which alga eating fish (or shrimp)

[Jacco]

Hi,
I'd like to add some alga eating fish to my fishbowl (700L). In the little forrest streams most apisto's live alga are hard to find... as are these specific fish. Which one would be closest though to the apisto/dwarfcichlid biotope? Any suggestions?
thx,
Jacco.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Otocinclus are fine with Apistogramma, they need a planted tank, supplementary feeding with vegetables and very good water quality, you also need to keep them as a group.

If your pH and hardness aren't really low, Red Ramshorns will do a better cleaning job.

Red Cherry Shrimp are a non-starter, as the fish eat them, but Amano's might be a possibility.

cheers Darrel

 

[slimbolen99]

I use Otocinclus sp. as they are from South America and do a great job at removing algae; although, I couldn't pinpoint a specific region they are from as there are many species and I think that they are really difficult to tell apart. They stay fairly small (1 to 2.5 inches), seem to be peaceful, etc. Normally, I stock them about one for every 10 gallons, but you could certainly do more than that.

 

[Gwendal]

Otocinclus in little tanks make a good job, in bigger tanks you can use Ancistrus.










1 saludo

 

[wethumbs]

For a fish bowl that size, pleco like the common Ancistrus will keep the algae at bay. You can even try keeping a pair and provide a cave for the male to guard his spawn.