Plant Eaters

[Bhunsucker]

I'm getting ready to start my first FW planted tank. Does anyone have a list of FW fish that are plant eaters. I would hate to spend a lot of $$ on plants only to have them eaten to there roots. Thanks for the help.

 

[Jchillin]

I don't happen to have a list of fish that do, but I do know several that don't.

Most tetras, dwarf cichlids (apistos/rams), dwarf plecos, and corydoras. Well, I'm a little biased because I have these in my tank currently.

 

[malkore]

larger cichlids tend to damage fine leaved plants, or uproot them. SAE's will damage fine leaved plants, as will gourami.

 

[Zezmo]

Some of my Rainbow Fish will make short work of a plant.... like my M. Splendida that was munching my Eriocaulon sp "Mato Grosso". I sure didn't buy that expensive plant for her to keep a svelt fighure by eating at my Salad Bar. !!!

 

[BlazerFRS]

Goldfish can be plant destroyers as well

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

I sure didn't buy that expensive plant for her to keep a svelt fighure by eating at my Salad Bar. !!!

hahahaha

My SAE will occasionally take a nibble off my Rotala Nanjenshan (very fine leaved). My balas will tear chunks of anubias up trying to eat the algae that forms on their leaves. My congo Tetras will eat the flowers that my anubias puts up (usually after the bala breaks them off).. Ghost shrimp will break off small peices of leaf to eat aswell..

What I'm trying to say is, most fish will eat plants, the real question is, which ones eat plants faster then they grow. and the simple answer to that is Small fish don't eat that much plant matter.

Oh, and no fish eats my Crinum, I guess the stuff really does taste awful.

 

[savga]

I got some American Flag fish to eat hair algae, but when the algae was gone the started nibbling all the tender new growth off my plants. My big Rosy barbs also like topull on plants and uproot them but they can't really take a bite like the Flag fish.

 

[mrsmarsig]

Buenos Aires tetras (a big old fish) tore up my tank in one night!

 

[Friendly]

Silver dollars will eat pretty much everything.