BEST algae eaters for the planted tank.

[plantedtankman]

I really like my Panda Garra, but their not eating much algae off of my glass. I'm planning on adding Amano Shrimp, but I know that they couldn't eat much algae off of the glass. I was thinking maybe some Otos since I have a 30 gallon. Or maybe a Bristlenose Pleco.

 

[nickhendrix007]

I had a diatom out break so I put in 2 otos and the cleaned the glass in a week

 

[plantedtankman]

I had a diatom out break so I put in 2 otos and the cleaned the glass in a week

I'm probably going to get the Otos then. Maybe 3.

 

[bshenanagins]

Florida flagfish, they clean up some pesky algae other fish won't touch like BBA

 

[plantedtankman]

Florida flagfish, they clean up some pesky algae other fish won't touch like BBA

Are they peaceful?

 

[aqua_chem]

Are they peaceful?

Not particularly.



What kind of algae is this? The vast majority of the time algae is better addressed by attacking the root cause. If your issue is diatoms, then it's in my opinion silly to stock a fish as its usually a self limiting issue.



Remember, your fish are not your employees. They might be industrious, but there's a good chance they'll sit around like a lump and not do your algae-cleaning biddings.

 

[BBradbury]

Hello planted...

Ramshorn snails will eat most forms of algae. I've had these snails in my planted tanks for several years and have no visible algae in any of them. You can get them at the local pet store. They're small, never getting larger than a dime and come in different colors. I've never had them damage any healthy plants. In the right numbers, they'll have your algae problems solved in a few weeks.

B

 

[plantedtankman]

Not particularly.

What kind of algae is this? The vast majority of the time algae is better addressed by attacking the root cause. If your issue is diatoms, then it's in my opinion silly to stock a fish as its usually a self limiting issue.

Remember, your fish are not your employees. They might be industrious, but there's a good chance they'll sit around like a lump and not do your algae-cleaning biddings.

Black Brush Algae

 

[plantedtankman]

Hello planted...

Ramshorn snails will eat most forms of algae. I've had these snails in my planted tanks for several years and have no visible algae in any of them. You can get them at the local pet store. They're small, never getting larger than a dime and come in different colors. I've never had them damage any healthy plants. In the right numbers, they'll have your algae problems solved in a few weeks.

B

Do they breed in freshwater?

 

[aqua_chem]

You have black brush algae on your glass?

 

[bshenanagins]

Not particularly.

What kind of algae is this? The vast majority of the time algae is better addressed by attacking the root cause. If your issue is diatoms, then it's in my opinion silly to stock a fish as its usually a self limiting issue.

Remember, your fish are not your employees. They might be industrious, but there's a good chance they'll sit around like a lump and not do your algae-cleaning biddings.

Yeah they have a tendency to be semi aggressive. But right on with what aquachem said you don't buy a fish to solve a problem. I'm having algae problems as well. The temporary fixes only delay the inevitable. Plus if you happily feed your tank their interest in algae will plummet.

 

[plantedtankman]

You have black brush algae on your glass?

No on my plants. I'm going to increase my CO2 levels though to get rid of it. I'm getting the entire Flourish kit.

 

[plantedtankman]

Yeah they have a tendency to be semi aggressive. But right on with what aquachem said you don't buy a fish to solve a problem. I'm having algae problems as well. The temporary fixes only delay the inevitable. Plus if you happily feed your tank their interest in algae will plummet.

I'll pass on the Flagfish.

 

[BBradbury]

Ramshorn Snails

Do they breed in freshwater?

Hello again planted...

They will. You have to be careful how much you feed or you can have too many. I feed my fish sparingly, so my snail population is just about right.

B

 

[plantedtankman]

Hello again planted...

They will. You have to be careful how much you feed or you can have too many. I feed my fish sparingly, so my snail population is just about right.

B

I really wouldn't want a snail that would breed in FW. I think I'll get 2-3 Otos. Thanks for the info

 

[Rivercats]

An algae magnet will be best for the glass and for the BBA just raising CO2 bps and using ferts doesn't mean it will take care of it. How many hours a day do you leave your lighting run? Also what type of lighting and bulbs do you use? You can spot treat BBA with Hydrogen Peroxide but it will come back if the underlying cause isn't corrected.

Oto's will eat bio-film, diatoms, and green dust algae. They need to be in a mature tank and while some people can get them to eat things such as blanched zucchini or algae wafers most often they will not eat prepared foods and starve if enough of it's natural algae diet isn't available.

 

[plantedtankman]

An algae magnet will be best for the glass and for the BBA just raising CO2 bps and using ferts doesn't mean it will take care of it. How many hours a day do you leave your lighting run? Also what type of lighting and bulbs do you use? You can spot treat BBA with Hydrogen Peroxide but it will come back if the underlying cause isn't corrected.

Oto's will eat bio-film, diatoms, and green dust algae. They need to be in a mature tank and while some people can get them to eat things such as blanched zucchini or algae wafers most often they will not eat prepared foods and starve if enough of it's natural algae diet isn't available.

I run my T5 HO lighting (78 watts, 6000 K) for around 9 and a half hours.

 

[plantedtankman]

Oh and I have two bulbs

 

[Fishguy1111]

I really wouldn't want a snail that would breed in FW. I think I'll get 2-3 Otos. Thanks for the info

Nerite snails can live in FW but only breed in brackish.

 

[Rivercats]

Start running them 6 hours daily until the algae is gone. Then you can up your time each week by 1/2 an hour up to 8 hours max. Stop increasing time if algae begins to return and go back 1/2 an hour.

Also you can use 3ml Hydrogen Peroxide 3% for every 10g of water to spot treat. Turn off your filters, pull up the proper amount of Peroxide, slowly squirt the BBA as close to it as you can. Leave filters off 20 minutes. You can do this in an area everyday until all the BBA is treated. Usually within 24 hours you will see the BBA turning white, pink, or red which means it dying.

So kill it off, decrease photoperiod, and up your CO2 if needed.