quick pleco question!

[manoosie]

I have tons of that gross brown algae. Plecos will eat it right?

 

[erik7]

no, i dont beleive they eat brown algae.

Ottos will, but if you do regular WC's it will get rid of the brown stuff.

 

[manoosie]

Will it go away, or do I need to scrub it off?

 

[erik7]

mine went away when i stepped up the WC's.

But then again, it could of been my Black Mystery Snails. I was told they dont eat it, but i added them and stepped up WC's at the same time.

Though it comes off very easy, you could scrub it all off.

 

[kyektulu]

It is best to just scrub it away.
I have tried lots of fish which I have been advised do eat this type of algae but IME none touch it...

 

[TankGirl]

I have one low light tank that always has brown algae, in spite of it being a mature tank with weekly 50% PWCs - my bristlenose pleco takes excellent care of it - I never see it in there anymore, except areas where he has missed, and I just rub them away.

 

[QTOFFER]

I used to have diatoms (brown algae) bad. Fortunately, it wipes off easily and can easily be rinsed off ornaments and rocks. As soon as added some live plants and I raised the WPG in my tank to over 1, it simply vanished. Otto cats love the stuff, but sadly, they usually die when it's all gone.

I used to see clear trails in a film of brown algae caused by my BN plec and snails. However, I don't think they actually eat the stuff - I think they inadvertently wipe it off surfaces as they graze for green algae.

 

[Guest]

you can clean it off. Oto's love the stuff, but pleco's will eat it as well.

Oto's die when its gone? But only if you don't feed them!!! My oto's live good because i supplement their diet with zuchini and wafers of course. They love blanched zuchini.

 

[crazycat]

not all plecos eat algae. make sure you do your research when choosing a pleco.

i recommend http://planetcatfish.com

it's helped me a bunch!