jgon_

Are there any algae eaters small enough and friendly enough to take care of the growth in my 10 gall. community tank?

Allie

Otto catfish get 2" at the most, you could get two.
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...species_id=107

Here's a list of small ones
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog...?min=32&max=32

MrsM3197

Oto cats are really great algae eaters. They stay small, are totally peaceful, and are really cute little fish. They are completely herbiverous, they won't scavenge for scraps of leftover food in the bottom of your tank so make sure you have enough algae for them to eat or they will starve to death (please don't ask how I know this...I am ashamed ). Feed sinking algae pellets, grow your own algae garden on rocks outside in a dish of declorinated water, or hang a piece of veggie like a zuchinni <sp?> in the tank if you don't have enough algae.

jgon_

I just checked Petco which is in walking distance to my house. Their "oto's" looked too large, about 4", possibly chinese algae eaters? I'll wait till this weekend to check out my local fish specialty shop.

GouramiGirl1221

I have something to add to this...I recently killed two chinese algae eaters. I fed sinking algae pellets because my tank wasn't very old, but they still died within a couple of weeks. I haven't tried again, but I would like to eventually. Any pointers on what I did wrong?

Fish Addict

How big were they? The older ones don't eat algae, ironic considering the name...

GouramiGirl1221

I'm not really sure...I assume young? I got them from the fish store (I didn't know I was supposed to ask) and they were, at maximum, 1 1/2 inches.

pepetj

I know ottos are quite sensitive and must be placed in already stable tanks, I wonder if chinese algae eaters are also like that; or maybe they sold you ottos instead.

Pepe
Santo Domingo

pepetj

I can give two answers to that (not mutually exclusive):
a) you've been doing a responsible work in fishkeeping, and
b) you've been spending too much time in fishlore! (I'm guilty on that one too)

Pepe
Santo Domingo

TheJimsterness

chinese algae eaters suck
they will get too big and too mean when they get older
BTW what type of algae is it

gremlin

chinese algae eaters are the pit bulls of the fish world...they get a bad rap when really all they need is a little understanding. They are NOT good for anything smaller than a 20 gallon tank. They are VERY territorial. They need minimum of 20 gallons for the first and an additional 10-20 gallons for each additional. They also need 3 hidey holes for the first algae eater and 2-3 hidey holes for each additional algae eater. They are voracious eaters. As long as they are housed in a large enough tank with enough hidey holes, they WILL continue to eat algae. I had two in my pond last year that went to school tanks for the winter. They are each housed in a 29 gallon tank with no other bottom feeders (one is with swordtails and one is with a mixed tetra group). Each tank has three decorations that have hidey holes available. Neither tank has a speck of moss and the owners feed algae wafers, carnivore wafers, and romaine lettuce leaves. One chinese algae eater can completely strip 3 (yes three) romaine leaves in one night. Here is a pic of my two from last summer when I caught them to take them to the school. I have two more in my pond this summer and NO MOSS!!! I will be putting them in a 40 gallon breeder tank for the winter. I have 6 decorations for them to hide in as well as putting in three shelves for them to hide under. Yes, 9 places to hide for 2 chinese algae eaters.

Attached Images

08-07-07 2 algae eaters to school.JPG (44.6 KB, 4 views)

timmafee

i have a bristlenose / bushynose catfish
she keeps to herself and pretty much eats all day. i don't think they grow over 10cm, dont quote me on that though