails and neocaridina shrimp would be your best bet. You could easily add 2 nerites and 20 shrimp. Many dwarf gourami's will eat shrimp, so I wouldn't make a big investment. You can try to get your hands on some red cherries or blue pearls cheap on aquabid. A couple amano's would work well also.

Black skirt tetras are schooling fish that need to be kept in schools of atleast 6 and in a minimum of a 29 gallon tank. I would get rid of the skirt tetra. Cards preferably would have a somewhat larger tank also, but some do find them suitable for 10 gals but, they too are schoolers so, I would add 3 more.
 
Thanks for the advice. I had more black skirts but they died. I will fill out the schools before I get anything else. Thanks!
 
Even the smallest Pleco at 2.5" is to much for a 10g tank. The snails are your best bet.
Also, IMO, both your Black skirts and your Cardinals need a school of 5 each. Your Gouramis doesn't really work even if it is a Dwarf.
10g tanks don't hold a lot of fish. The 10g tank works great as a QT or Hosp. tank.
 
Have you ever seen full grown black skirts? There is just now way they are in any way suitable for a 10 gal tank. I QT'd some in a 20 and it barely gave them room to move.
 
What do you guys think if I add a few more black skirts and then a ghost shrimp?

Ghost Shrimp do better in a groups too, sorry.

Like I said before, a 10g tank won't hold very many fish. I know this because, I too started out with a 10g tank. That lasted about a month before I bought a used 55g tank off craigslist for $100.00, the stand, filters, heater, gravel, and fake plants all included. Plus they delivered it and set it up for me for an extra $15.00.

With your 10g, your pretty much maxed out with 5 Cardinals and a couple of Nerite Snails.
And then re-homing the 1 Black Skirt you have left.
Fish need a lot more space than most people think.
Before you buy anything else, do some reading on what fish your thinking about getting. Find out what their minimum tank requirements are and which fish they are compatible with. That way you'll have fewer deaths and you won't be stuck re-homing any more fish.
 
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If you get the rest of the stocking figured out, adding a group of ghost shrimp would be fine. They have a very small bio-load.
 
I agree. Shrimp or nerite snails are your best options. Nerite snails come wonderful color patterns and are fairly active snails. Loads of fun IMO.
 
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