Help with algea eaters

[Jdh]

Hi everyone! I thought this would be the best place to post this, since it didn't seem to fit into the more specific categories.

I'm currently trying to find the right Algea eaters for my tank. It's a 10G Planted, primarily with brown algea. I was originally thinking RCS, but I was told that they wouldn't "spit-shine" the tank like an Otto would. The problem is, LiveAquaria's Ottos are currently out of stock. Does anyone know an alternate site to buy Ottos on, and/or if Red Cherry Shrimp would take care of the Algea alone? Amano shrimp are another option as well.

Here's the type of Algea I have:

Thanks for any advice!
-Josh

 

[JohnPaul]

Those are diatoms ("brown algae" though technically not an algae at all). Very common in new tanks. The good news is they eventually go away on their own, after their initial supply of silica is used up. So you don't *have* to do anything about it at all, it is a temporary not permanent problem. That being said, "temporary" could potentially mean several months, which might be longer than you would like to wait for it to clear up on its own.

Ottos are definitely the creature of choice to take care of diatoms. I've kept dwarf shrimp for many years and never seen the shrimps touch it; in fact when I have diatoms in newly-set-up dwarf shrimp tanks I...buy a few ottos to put in for a while. If there are any other "algae-eating" fish at all that will tackle diatoms, I suspect it would only be species that get way too large for a 10g tank.

Most LFS's seem to have Ottos in stock on a pretty regular basis--did you check around at the shops near you? If you need to go online and LiveAquaria is out, you could try Arizona Aquatic Gardens--they seem to have them in stock. Other than that, I'm not sure where to look.

 

[Jdh]

Thank you for very helpful post, JohnPaul, on both this thread and my filter topic!

Okay, I'll definitely go with Ottos. I have heard that acclimation can sometimes be a problem with them. Has it ever been a problem for you?

It looks like AAG has a minimum of 3 Ottos for ordering, so I'll look into buying one at Petsmart. Thanks for the help!

 

[Dr. Scroggins..]

i've had no issues acclimating any of my otos.. you can find them at petsmart for a 1.00 every once and a while...

 

[mgamer20o0]

AAG has a bad rap. if you cant find them local http://msjinkzd.com/ though i would get 3 for a 10 gallon.

just be careful since many places sell Chinese algae eaters as ottos

 

[JohnPaul]

As for ottos and acclimation, yes I have had issues in the past. It seems a lot of ottos are imported and get beaten around pretty badly in shipping and are in bad shape when they arrive in the pet stores, and then they get dumped 75 at a time into small tanks where there isn't enough food for them to eat and so are often in very bad shape and quite weak when you get them from the LFS. I'd say I probably lose a quarter of my ottos in the first 24-48 hours, and I chalk it up to all of that. My experience is, if they last 48 hours, then they will live for you a good long time.

I too would suggest you get ~ 3 or so. I'm not sure if they are a full-blown "schooling fish" but at the very least, they enjoy being around other members of their own species. They add very little bioload so there's really no harm in getting 3.

I've never ordered from Az Gardens but if they have a bad rep, then obviously you should avoid them. I just was trying to search online for somewhere that had 'em in stock and happened to find that site.