Alge eater?

[KKAY27]

I have a 65g african cichlid tank and It had alot of plants and drift wood! I'm starting to grow Alge on my plants and walls of my tank. It's not green alge it's brown! I read that some alge was good for the tank but it's getting a little out of hand! What type of alge eaters could I add to my tank that won't get ate by my cichlids? I have had plecos all they do is hide? I have I have 10 cichlids in the tank! I would like to know some species that could help please!!

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[Ricky 1]

Wipe off surfaces & vacuum gravel well
Use silicate adsorbing resin in the filter
Increase the lighting
Stock a plecostomus or several otocinclus
This type of algae does not adhere strongly to the tank surfaces, and is easily wiped away. Vacuuming the gravel with a siphon will quickly remove coatings from the substrate. Increasing the lighting will inhibit re-growth of brown algae. As a new tank matures brown algae is often eliminated naturally by plants and green algae competing for nutrients. This is from a link, hope it helps.........Causes and Cures for Brown Aquarium Algae

 

[FWFishTanks]

Wipe off surfaces & vacuum gravel well
Use silicate adsorbing resin in the filter
Increase the lighting
Stock a plecostomus or several otocinclus
This type of algae does not adhere strongly to the tank surfaces, and is easily wiped away. Vacuuming the gravel with a siphon will quickly remove coatings from the substrate. Increasing the lighting will inhibit re-growth of brown algae. As a new tank matures brown algae is often eliminated naturally by plants and green algae competing for nutrients. This is from a link, hope it helps.........Causes and Cures for Brown Aquarium Algae

I don't think otos would work with African cichlids. Most plecos would though.

 

[dalto]

Nerite snails may be your best bet.

 

[Mebbid]

I don't think otos would work with African cichlids. Most plecos would though.

Agreed, putting otos in there wouldn't work at all. Plecos also tend to have a fairly poor survival rate because the cichlids often times go for their eyes.

Your best bet is to reduce the lighting time down to about 6 hours a day. That will cut down on algae growth considerably.

 

[toddnbecka]

Brown is diatoms, green is algae. Diatoms are common in new setups, usually show up about a month or two after the tank is established. A BN pleco would be your best bet provided it has cover available. They come out at night and keep the glass clean, will clean diatoms up very quickly, and those usually don't come back once they're cleared out.