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March 19th, 2008
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| | Fish Addict
| algae eaters?
would everyone please rattle off their favorite algae eaters? i was going to get a pair of L168 or L052(butterfly pleco)... but with shipping (online), that's really going to add up fast... thought i'd look around locally and see if i could find some of your suggestions.
i'm not thrilled about otos. and i can't have shrimp (if they even eat algae?). i have 3 MTS's, but they're not able to keep up with the bit of algae i'm gettin'. | 
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March 19th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| My clown and bn pleco's both do great jobs  | |
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March 19th, 2008
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| | Fish Mentor
| If cost is the issue you can't go wrong with bristlenose plecoes. They don't out grow your tank, and do a good job on algae.
Can you adjust something about your tank to try to control algae?
Limit light, feed less, do more water changes to keep nitrates down to 10?
I personally love ottoes and have them in 2 of my tanks, they are easy on plants and spend many hours eating algae off them, but also have a variety of plecoes.
You just have to research plecoes to be sure you are getting algae eaters and not just wood/algae, or the more carnivorous types.
Size however is of utmost importance, so be sure to size your purchase to not overcrowd your tank. | |
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March 19th, 2008
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| | Fish Addict
| cost isn't a huge factor, but the butterflies i like are already $25 each... add shipping, i'm guessing around $40? and that's a decent chunk of change for 2 fish - i'm willing to spend it if i can't come up with something else i like, but i figured it doesn't hurt to ask for suggestions. tho i did research them and they are supposed to be algae-lovers. i kinda think the BN plecos are ugly, but i notice a lot of people here are big fans. i'll have to have a look at clowns.
my nitrates are kept under 5, and i need a decent amount/duration of light for live plants. many of my fish atm are babies (and it's unlikely all of the angels will be staying), and so i try to offer frequent small feedings, so that could be contributing, i suppose... i'd intended to supplement the clean-up crew soon too (maybe with a few cories?). anyway, the algae isn't horrendous yet... but i'd rather it didn't get that way!
thanks for the suggestions, keep 'em comin'! | |
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March 19th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Common, sp.3 bristlenoses are available at most petstores, and cost about 5$, with albinos costing more.
I was desperate for a small algae eater. Someone suggested BNs to me. I used to think they were ugly too, but believe me, they grow on you and now my two have become my favorite fish!
Who would not love this cute little devil?  | |
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March 19th, 2008
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| | Master Of Fish Poo!
| Well, Otos & Cherry Shrimp came to mind first, but BN Plecos, particularly long finned albinos would be what we'd suggest. They're great little algae eaters and beautiful plecos. | |
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March 19th, 2008
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| | Fish Addict
| won't fish eat shrimp? particularly angels? | |
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March 19th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote: |
won't fish eat shrimp? particularly angels?
| Most fish, and not particularly angels, will eat shrimp or any other creature that will fit in their mouths. | |
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March 19th, 2008
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| | Fish Mentor
| Quote:
Originally Posted by SereneReyn  won't fish eat shrimp? particularly angels? | I breed Cherry Red Shrimp in a tank fully stocked with Platties, Liberty Mollys, and Neon rainbows.....the shrimp have exploded from 25 in June of 2007 to over 500 now. I just sold 100, and have since seen lots of new babies.... I just posted two pictures of this tank. The key LOTS of java moss....
Today I took almost 1/2 the java moss out and put over into a different tank, 5 hitch hiking shrimp were quickly gobbled up in the new tank.  | |
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March 20th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| You have a big tank, so I'd actually recommend a Chinese algae eater. They're voracious eaters and just one individual will keep your tank spotless.
I've never had behavior trouble with them. I think most people do because they put them in small aquariums where they feel stressed and get territorial.
You could always donate it to a LFS if it becomes troublesome. they're only $4 or so, so no big loss. | |
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March 20th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| Hi!
Fish: BN, Clown pleco, SAE,
Inverts: Zebra nerites!
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March 20th, 2008
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| | Fish Addict
| zebra nerites look pretty cool, but i read up on them a bit and it says that while they can live in freshwater, their more ideal environment is a brackish setting. i do like how rare it is for them to multiply tho!
will check into the other suggestions to see if any LFSs here have them. thanks! | |
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March 20th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| Hi!
I have never heard of Zebra nerites in Brackish? Well, I guessed they could go in it but never heard if it was best for them.
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March 20th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Nobody has said snails. What about an Apple Snail?! They look so cool. | |
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March 20th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by FL CommunityFans Nobody has said snails. What about an Apple Snail?! They look so cool. | Hi!
Apple snails are pretty poor algae eaters - they are big poopers (I recommend at least 5gal per snail) and make more mess than they clean up. They have great personalitys if you have space for them though!
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March 20th, 2008
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| | Fish Addict
| ew, k... no apple snails. | |
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March 20th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by SereneReyn ew, k... no apple snails. | So they poop big and don't eat enough algae.. they're still cool ! lol 
I'm actually in your spot Sere. My daughters 10g needs an algae eater of some sort, and I can't decide on oto's (the ones I have seen are from petland and they are ew and my preferred LFS last stock were very poor - most died before they allowed them to be sold). So only real option is something small, but not sure what would fit with platys and danios 
I'm keeping tabs here too | |
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March 20th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| Hi!
Takashi amano shrimp or Zebra Nerites would work well with your daughter's tank FCF. Yeah, Apple snails are cool but you have to be careful. I say 20gal minimal for them - they do a ton of poop! Seriously cool if you have space. You also have to watch your getting pomacea bridgesii - there are lots of species and bridgesii is the small one. Most others are monsters! If you could make sure you get the right species (www.applesnail.net has great info on this!) it would be cool to have 1 or 2 AS's in your 75gal. They really try to look for food in as many ways as possible - even letting themselves get zoomed around at the surface of the tank to get places fast and sometimes to get flake food.
Last edited by Blub; March 20th, 2008 at 03:44 PM.
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March 20th, 2008
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| | Fish Addict
| i guess i'm probably going to stick with my original plan... so, just gotta break the news to my husband that i'm buying 2 fish for about $100... which... we would actually save money if i picked out a few more to order at the same time... (shipping). i'm reluctant to add too many at once, but i've been pretty on top of the waterchanges... think he'll go for it? rofl... | |
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March 20th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Zebra nerite snails are perfectly fine in freshwater, but they cannot reproduce in it. That's a good thing! | |
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March 20th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Do it Sere ! We stopped by our favorite LFS to get the snails.. then saw they had new very small clown plecos just in. He knocked it down 1/2 price for me so he will be in the 10g for at least 2-3 months, while I debate on getting a bigger tank for her room and using the 10g as a plant-grower.
Then we got talking about fancy plecos. They had a gold nugget and a royal in, wanted 30$ for each one, but I don't have the tank space right now for them. Fancy Plecos and Corys are my favorites! Now I need to find a fish that I like for top/middle of the tank.
What's your preferred top/middle level fish, Sere?
(not trying to hijack! it's good to know what fish are good with the slow-going algae eaters )
(((go for it whether hubby is 100% on board or not! ;p ))) | |
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March 21st, 2008
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| | Fish Addict
| well, ideally i would have discus, but their care is a little intimidating, so... i went with angels... and some 'feeder neons', lol... (i know the angels may snack on them eventually, but they were only 10cents). i also have khuli loaches, which the kids love... they're super hyper.
i'm thinking that when i decide which angels are staying, i might also get either a few catfish or possibly a trio of bonsai german blue rams (smaller, pot-bellied, long-finned version of the regular GBR). i'd also considered rainbows... i dunno, depends i guess on how things go after the next addition (plecos). | |
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