Small Algae Eater?

[reun]

Ok, so first off let me mention a few things before I go into tank or fish details. I clean my tank weekly with a 30% water change, clean the algae off the tank glass and most of the rocks by hand, and service the filters as needed. The algae I have is soft brown algae that is easy to dispose of. However, it isn't easy to clean from plants or certain rocks.

I am not looking for something that will completely care for all the algae in the tank, I don't need a completely lazy way out, but having something that might scrub some of the larger plants and rocks would be nice.

The tank is a very well cared for and filtrated 29 gallon(planted tank with two whisper 30's, a small hagen 58gph powerhead, and a large air stone at the bottom of the tank). I am currently running a 14w full spectrum t8 bulb on a 10 hour timer, and the tank gets some natural sunlight for a good portion of the day. The hood also has two very powerful 23w full spectrum CFL bulbs on each side of the hood that are on a separate switch and timer(I use those lights when feeding, showing off the tank, taking pictures, or getting new plant bulbs growing.

The current stock list is 2 female cherry barbs(I will be adding a male, I may move the trio to my 10 gallon, not sure yet), 7 Leopard Danios, 6 bronze corys, and 1 south american bumblebee catfish(not an asian! it is currently full grown at about 3.75" and the width of a large pencil).

The tank specs are:

Temperature: 73 degrees
GH PPM: 160
KH PPM: 150
PH: 7.0

I do not want a bristlenose, I had one and returned it to the LFS, the little thing was mean and picked on my corys...not to mention that thing was VERY messy. I want something that stays small, will not have a huge bio load on the tank, and won't harass my corys. I have seen several varieties of small plecos and also some hillstream loaches at my LFS, but it would be nice to get some opinions on what to get.

I would like something small enough and light enough bioload that I can increase the cherry barb school size to 3 or 4, or perhaps increase the size of the danio school(or get another school of some small fish) if i move the cherry barbs to my 10 gallon.

Thanks for your patience with my very long post and thanks in advance for the help!

EDIT: the tank also has Sand for substrate and a piece of Malaysian Driftwood (probably doesn't matter, but forgot to mention it).

 

[dudeofrude]

Is recommend pitbull plecs if you can get them, I have 2 in my 30 gallon and they deal with algae great! Send all day cleaning my rocks for me. They only get to around 3-4 inches fully grown, they have quite a high bio load for a small fish but its nothing that a decent filter won't handle.

 

[Tropical boy]

How about otos they stay small and won't harass any of your fish and are ideal for a 29 gal. I have a clown plec but unfortunately he is terrible at eating algae and stays attached to my driftwood most of the time so I wouldn't recommend one of those but not sure about others

 

[dudeofrude]

Also I've been told gold plecs won't grow more than a few inches but they tend to be a little pricey

 

[reun]

I have heard Otos are very finicky about water, I try to get hardy fish if I can, also I have heard they need to be in schools of at least 3, so I am probably not going to go for them.

I know most plecos regardless of size have a huge bioload, so I am not expecting miracles, just so long as it is small enough that I can have a couple of small schools of danios/tetras/cherry barbs and my 6 corys and bumblebee cat.

 

[dudeofrude]

Well with that many fish your going to have a pretty big bioload anyway so I'm sure the plec won't be a problem. Like I said I have 2 and there bioload is much much less than my common plecs was

 

[Saltair]

I would second the advice toavoid the Clown Pleco. Mine eats no tank Algae at all, and adds a lot of bioload for a fish you never see. You sound like you take pretty good care of your tank so maybe Otos are worth a look. I am looking at them now for my planted 29. I have seen the same material that recomends three, but also read about plenty of folks keeping one or two. As long as they can hide and feel secure I think they would be ok in a smaller group, but that is just one mans opinion.

 

[medic747]

Is this an alge problem or are you just looking for a smaller plec

 

[Tim Wheatley]

Either multiple Otos or a Zebra Pleco in my opinion.

 

[Homedog98]

Otos otos ottos! Good fish, good fit, good algae eater!

 

[Lcars]

Is recommend pitbull plecs if you can get them, I have 2 in my 30 gallon and they deal with algae great! Send all day cleaning my rocks for me. They only get to around 3-4 inches fully grown, they have quite a high bio load for a small fish but its nothing that a decent filter won't handle.

+1

 

[reun]

I clean most of the algae, but the rocks, driftwood, and plants are a pain to clean all the time. Even if I found a fish that will eat some of it would maybe lessen some of the work cleaning.

I don't want to keep a single otto if they prefer to be kept in groups, which is the main reason I haven't purchased one yet.

As far as pleco's go, do most of the breeds go after algae? because the bristlenose I had went after the sinking and frozen food for the corys and chased them away from it. The local fish store has several breeds of small plecos, I am just wondering which are the least messy, hostile, and most likely to go after algae and less likely to chase the corys away from their food.

so far zebras and pitbulls have been recommended. maybe a few ottos would be a solution, but from what i have read they are alot of work and need to be in groups. would 3 ottos be the same load on a 29 gallon as a single pitbull or zebra pleco? my other concern with ottos is that the genus is very vague and you can sometimes end up with chinese algae eaters or other much larger fish(or so I have read).

 

[Tim Wheatley]

Otos have tiny bellies and a very small bio load. The 1 inch of fish per gallon thing doesn't fit with them IMHO. You could probably compare 5 Otos with the smallest type of pleco.

 

[reun]

Do the ottos mind sand? will the large amount of current in the tank be an issue for them? I normally quarantine new arrivals in the empty 10 gallon, then move them to my 29, but to ease stress and use fewer moves, can put them in the 29 to start or are they disease prone? It looks like there is enough difference between ottos and chinese algae eaters that I can spot the difference, are there any other species that get mis-labeled I should worry about?

If I get 3 ottos, would that be enough of a school for them? can i feed them algae wafers and/or vegetables if they clean through the algae?

 

[SteveChiller]

I have Otos, I lost 3 already and have 3 left, they dont really eat the brown stuff on the rocks/decorations, just stuff thats on the glass. I was thinking of a rubberlip pleco. What do you guys think? I want something that wont harass my cute little corys.

 

[ejaramillo01]

What about a Siamese Algae Eater? I have 2 in my 29G tank and they are really active cleaning plants and rocks.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

What about a Siamese Algae Eater? I have 2 in my 29G tank and they are really active cleaning plants and rocks.

Until they get older. When they get older they stop eating algae and start getting extremely territorial and aggressive instead.

 

[XimeD]

reun if you are still considering otos, just figured I would add my 2 cents.

I too stay pretty on top of my tanks (weekly 25 to 40% PWC, filter maintanence, water testing, etc) and I decided to get 4 otos for my 20gal, 3 died within a couple of weeks and 1 was left, I read that if they survive the first weeks they tend to be pretty hardy once established and this has been true for mine if they lived through the first weeks.

If you dont want otos I second the pitbull (rubberlip) pleco advice.

 

[XimeD]

Until they get older. When they get older they stop eating algae and start getting extremely territorial and aggressive instead.

Are we talking about the true SAE (Crossocheilus siamensis)? I read this was true of flying foxes (Epalzeorhynchos kalopterus) which are sometimes mislabeled as SAEs.

 

[John h]

What about Cherry Shrimp?

I've added four to my tank to see how they go. Apparently they love to eat algae.