Algae eaters - best for plants

[thomasina]

Looking for an Algae eater that will eat the black algae that collects on plants. Had Chinese eaters but they are aggressive and get too big. Have two corys and a few nerita snails but they aren't doing the job. Any suggestions please?

20gh tank, guppies, tetras and a blue ram. A few shrimp too!!

 

[FeldmansFish]

I have Bristlenose plecos which are also called bushy nose plecos. They get up to 6" long and are great cleaners of diatoms and other algae. Only downfall is that they poop a lot thus having a larger bioload. Overall I recommend them.
Corycats are great scavengers, low bioload and are hilarious with plecos. I have Julii cats in my tank.

 

[vanimal]

I have Bristlenose plecos which are also called bushy nose plecos. They get up to 6" long and are great cleaners of diatoms and other algae. Only downfall is that they poop a lot thus having a larger bioload. Overall I recommend them.
Corycats are great scavengers, low bioload and are hilarious with plecos. I have Julii cats in my tank.

Females max out at 3". Males reach 6" so if possible go for a female.

 

[FeldmansFish]

I had no idea about the females length lol

 

[fort384]

True Siamese Algae Eaters (SAEs) - they are about the only fish that will eat black brush algae and are great in a planted community. They can be tough to find though and are often mislabeled. Often Flying Foxes and CAEs are labeled as SAEs.

Check this out to be able to tell the difference:
Identifying the Siamese Algae Eater

 

[vanimal]

I had no idea about the females length lol

Yeah I have a female in my 220 she has no Bristles and has maxed out at 3" and since then has been putting on weight. She is really wide and fat now. Super healthy she seems to eat a lot of driftwood.

 

[FreshwaterForever]

Otos are great algae eaters too. THey stay very small so are good for smaller tanks, and they're absolutely adorable.

 

[FeldmansFish]

Yeah I have a female in my 220 she has no Bristles and has maxed out at 3" and since then has been putting on weight. She is really wide and fat now. Super healthy she seems to eat a lot of driftwood.

The BNPs are so ugly, they're cute

 

[twoodrough]

I agree with Feldmans. I have a bristlenose and he is so ugly he is cute. He cleans the heck out of my 20 high. I never have to clean walls ever in that tank.

 

[Vatilla]

I have three Otos in my 10g and when I got them there was brown/black/green algae on EVERYTHING. After a week my tank was SPOTLESS! I would suggest Otos, they are very fun and usually just mind their own business!