Labenator65000
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I have a 55 stocked with Malawi Cichlids (mostly Mbuna). I also have a Syn.Eupterus (Featherfin Squeaker). I recently added a Bristlenose Pleco to the mix. There was immediate positive results on the level of algae in the tank, which is partly why I wanted the Pleco (but mostly just because they are nice-looking and robust). However, now that the tank is pretty much free of algae, I'm concerned about whether the BNP eating enough. I add NLS Cichlid daily, which is gone in about 30 seconds. The Squeaker has learned that if it wants to eat, it has to compete with the voracious feeders of the Cichlids. The BNP could care less about the pellet food, at least so far as I can tell. I drop an algae wafer or two in while feeding, but once the NLS is finished the Cichlids will rather comically compete over the wafers until they, too are gone, while the BNP sucks away obliviously and laboriously at the decor. I have changed my light timers so that they automatically turn on at 8 and turn off at midnight, to encourage natural algae growth. Should I worry about the BNP? What else can I put in there that the Cichlids won't demolish before the BNP has a chance to get to it?