# What algae eater would be good in my tank?



## TTTT (Dec 13, 2008)

I have a 20 gallon tank that the petstore guy SWORE was 30 gallons :chair: and I am gonna get some fish for it. What algae eater would go good in a tropical tank. I would prefer a pleco but I know Royals and Commons get HUGE so I can't get those...


----------



## Plecostomus (Jul 31, 2006)

you could get otocinclus, or maybe a smaller type of plecostomus? I don't know about rubber lipped ones, but I'm sure bristle nose plecostomuses stay small enough.


----------



## TTTT (Dec 13, 2008)

Yeah, I might get a Brittlenose. Are cory catfish good algae eaters?


----------



## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

Nah. Cories do bottomfeeding, mostly. Some might munch on it, but I wouldn't count on them to do any real damage. You could also try an olive nerite snail, they don't reproduce and are supposed to be great algae-eaters.


----------



## TTTT (Dec 13, 2008)

Would a Brittlenose Pleco be too big?


----------



## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

*Bristlenose.

They get about 5-6", which I think is really pushing it for a 20 gallon, but it's up to you.


----------



## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

I would say Bristlenose, it takes a couple years for them to get that large. And that's if you didn't get a dwarf, Majority of my bristlenose stay smaller of 4" maybe 4.5".


----------



## TTTT (Dec 13, 2008)

Ok, I think I'll try a Brittlenose


----------



## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

Osiris said:


> I would say Bristlenose, *it takes a couple years for them to get that large*. And that's if you didn't get a dwarf, Majority of my bristlenose stay smaller of 4" maybe 4.5".


Try *9 months *with a male starting with 1/2" fry and feeding home made recipes.

TTT:

I waited for other folks to respond.

If you have a local source which has like 2" BN's they can be sexed and procurement of a male and a female might be appropriate.

BN's are a first class cleanup crew and you will also observe them sucking algae on the tank walls.

They will not be happy campers in a bare bottom tank nor in a tank which is not planted without wood or rock holes and caves (they prefer wood holes).

TR


----------



## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

Yea handful do grow up rather quickly. Yet I have had 1" fry in my 210g, and 3 out of 5 am lucky if their 2" in over 12 months?! Normally they do grow faster, but these guys have stayed incredibly small for amount of time they have been in this big tank.


----------



## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

Osiris said:


> Yea handful do grow up rather quickly. Yet I have had 1" fry in my 210g, and 3 out of 5 am lucky if their 2" in over 12 months?! Normally they do grow faster, but these guys have stayed incredibly small for amount of time they have been in this big tank.


:mrgreen::twisted::rip: for Ron: he is banned.

Wondering how long a response would take.

Serious though now:

Seems like my females are still small, like 3", although the males are full length adults.

Have you encountered this condition.

TR


----------



## TTTT (Dec 13, 2008)

jones57742 said:


> They will not be happy campers in a bare bottom tank nor in a tank which is not planted without wood or rock holes and caves (they prefer wood holes).
> 
> TR


My tank will have gravel at the bottom and a cave for him/her to hide in.


----------



## CukeTheExile (Nov 26, 2007)

Try providing more than one cave or place to hide if your going to get a b/n. I haven't been on for awhile or I would have posted earlier. I would say a bristlenose pleco would be a safe bet if you want something to eat your algae. From my experience with them they are outgoing little guys. I have heard otherwise a few times, so I would say it depends on the specific one as well as the environment and tank mates. I've never had one that grew over 4.5" and the males tend to be bigger than the females. As Jones said a male and female would do wonders. Try to stay away from male/male seeing as they have territory disputes, and the size of your tank would most likely end up with one dead or seriously injured leading to death sooner or later if not taken care of. A twenty gallon tank for a pair of b/n's shouldn't be an issue of space so much as proper filtration, there little poop machines.
Basically just make sure you use the space in your aquarium wisely to get them a few good hiding spots. Keep the filtration up, and make sure you feed them. People tend to neglect feeding a pleco because they eat the algae off of the glass and think that that's all they need. Algae wafers supplemented a couple times a week with live, frozen, or freeze dried meaty foods such as blood worms, etc... wouldn't hurt.

That is if your going to get a bristle/bushy nose pleco.


----------



## smark (Dec 2, 2008)

Butterfly Pleco. These are so much fun to watch. We had one for two years until a week ago when he passed away. He was always bussy and never in hidding. Its realy cool.


----------



## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

I think butterfly plecos are coldwater fish.


----------



## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

Do you know the L number for that fish? I am having a hard time finding a match under that common name. Thanks.


----------



## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

Obsidian: they're also known as "hillstream loaches."


----------



## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

Well that makes the look up a lot easier! Thanks Julie.


----------



## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

Folks:

I did not respond earlier as Julie really does her homework but:


trashion said:


> I think butterfly plecos are coldwater fish.


are really not what I refer to as "coldwater fish".

They come in many forms two of which I have found available at reasonable cost although they are not styled "Butterfly Loach": the *Sewellia lineolata* being the most common and the 
*Sewellia sp. "spotted"*.

Although *Loaches On Line* documents the maximum temperature for the lineolata to be 75F they will grow and exhibit breeding behavior at 78F.

LOL is not kidding about pristine water conditions for these fish as, IMHO, they are more sensitive than Oto's.

TR


----------



## wm_crash (Feb 6, 2007)

Hi,

Most hillstream loaches that hit the stores are Beaufortia leveretti. They arrive rather small.

Sewellia lineolata are not found so often in stores, and they are around $10 to $15 a piece. Sewellia sp SPOTTED are not so often seen. I can say from experience that the SPOTTED ones are not good alga eaters . . . I have a dozen, and their tank is not that clean.

Another genus of hillstreams are the Gastromyzon (and Pseudogastromyzon) species. Apparently these do an ok job. But again, the cooler temperature requirement is there, as well as a need for better water oxygenation and some water current.

That being said, these hillstream loaches like to interact a lot. You will need a group as few other fish can interact with them the way they like it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKt4Hb03tj8

cheers,
wm_crash, the friendly hooligan


----------

