treehugr

Hello, we're looking for an algae eater that would do well in a 14-gallon tank. Any suggestions? The LFS suggested Ottos, but I've heard they die easy.

Thanks.

Blub

COBettaCouple

A bristlenose pleco might work in your tank.

treehugr

Hmm, I didn't even think of snails or shrimp - I will look into those. Do they carry the same bioload as fish -- do I have to figure them into the tank capacity?

treehugr

Thanks. I did a quick online search and it seems they might be a little too big for my 14 gallon tank. Seems they get from 4.5 to 6 inches. Says minimum tank capacity is 30 gallon.

Blub

treehugr

Do the shrimp and snails carry the same bioload as fish do?

Blub

sirdarksol

Depending on the snail, they can actually contribute a lot.
Amano shrimp (and all of their kin, like the cherry reds) are decent algae eaters.

The important thing to note is that the best way to deal with algae is to keep up on the water changes. Lowering the amount of nitrates in the tank will minimize the algae. This will make it easier for any shrimp/snails to deal with what algae you have.

If you have a very stable chemistry in your tank, you could get a small cleaning crew of two or three otos. However, they do not deal well with nitrates, so you need to think carefully if your nitrate levels remain at 10ppm or less at all times. If they don't, otos wouldn't do well (I know this from experience.)

Another good way of dealing with algae is including live plants, preferably relatively fast growing ones. Fast growing plants will compete with algae for available nutrients, and will likely win.

King_Snuggles

Oto's are great algy eaters and stay small. Plus they are cheap

monkeyfish

i recently got 2 otos and noticed much less algae just a few weeks after i got them. i've had them for a few months now and they are great!

treehugr

Okay, I am at my wit's end. If it wasn't for the fish that are still alive, I would sell this tank and forget about having an aquarium.

We got this tank (our first) in December and have been battling the water since January. We do 10-20% water changes every week and we test the water (which is fine). I thought maybe it was the driftwood so I took that out - no change. I thought it might be the coral rock, took that out - no change. Thought it might be the food, changed that - still no change.

What the heck could this be? Could the pump be malfunctioning? It seems to be running okay. It's a new tank that we just set up in December.

I can't imagine what the heck the problem is.

Austin {Aquarist}

some people have a really hard time keeping ottos and some don't. I am a newbie aquarist and I have 5 ottos in my 25 gallon and they are doing fine. I am also ashamed to say that lately I have been neglecting my water change responsibilities but hey are still doing great. They are very easy to feed too. I give them a diet of cucumber one night then an algae wafer the next then a cucumber the next night etc etc...Your LFS may have said they are hard to keep but I highly recommend them :]

PS I have attached a photo of my biggest otto :]] he is almost an inch and a half

Attached Images

Aquariums 4-28-08 008.jpg (367.2 KB, 11 views)

Allie

Otos work great from me too. They seem pretty hardy to me. You need 3 or more of them for them to be comfortable. They swim in a group sometimes it is so cute.
My 2 bigs ones are 2 years old and huge 2-2.5", my other is half their size.

treehugr

Hi all, got back from vacation this week and, now that our algae bloom problem is gone (thank God!), we are planning to get those new tank mates. It sounds like you're all in agreement that ottos are the best choice for our small tank? Though, 2.5 inches seems a little big for a 14g tank (especially three ottos) - how large do they get?

If I get 3 ottos, does that mean I can't get any more Red Serpae Tetras? We were planning on getting maybe 2 more to make the total Serpae 5. Though, I have to say, they seem okay with just the 3 of them now (they're not as shy as they were when we first got them...now they don't hide or dart around).

If I get the 3 ottos, should I still get a shrimp or snail? Or, is it one or the other (ottos OR shrimp)?

The guy at our LFS sold us 2 Chinese Algae Eaters a couple of weeks ago (a few days before our vacation) but both have since died . Not sure what happened there - maybe they were just sickly when we got them (they were the last two in the LFS tank).

joy613

Chinese algae eaters get big and lazy, they also like the slime coat of other fish.

Fish Addict

Well, from your posts, I would say my best advice is to... NOT LISTEN TO THE LFS! Chinese algae eaters aren't very good, since they don't do much for the algae, and attack the other fish!

treehugr

Yeah, we won't be getting any more CAE. Looking into the ottos now. Still curious as to how many I should get and if we should also get shrimp.