20 Gallon Tank Nerite snails vs Ottocinclus? What to feed after they have cleaned glass algae

So I have brown algae growing on my glass and it's a pain trying to clean them every week. I don't overfeed my platies and I have my lights on for about 8-9 hours. I'm thinking of getting an algae-eating fish to solve this problem. I'm wondering if I should get a nerite snail or an ottto. I have a 20g with 4 platies and will be getting 3 or 4 more high fin platies soon. If I get a snail or otto, what should I feed them after the algae are gone? Will they take algae wafers; specifically from these brands: API Algae Wafers, Tetra pleco wafers, and Hikari algae wafers. Are these good brands that contain the right algae substitute because I heard that you need some algae-related meal instead of fish meal.

 

otto really should be in a group; 6 min but 10 or 20 works better. However, a single nerite or even 2 are fine. The only real negative of nerite snails is if you end up with a female it will litter your glass with white dots. otto will eat flake food; soilent green; zuc; while people associate them with algae eaters (and they do eat algae); they also require quite a bit of protein from meat and similar.

 

otto really should be in a group; 6 min but 10 or 20 works better. However, a single nerite or even 2 are fine. The only real negative of nerite snails is if you end up with a female it will litter your glass with white dots. otto will eat flake food; soilent green; zuc; while people associate them with algae eaters (and they do eat algae); they also require quite a bit of protein from meat and similar.

I really don't wanna have that many ottos, so I think I'll settle on snails. I don't really mind the eggs. Can I feed my snails algae wafers? And is there a difference between a mystery snail and a nerite snail?

 

Nerite snail are more efficient and can't reproduce in freshwater. Mystery snails are larger and if you get a female they can reproduce like rabbits if you want a lot of baby mystery snails.

 

Nerite snail are more efficient and can't reproduce in freshwater. Mystery snails are larger and if you get a female they can reproduce like rabbits if you want a lot of baby mystery snails.

Ohh so that's the difference, thanks a bunch!

 

How long has the tank been running? There’s a chance the algae is just normal if you have a new tank running. I have some algae growing on some plants, but its just brown algae and doesnt do anything. I dont think my nerite ends up eating any of it though…

 

How long has the tank been running? There’s a chance the algae is just normal if you have a new tank running. I have some algae growing on some plants, but its just brown algae and doesnt do anything. I dont think my nerite ends up eating any of it though…

About 2 months. I initially had a massive green water problem about 5 weeks in and got it all cleared up with regular water changes and UV Sterilization. I did overfeed at the start but stopped overfeeding when I noticed brown green and brown algae on walls

 

Is it a lot of brown algae? Or just a bit? If its a lot there’s a deeper problem going on, but you did the right thing stopping over feeding. If you dont see algae levels dying down or already low, well, I’m not sure. I’m not the most experienced or knowledgeable user here, but i bet other users can help. Getting a snail would always help, and I just like the way my nerite looks. Hope this helps!

 

Is it a lot of brown algae? Or just a bit? If its a lot there’s a deeper problem going on, but you did the right thing stopping over feeding. If you dont see algae levels dying down or already low, well, I’m not sure. I’m not the most experienced or knowledgeable user here, but i bet other users can help. Getting a snail would always help, and I just like the way my nerite looks. Hope this helps!

It’s not a TON. Just a little stream of brown algae on the back of my tank where my filter and uv sterilized sits. Almost like a tiny mountain range kinda shape. It definitely not a lot and doesn’t seem like a huge problem. I had green spots of algae on the front which I scraped off with a card and that hasn’t come back since then. I’m thinking of getting a mystery snail just to add to my community collection after eating the algae!

 

Alright cool. Yeah the algae amount you described seems normal, you can get a snail to eat it, or just let it be. I’d just get the snail lol.

 

Alright cool. Yeah the algae amount you described seems normal, you can get a snail to eat it, or just let it be. I’d just get the snail lol.

Yeah I’ll get 2 of em. It will be fun to watch them slug around