Otocinclus catfish?

[Jake_71]

I have a brown algae problem in my tank and someone suggested this fish. They do sell them at my local pet store but I was wondering what they would eat. I know the algae in the tank isn't enough for 's of them to survive so would any



algae crisp work? Also would just one do good in a 10 gallon with 1 black Molly and 2 zebra danios?

Penguin 100 bio filter, tropical tank heater, lightly planted with drift wood and rocks, temperature always at 78 degrees, airstone system, no ammonia no nitrite 5ppm nitrate, 25% water change weekly with full tank cleaning.

 

[bettaowner]

How old is the tank? They will eat algae chips but will perish in newly setup tanks

 

[Jake_71]

Don't worry the tank is cycled and will be a year old this July.

 

[Scottyhorse]

I would not recommend putting them in a ten gal unless you have LOTS of plants, and a good amount of algae. Mine have not eaten anything but biofilm and algae, not even peas or zucchini. Not saying all are like that, just something to think about

They are also social fish, and you should keep 3+, and a ten gallon wouldn't be able to support that. I have three in my heavily planted 25 gal. It had TONS of algae. It's all gone.

 

[Jake_71]

Well if they are not a good idea how about mystery snails? Do they also eat brown algae? They be a better idea that the Otocinclus.

 

[Scottyhorse]

Brown algae sounds like Diatoms, which are easy to scrub off

But all algae is caused by an imbalance of some sort, so you should figure that out.

 

[azmodan]

Well if they are not a good idea how about mystery snails? Do they also eat brown algae? They be a better idea that the Otocinclus.

Nerite snails are excellent diatom eaters if that's the algae you're dealing with. Maybe you could post a close up pic of it? Also what sort of lighting do you have and how long do you run your lights for each day?

 

[Jake_71]

Sorry I can't post a picture of it I just cleaned my tank and scrubbed it off all my decor. But it will be back soon. I have a marineland LED light bar with 22 white LEDs and 2 blue LEDs I keep it on for 6 hours every day and it is on an outlet timer. The lights are also VERY bright o think they might be a little much for the tank.

If anything I under feed so that shouldn't be a problem. I am thinking about getting a silica absorbing filter for my tank to keep the algae from growing because I have done a lot of research on these diatoms and if they don't have silica they can't be alive.

 

[Rivercats]

You shouldn't have diatoms after a year unless you have a lot of silicates in your water supply. Since you don't have a planted tank you can use phosphate removers in your filter as phosphate removers also remove silicates in the water.

Oto's very rarely eat any food that is added to a tank. They mainly live off biofilm and bits of fine algae that gathers on plants, tank glass, and decorations. They wouldn't be a good idea in your set up. Nerites are actually your best choice as they can't reproduce in freshwater. I'm not a fan of mystery snails.

 

[Cloudhp8]

The tank isn't next to or in sunlight is it? You said it's on a timer for 6 hours....so the blue lights are not on at night correct? cuz that can cause algae.....i did that once....and i regretted that mistake.

But brown algae/diatoms usually burn themselves out and usually appear in the beginning stages of a new tank...you aren't cleaning your filter media thoroughly are you? like in tap water or buying new every month and replacing everything at once?
you don't want them cleaned to good or well you can get bacterial blooms and i would imagine brown diatoms.

 

[Rivercats]

Blue LED's/Moonlights run at night do not cause algae. They are less than 1 watt and aren't strong enough to cause anything to grow. I've run moonlights for years on many tanks.

Also while over cleaning a filter can cause a mini bacterial bloom it does not cause diatom growth.

 

[Jake_71]

I do clean my tank very thoroughly every week and do a 20%-25% water change and I do clean my filter media. No the blue lights are not on at night and sunlight never touches the tank. However when the white lights are on the blue one are also on. So I have 3 options off, blue, or blue and white.

 

[Jake_71]

How about this.

 

[Rivercats]

I've never used anything but Phosguard but might work if it's a good product. Can you find any customer reviews on it?

 

[Cloudhp8]

Blue LED's/Moonlights run at night do not cause algae. They are less than 1 watt and aren't strong enough to cause anything to grow. I've run moonlights for years on many tanks.

Also while over cleaning a filter can cause a mini bacterial bloom it does not cause diatom growth.

Really...i had a bad algae problem with leaving blue led's on but i got rid of them and upgraded to a new lighting system.....ran norm lights about 8 hours 'ish a day and algae started clearing up...hmmmmm i've just also read about a lot of people who had the same problems running blue led's at night and getting algae.

Wasn't to sure on the diatoms learned something new!! thats why i said imagine cuz it made sense that a new tank gets them and if you clean your tank filter and media it would be almost like starting over....

Still odd to get them after a year though

 

[Jake_71]

Yes the reviews say it's a great product but will look up this Phosguard stuff.

 

[Rivercats]

If you changed lighting systems then you also changed the type of lights and most likely the color spectrum of them. When any light is less than 1 watt there is absolutely no way it can attribute to growing anything. I've been in this hobby since the 70's and have used moon lights since they first came out. I have one tank that they are on all night. Algae is caused from an inbalance of light, fertilizers, and CO2. When I tank is balanced there is no algae issues. Often algae occurs when lights are run too long. Another problem is often times many LED's are geared towards SW/reef tank lighting which is often high in blue light spectrum or even can have atinic's. These lights can indeed encourage algae growth when used as a main lighting source. I

 

[Cloudhp8]

If you changed lighting systems then you also changed the type of lights and most likely the color spectrum of them. When any light is less than 1 watt there is absolutely no way it can attribute to growing anything. I've been in this hobby since the 70's and have used moon lights since they first came out. I have one tank that they are on all night. Algae is caused from an inbalance of light, fertilizers, and CO2. When I tank is balanced there is no algae issues. Often algae occurs when lights are run too long. Another problem is often times many LED's are geared towards SW/reef tank lighting which is often high in blue light spectrum or even can have atinic's. These lights can indeed encourage algae growth when used as a main lighting source. I

And this is why i like this site.....people who know their stuff!!
I learn something new everyday

 

[Jake_71]

Okay guys so here is My plan. I am not going to buy and algae eating fish or snails because I would need to buy another automatic fish feeder for their food because we are always leaving home for weeks at a time. So I am going to get a phosphate remover and clean my tank twice as much I hope this will help.

 

[Rivercats]

Sounds like a decent plan especially if you travel a lot.