Need algae eaters that won't be eaten

[DAllen]

I need help choosing an algae eater to put into my 29 gal. tank with an agressives red tail shark. I'm pretty sure he has killed some of my fish, including a few goldfish that were bigger than him. By the way, I know they should not have been with him. My husband, who is the fish expert in the house, doesn't follow the community rules that apply to fish aquariums. It worked for a while. We have had some very long lived fish. This red tail shark is approximately 10 yrs. old. The last Cory that died this week was about the same age. But any new fish that gets placed in the aquarium gets picked on terribly. Personally, I wish I could re-home the shark. I'm pretty sick of dealing with all the deaths, which I take personally. Anyway, I need some tough, voracious algae eating fish. My tank is dark and murky from algae. Plus, I think it's cruel to make this shark live in total isolation. Can someone recommend some algae eaters that can withstand the bully my shark has become? I only want 2-3 new fish, though.

 

[Mebbid]

Its not cruel to make the shark live in isolation. He most likely likes it that way. Its more cruel to continually put fish in the tank to be picked to death. In that size tank theres really not much you can add for this.

As for algae, reduce the amount of time the lights are on daily to about 6 hours a day. That will starve the algae out negating the need for an algae eater.

 

[ImACoolguy]

Its not cruel to make the shark live in isolation. He most likely likes it that way. Its more cruel to continually put fish in the tank to be picked to death. In that size tank theres really not much you can add for this.

As for algae, reduce the amount of time the lights are on daily to about 6 hours a day. That will starve the algae out negating the need for an algae eater.

+1 I agree.


Caleb

 

[Luananeko]

+2 on Mebbied and prior poster's suggestions.

Red Tail Sharks are loners. They actually are happier without other fish in their "territory" and get aggravated and frustrated when constantly having to shoo other fish from their area. In a 29g tank, there's simply no room for any part of the tank to be considered "outside" their area, so adding fish will always have the same results.

That said, the ONLY fish that could MAYBE be tolerated would be something that stays at the very top of the tank at all times. A school of hatchet fish would add activity and stay as far out of the shark's range as possible. Note that this does nothing for your algae and I still wouldn't recommend it. Red Tails shouldn't really be in anything smaller than a 50g tank, ideally larger.

If you're fine having no fish and still want algae eaters, the only algae eaters that would survive would be snails, MAYBE shrimp.