# Best Thread Algae Eater



## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

What is the best thread algae eater? I have Tylos, zebra Nerites, and RCS but they don't seem to be doing a good job.


----------



## gpodio (Mar 16, 2010)

In my experience it's the SAE. I add them to any new tank these days... Heard good things in the past about the FFF (Florida Flag Fish) but never tried it personally.

Hope that helps
Giancarlo Podio


----------



## farmhand (Jun 25, 2009)

gpodio said:


> In my experience it's the SAE. I add them to any new tank these days... Heard good things in the past about the FFF (Florida Flag Fish) but never tried it personally.
> 
> Hope that helps
> Giancarlo Podio


I have never had them, but have heard they can be a little rambunctious and upset a quite tank. What are your experiences?


----------



## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

farmhand said:


> I have never had them, but have heard they can be a little rambunctious and upset a quite tank. What are your experiences?


my SAE or whatever they may be seem to work out for a few months until they start to get semi large and then they think they run the tank.. 

i had two SAEs kill off a few rams and even a baby angel i just had bought


----------



## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Flag Fish are said to be good thread (hair) algae eaters. I never kept them so I can't confirm.

(And just to get it out of the way: adding sufficient nutrients to keep plants growing well at your specific light level is the best thread algae destroyer.)


----------



## anastasisariel (Oct 4, 2009)

> (And just to get it out of the way: adding sufficient nutrients to keep plants growing well at your specific light level is the best thread algae destroyer.)


You just had to! lol

Paul generally has flagfish year round. I believe he collects many of them so they are genetically diverse. I'm actually about to break down and buy one male or a pair myself. That's really whats nice about him... you can specify male or female. http://www.aquaculturestore.com/fwverts.html


----------



## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

Wasserpest said:


> Flag Fish are said to be good thread (hair) algae eaters. I never kept them so I can't confirm.
> 
> (And just to get it out of the way: adding sufficient nutrients to keep plants growing well at your specific light level is the best thread algae destroyer.)


I'm following the PPS Pro protocol but my tank is less than 2 months old. Most of the plants in the tank seem to be thriving, I just want something that will devour the algae off the plant leaves. I don't want to chance SAEs as I have a tank full of Endlers and a couple of rams and don't want them bothered by them. Are Florida Flag fish peaceful? They're a type of killifish correct? I know some killifish are aggressive.


----------



## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

I'd say... wait it out. New tanks go through these algae periods, plants grow out of it, and a pair of scissors might be all you need to get rid of algae infested leaves.


----------



## zenfish (Jan 29, 2006)

A toothbrush and some dedicated twisting of it works wonders..Took me about 2 months to get rid of mine..Just stay on it...NO piece is too small to get rid of if you see it..Just spend about 15 min or so each evening KNOWING that you are making an impact on it,and dont give up..
ZEN


----------



## gpodio (Mar 16, 2010)

farmhand said:


> I have never had them, but have heard they can be a little rambunctious and upset a quite tank. What are your experiences?


I have never had a problem with any true SAE in any tank. I have schools of SAE's and they have been completely safe at any age. Most of their look-alikes however are not and the bad rep most likely comes from incorrect identification. In my experience these guys are worth their weight in gold, you just can't trust any fish store to be able to identify them correctly. I have had stores order me SAE's and a bunch of flying foxes arrived from their sources... They are also often mixed in with flying foxes, I often find them this way.

These are all good pages to get to know, learn how to identify them yourself and go visit a few local stores:
http://www.aquatic-gardeners.org/cyprinid.html
http://www.aquaticscape.com/articles/algae.htm
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_algaeeaters.htm

PS. As much as someone may want to talk you into picking up a similar fish with supposedly algae eating tendencies... don't! Stay far away from the CAE as it will only consume algae while young, they usually become problematic as adults.

Hope that helps
Giancarlo Podio


----------



## farmhand (Jun 25, 2009)

gpodio said:


> I have never had a problem with any true SAE in any tank. I have schools of SAE's and they have been completely safe at any age. Most of their look-alikes however are not and the bad rep most likely comes from incorrect identification. In my experience these guys are worth their weight in gold, you just can't trust any fish store to be able to identify them correctly.
> Giancarlo Podio


That's good info. :smile: Have others had similar experiences with the SAE?


----------



## astex (Aug 13, 2009)

I'm happy with both my SAE and FFF. I've been told the FFF can be nippy with fish with long fins, but as my fish don't, that was never a problem. They're actually quite nice to look at as well.

My SAE are big, and while they ate the algae at first, I must say right now they eat whatever they feel like and are fat and happy. Of course, since I currently don't have any hair algae, it could be that. They do have periods where they get the "zoomies" and cause all sorts of upset in the tank, but it's only chasing each other, never other fish.

HTH


----------



## rhytemaker (May 29, 2008)

I have 2 large SAE in my tank full of endlers and threadfin rainbows. They are not a problem at all to fish. Way back when I had algae they were voracious algae eaters. I dont have any hair algae now so they eat my hairgrass instead. I have seen them going after RCS tho....


----------



## farmhand (Jun 25, 2009)

astex said:


> I'm happy with both my SAE and FFF.
> HTH


What's a FFF?


----------



## NJAquaBarren (Sep 16, 2009)

My 3 4" SAEs really don't bother anybody. They are the biggest fish in the tank and are active fish, so there activity can intimidate shy fish. Have never seen them deliberately bother any other fish.

The Black Line Gobies have a reputation for eating hair algae. I just got them so I can't confirm yet. Invertz Factory has some.


----------



## captain_bu (Oct 20, 2007)

I would never put another SAE in my tank for a number of reasons starting with the fact that I did not find them effective at algae eating but some people have had good luck with them so YMMV. IMO there is no magical algae eating fish. 

What size is your tank? SAEs get big and are happiest kept in schools, depending on the size of your tank they may not even be an option for you.


----------



## gpodio (Mar 16, 2010)

I currently have 6 adult SAE's in my 40g hex, they are about 7 years old and have been great algae eaters in several tanks I've setup, I move them around from new tank to new tank and then back home in the hex when nothing new is going on... One important thing is not to overfeed them, they can certainly get lazy if they don't need to eat algae. I'd go as far as saying that I've seen many other fish pick at algae when not stuffed with flake food, fish that we wouldn't normally consider big algae eaters. Feed them once every other day at most and watch how quickly they find other things to nibble on in the tank 

As someone already mentioned, they will chase each other at times, but never seen anything that would be considered aggressive. They do eat mosses though...

Giancarlo


----------



## StygianSteel (Apr 2, 2010)

farmhand said:


> What's a FFF?


I believe he's refering to a Florida Flag Fish


----------



## northcoastad (Feb 5, 2010)

I have a school of rosy barbs that cleaned everything in my tank after i cycled it. I got them and a rubber lipped pleco and the barbs did 1000% more than the Pleco. In my experience the barbs are wonderful algae eaters.


----------



## gpodio (Mar 16, 2010)

northcoastad said:


> I have a school of rosy barbs that cleaned everything in my tank after i cycled it. I got them and a rubber lipped pleco and the barbs did 1000% more than the Pleco. In my experience the barbs are wonderful algae eaters.


Agreed, barbs can be great filamentous algae eaters too... some can become fin nippers however. I recall the rosy barb being a popular algae eater back in the day, but unlike SAE's, I don't recall them picking at BBA much.

Giancarlo


----------



## NJAquaBarren (Sep 16, 2009)

*Taiwan Bitterling?*

Anyone have experience with this fish - Taiwan Bitterling

http://www.azgardens.com/p-1094-algae-eating-fish-blue-amurtaiwan-bitterling.aspx

I have heard it can be an effective alga eater. It's a nice looking fish too.


----------



## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I have a goodied livebearer, _Ilyodon furcidens_, that loves to eat thread algae.


----------



## Nue (Dec 27, 2009)

I think its cruel to add fish to a tank to get rid of algae, then move them once the algae is gone.


----------



## captain_bu (Oct 20, 2007)

gpodio said:


> Agreed, barbs can be great filamentous algae eaters too... some can become fin nippers however. I recall the rosy barb being a popular algae eater back in the day, but unlike SAE's, I don't recall them picking at BBA much.
> 
> Giancarlo


If you keep Rosy Barbs in a school of six or more they will not be fin nippers. I found them to be reasonably effective algae eaters but they will also eat plants with fine leaves. Once they started munching on my plants I returned them to the LFS.


----------



## snail_chen (Jul 13, 2007)

It is said that you will hardly to come by real SAE.


----------



## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

I have a 25 gal. tank and went to the LFS yesterday and bought 3 Otocinclus catfish and 4 Florida Flag Fish. I'm going to try feeding flake food every other day as I have noticed my Endlers picking at the algae if they aren't getting enough flake food. I'm also interested in the Taiwan Bitterling/Blue Amur that NJAquaBarren mentioned. Looks like a very pretty fish. My LFS must have had all female FFF as they are all drab with just a little blue iridescence to them. I have several Tylomelania snails but they are either very low energy or dead. I haven't had any luck with them, my Zebra Nerites seem much better and are always on the move.


----------



## Frogmanx82 (Dec 8, 2009)

FFF is the Florida Flag Fish. It is a voracious hair algae eater and I have seen them find an end and eat it like spaghetti. They are a bit aggressive for my tank as they chase the baby guppies pretty hard and I'm sure they would go after cherry shrimplets.


----------



## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

*Fff*

Well so far my Florida Flag Fish are eating hair algae and don't seem to be aggressive. My powder blue gourami has chased them though. The gourami is the alpha male in my tank as he chases the german blue rams as well. So far I've not seen any of the fish try to eat all the various generations of baby Endlers or should I say Endless. I've never seen anything breed like them other than the Madagascar Hissing Roaches I used to have in college. My otocinclus all died for some reason though. Nothing else in the tank is showing any signs of stress so I'm unsure what happened to them.


----------



## frankie21 (Apr 25, 2010)

I have a 60 gal tank of mollies and platies for most part with a few cory and otto top it off. I was curious if I should add FFF or SAE to the tank and if so how many of them to help cure my green hair algae breakout. I have been twisting the hell out of it and pulling out the leaves that get to bad and nothing is helping. Only have lights on 8hrs a day. I do not use a CO2 system just add excel as CO2 supplement every few day.


----------



## captain_bu (Oct 20, 2007)

frankie21 said:


> I have a 60 gal tank of mollies and platies for most part with a few cory and otto top it off. I was curious if I should add FFF or SAE to the tank and if so how many of them to help cure my green hair algae breakout. I have been twisting the hell out of it and pulling out the leaves that get to bad and nothing is helping. Only have lights on 8hrs a day. I do not use a CO2 system just add excel as CO2 supplement every few day.


There is no fish that exists that can "cure" algae...


----------



## Crispino L Ramos (Mar 29, 2008)

captain_bu said:


> There is no fish that exists that can "cure" algae...


I have the same opinion as the captain. :flick:


----------



## frankie21 (Apr 25, 2010)

let me use a different group of word that don't get a blank response. Is there any fish that would help eat hair algae in a tank within mild community tank. 

Cure was in reference to help eat away at the algae not a magic trick POOF it's gone like your response sounded like I was asking.


----------



## captain_bu (Oct 20, 2007)

frankie21 said:


> Is there any fish that would help eat hair algae in a tank within mild community tank.


Actually Mollies. which you already have in your tank, are supposed to be pretty decent hair algae eaters... if they are not helping it is a good example of why critters usually aren't the answer. There are 3 pages of answers to your question in this thread alone and if you do a search on these forums you will find that this subject has been covered numerous times.

Remove as much as you can manually even if it means cutting off the leaves or throwing out the plants. Then work on fixing the conditions that favor the algae in the first place. Once you do that successfully livestock can help maintain the tank but they can't turn it around by themselves.

FWIW... most people including myself learn by trial and error (and a huge dose of frustration) that livestock will not fix an algae problem.


----------



## NJAquaBarren (Sep 16, 2009)

"FWIW... most people including myself learn by trial and error (and a huge dose of frustration) that livestock will not fix an algae problem."

I agree with that. Question is can livestock help reduce it? My tank always has some algae including a little hair. Would it be worse w/o the SAEs...? Can't tell. 

I consider cleanup crew just a part of the balance equation. Certainly don't want a tank of nothing but algae eating fish, but if intelligent choices can help limit the imbalance in an aquarium...why not. 

So, no silver bullet...er...fish, but its fine trying things.


----------



## marrow (Feb 4, 2007)

The only thing I have found helpful for thread algae other then good tank hygiene and frequent water changes are american flagfish. I have never had filamentous algae in my soft water tanks but in my hardwater tanks it seems to crop up from time to time regardless of conditions.


----------



## captain_bu (Oct 20, 2007)

NJAquaBarren said:


> I agree with that. Question is can livestock help reduce it? My tank always has some algae including a little hair. Would it be worse w/o the SAEs...? Can't tell.
> 
> I consider cleanup crew just a part of the balance equation. Certainly don't want a tank of nothing but algae eating fish, but if intelligent choices can help limit the imbalance in an aquarium...why not.


Livestock is good for helping to prevent any algae that does crop up from getting to the point where it becomes a problem and needs reducing. A little algae is no big deal and is natural.

Agree that the best way to look at this is that the cleanup crew is part of the balance equation. The majority of the threads asking what type of algae eating fish are best are posted by those who already have a problem and are looking for a solution.

The way I see it is that you should never buy a fish solely to rely on to eat algae. If you like the look and behavior of the type of fish you are considering and want to keep it in your tank go for it... if it eats algae for you fine, if it doesn't it won't detract from your enjoyment of keeping that particular species.


----------



## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

*Fff*

The Florida Flag Fish were a great idea. They are devouring the algae in the tank and have not bothered any of my other fish. They are all females as I believe the males have red on them and these have no red at all. I think the males are what give these fish a bad reputation.


----------



## marrow (Feb 4, 2007)

There reputation is exaggerated in my experience. They do a very good j9b on the sort of algae you mentioned but they are no more rambunctious then a swordtail. They also dont need to always be in your tank. They can be kept in a separate tank and then just put in the main tank from time to time and they adapt well to outside cultivation in the summer. I have had them breed like minks in a 100 gallon livestock container in the summer in Minnesota. Throw some duckweed in there and a bit of food to get them started and then just top up once in a while if it doesnt rain enough and you will have plenty of them in the fall to share with others or for the lfs. No need to feed them.


----------



## frankie21 (Apr 25, 2010)

captain_bu said:


> *Livestock is good for helping to prevent any algae that does crop up from getting to the point where it becomes a problem and needs reducing. *A little algae is no big deal and is natural.
> 
> Agree that the best way to look at this is that the cleanup crew is part of the balance equation. The majority of the threads asking what type of algae eating fish are best are posted by those who already have a problem and are looking for a solution.
> 
> The way I see it is that you should never buy a fish solely to rely on to eat algae. If you like the look and behavior of the type of fish you are considering and want to keep it in your tank go for it... if it eats algae for you fine, if it doesn't it won't detract from your enjoyment of keeping that particular species.



This is exactly what people are frigging asking just in different words but your to self centered to look past the tip of your nose to realize that's what people are asking.

Everyone should know they don't just stock a tank for your own selfish needs. Sometimes you have to put certain types of fish in there that fit a purpose. Dither-fish, Algae eaters, glass cleaner, Top, middle and bottom dwellers whatever you think or knows your tank needs.

Fact is sometimes you should answer the darn question people ask not just criticize everything they say. Your not doing anyone any favors. You should be giving helpful advice then you can go on your stupid rants about whatever in another forum because this should be to help peeps.


----------



## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Well said frankie. Who would buy a SAE if it wasnt to eat algae? Theyre certainly not the most beautiful looking creek minnows in the bunch!


----------



## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

*Fff*

Well, I had to remove one of the FFF from my tank as it was too aggressive and was chasing and biting just about everything that moved. The other three are fine with no aggressive behavior at all. I may have had 3 females and 1 male. The coloration between all 4 was the same but the one that turned aggressive was thinner than the other 3. So maybe a male without the red coloration.
I am pleased to say they have eliminated all the thread algae from my tank! 
But now I have BBA which I think I got along with some fish I bought at a LFS as I had zero BBA before purchasing them. 
Now I just need to find some SAE's. Everything my LFS has are not the real deal even though they think they are. They're either the Chinese version or Flying Foxes.


----------



## JeremyofAZ (Dec 27, 2006)

I have had flag fish off and on for years now and are by far my favorite non-oto algae eater. Unlike most of the others that eat hair algae they won't ravage fine leafed plants and mosses. The males can be aggressive while IME the females tend to be rather shy and timid. They are very easy to sex at even a young age. Apart from color the females have a dark dot on their dorsal fin near the tail.


----------



## DavidZ (Nov 17, 2009)

The problem: hard to find the real SAE, but when you do, then they don't bother other fish, don't get bigger then 3-3.5 inches, yes actually eat some algae.
The rest is up to you, manual labor, there is no substitute.


----------



## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet, but spot dosing the algae with Excel seems to get rid of it after a couple of days.


----------



## Kwazar (Apr 23, 2010)

The flagfish are actually pretty good, but slightly rambunctious...


----------



## boink (Nov 27, 2006)

They uproot my UG and eat my shrimp so I gave both my Rosey and Flag Fish away.


----------



## stingraysrule (Apr 4, 2010)

I disagree with the flagfish. 
flagfish are crazy and will go after any fish that are slower than them. 
They will go after all schooling fish and nip their fins. 
I had 4 of them in my tank for 24 hours and they created havoc. 
I moved them into my 75G with giant danios and some dwarf puffers and they are better. 
I do have 2 glass catfish and they occasionally go after them. 
While they were in my 55G for 24 hours...... 3 dead fish later and no hair algae eaten.


----------



## comet (Jun 10, 2006)

> I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet, but spot dosing the algae with Excel seems to get rid of it after a couple of days.


:thumbsup:


Try the Excel treatment. It works.


----------



## anastasisariel (Oct 4, 2009)

Wow, looks like this thread is still going strong... I haven't logged in for like a month! Well, since its still going... so how well do Molly's and Swordtails do in comparison to Flagfish for hair algea?


----------



## stingraysrule (Apr 4, 2010)

I have the flagfish and they are NOT a good idea if you want to put them with neons, tetras, rummynose, cardinals, any small schooling peaceful fish. They go after them and nip at them and stress the fish out. 
SAEs imo are the best.


----------



## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

I must have gotten lucky as only one of my 4 flagfish ever chased other fish in my tank and I have cardinal tetras, glass catfish, killifish, dwarf gouramis, etc. I only have one left now as the caretakers of my aquarium overfed my fish while I was on vacation and I lost quite a few fish. When I returned from my weeklong trip there was flake food all over the plants and bottom of the tank. What a nightmare! My tank is algae free now so I'll just keep the one flagfish for now. Again, I wonder if it's because I had mostly females?


----------



## justin182 (Aug 19, 2009)

How about Amano shrimps? I heard that they will eat thread algae.


----------

