Algae eating fish with a betta?

Some pleco breeds stay small and get a max of 3" and those variety are fine in a 10 gal.

I respectfully disagree. IMO-the smaller plecos shouldn't be kept in anything smaller than a 20g. They produce a lot of waste.

 

So far, I'm avoiding getting anything. I'll likely get a snail in the long run.

 

The whole need for a "helper fish" is really just hype. You don't need a helper fish to eat algae/detritus--since all they do is turn that algae/detritus into large amounts of unsightly poop.

The tank in question is not ideal for cories, since they should live in schools of 6 or more, not ideal for otos since it is not mature and they prefer to be in groups of 3 or more, and not ideal for any type of pleco because of the size and the amount of waste they produce.

Some people say shrimp are good with bettas--but I have had tons of shrimp and many bettas over the years, some of these bettas have tolerated other fish and ADFs and the like--but never has any kind of shrimp lasted more than a couple months with my bettas. They always get eaten eventually.

Snails are really your best bet if you want something that can effectively clean the algae off the glass and your plants. If you control the amount of light and the amount of food you put in your tank, the population will not explode. Each of my tanks has malaysian trumpet snails and each one has one large ramshorn snail which does most of the cleaning. I've tried adding more ramshorns to the tank, but when I do, one always out-competes the other for food and the other dies. Population control really isn't an issue.

 

I have to agree. Snails are usually the best option. I would just get one though for a 5gal mainly if it is a mystery snail....I have one the size of a half dollar. So they get pretty big and loveable lol.

 

try a bristle-nose catfish I have one in with my fighter at the moment and they are fine together. They are in a 5 gallen tank the moment and the catfish will eventually get to about 15cm but that will take over 5 years for him to get that big. I wouldnt recommend snails.

 

I was thinking about getting some snails for my divided betta tank. Should I just get 1 snail or a snail for each divided part?

 

I would still be cautious with the plecos though... what breeds stay that little?

Umm for sure a Rubber pleco, then some type a bristlenose or something that we have at work, then also a clown pleco (not a loach a actual pleco) But those are just the ones we keep in stock

I respectfully disagree. IMO-the smaller plecos shouldn't be kept in anything smaller than a 20g. They produce a lot of waste.

I agree that it would require a lot of cleaning due to the waste but I was just stating that it is an option. I didn't know exactly how much space they needed I just knew they stayed small.

 

Snails are really sounding like a good plan here !

 

try a bristle-nose catfish I have one in with my fighter at the moment and they are fine together. They are in a 5 gallen tank the moment and the catfish will eventually get to about 15cm but that will take over 5 years for him to get that big. I wouldnt recommend snails.

True but not every betta would let something likethat in their tank. It still all boils down to personality. And I'm only suggest one snail. But if you get more you'll have to manage your food.

 

I would still be cautious with the plecos though... what breeds stay that little?

I have a female bristlenose pleco and she's MAYBE 3". A year old. very shy.

 

I took the chance - and Wan Bo Bo has been content living with a couple of ghost shrimp and a yellow snail for a while now.

 

Hope it continues to go well for you, congrats!

 

I've never had an algae problem in my tank until very recently but now it's everywhere! What tank mate would be best to control this? Something that will eat it off of many different surfaces like rocks, glass, silk plants. The tank is 5 gallons with 1 betta in it, he's pretty chill so I don't have any worries about him attacking anyone. Also preferably something that won't eat my moss balls.

 

Have you tried controlling the algae manually? Usually it's a light or nutrient problem

 

Nitrite snails? Post a photo of the algae please.

 

I love my nerite snails!

I have them in my community tank and my betta tank (though my betta tank has only been a betta tank for a week!).

They do a great job with algae in my opinion. And, they have a low bioload. Plus, they don't get nippy.

 

Nitrite snails? Post a photo of the algae please.

It looks orange which is the only type any of my tanks have ever grown

 

Those are probably diatoms, they usually show up in newer set up tanks, nerites would be perfect for the job. They come in a variety of colors, I have 12 in my 20 gallon.

 

Check your water parameters or just do a water change- a sudden algae bloom could mean your nitrogen parameters are high.

 

Go with snails, they’ll get rid of any leftover food scraps and algae, but they breed like crazy.

 

Only asexual snails breed like mad, so mostly pest snails. Nerites cannot reproduce in freshwater, they can mate and lay eggs everywhere but you will never have babies unless you place them in brackish water. It's another reason why people love them so much lol

 

Only asexual snails breed like made, so mostly pest snails. Nerites cannot reproduce in freshwater, they can mate and lay eggs everywhere but you will never have babies unless you place them in brackish water. It's another reason why people love them so much lol

Whoops! Forgot about that, my 20 gal is riddled with pest snails

 

Those are probably diatoms, they usually show up in newer set up tanks, nerites would be perfect for the job. They come in a variety of colors, I have 12 in my 20 gallon.View attachment 479395

I like how you have names for all of them. My favorite name is edgelord. And my favorite pattern yang

 

Edgelord started off as a joke between me and my friend...then it became his name lol
I always use this pic to show people all the colors nerites can come in so they can see how AMAZING they are! I just labeled them so I can keep track lol

 

And what's crazy... that's not even all the types of nerites!!! Plus, the same types have different patterns that make them unique.

But, Gala's right. Lots of eggs, no babies.

 

LET ME TELL YOU.
I never thought I would fall this deep in LOVE with nerites, I started a thread about all the different types, sadly I haven't gotten many posts for more snails to add, but as I find them, I add them. I want more for the tank but then I think it might be just a little too much lol

Gah, getting side tracked!
Sorry OP, I shall not change the topic of this thread! Get yourself some nerites!

 

Hello everyone I've decided to get a nerite snail today but I'm wondering if I have to quarantine it? Some people on other posts said yes while others said no so I just thought I would ask. I only have a 1 gallon bowl besides my tank though if I have to quarantine it.

 

Those are probably diatoms, they usually show up in newer set up tanks, nerites would be perfect for the job. They come in a variety of colors, I have 12 in my 20 gallon.View attachment 479395

All of those are so lovely! I don't have any nerites, and now I want some! Lol

 

Usually snails don't carry any fish diseases except for ich or external things like that. I've never personally quarantined any snails.

 

I QTd snails I got from a not so good looking tank once before. That's the only time I've ever QTd snails. While snails, from what I've read, don't have the same diseases in general as fish, I've read that they can "carry things in" on the water in/on their shells. I gave all mine a good swish in removed tank water after drip acclimation before release. Keep in mind that any stock can carry something bad into the tank. As QT is ALWAYS recommended, it's a personal choice.

 

I QTd snails I got from a not so good looking tank once before. That's the only time I've ever QTd snails. While snails, from what I've read, don't have the same diseases in general as fish, I've read that they can "carry things in" on the water in/on their shells. I gave all mine a good swish in removed tank water after drip acclimation before release. Keep in mind that any stock can carry something bad into the tank. As QT is ALWAYS recommended, it's a personal choice.

Would my bowl with some of my tank water in it work? I'm assuming no because of the nitrogen cycle and the small bowl but I thought I would ask anyway

 

I haven't had a snail in an uncycled tank, so I am not sure how a nerite would do in it. Maybe someone in here can give some insight on that for ya. I can guarantee someone's done it!!

 

If you fed it and did every day or every other day water changes, you should be fine if you do decide to quarantine it.

 

Gonna see if this will work... here's a list from a search. Not a lot of threads to read through and not a lot of responses in each thread so it shouldn't take long to read them all if you want. It might help you decide what you want to do.

Search Results for Query: Quarantine nerite

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PonzLL has some snail jarariums, I bet he can give you some guidance on how to set up your bowl and what it would take to maintain it for QT.

 

He was in a snails only tank so I decided not to quarantine him. I do have a problem though, I chose a snail but I don't even know if it's a nerite or not. The fish lady told me that they only had "apple snails" but I could clearly see other types such as the assassin snail so I chose one that I thought was maybe a nerite but chances are it's an "apple snail" but I can show anyone who could help identify it.

 

Post us a pic!

And, btw, the 4 I put thru QT were from a snail only tank. There were, my best guess, 200 snails in the tank. All you could see across the floor of the tank were snail shells. I told them I'd take all the live ones we could find. We went through all the shells and found 4 that were alive.

 

Yes! Please post pics!

 

He was completely fine no breaks in the shell no stringyness when I got him but now he suddenly has a piece of skin and some suspicious looking poop and I'm very worried. I'll post the pics I got but he is very small his shell is like 1cm squared plus he was hiding behind the filter so they are not great lol.

 

The poop looks fine, I can't see the skin you're talking about but it does indeed look like an apple or mystery snail. They may eat some algae but they also need meat in their diet like shrimp pellets or something like that. The betta may also bite off more pieces or try to attack it more than a nerite, which is more protected against things like that.

 

I really wanted a nerite but I was told they would have to special order them and that they usually only get shipments of mystery or apple snails so I decided to pick him because he wasn't bright yellow so I wasn't positive he was an apple snail and he also is very active and fast and their bigger yellow snail had a cracked shell and was in another tank so I didn't want to take the chance. I don't mind the mystery snail but I guess I will have to scrub all that algae off myself then lol. Will he eat blood worms and pellets that fall into the gravel?