I have 2 of those guys. From what I read, there are some 30 species of Hillstream loaches, some are pretty good algae eaters, some are not. Mine had not make a dent in the algae, but they are fun to watch and easy to maintain.
Some had reported that hillies can be fragile, but mine had done well with really no work on my part. I think key to keeping them healthy is have high O2 content (which means lowish temp - 75 in my tank - and high current flow - about 500 gph in my setup). A mature tank with lots of microorganisms is needed (lots of driftwood, rocks, etc. for stuff to grow on). A light layer of algae can't hurt.
I find mine mostly active at night. They don't seem to go for prepared food (although my goldies vacuum up food so fast that no one else would have any chance of finding any!)