# Algae eaters



## Bichirdude (Apr 16, 2005)

What algaes will the various algae eaters eat?

I'm specifically curious about ottos and bristlenosed plecos regarding BBA and green slime.


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## Ibn (Nov 19, 2003)

Neither of them will consume what you're trying to eradicate. For BBA, I'd take a look at SAEs. The green slime stuff is easier to remove instead (comes off in sheets). Most algae eaters won't touch that stuff due to the toxicity.


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## Bichirdude (Apr 16, 2005)

that's what I had figured but I was hoping I was wrong. SAEs are really hard to find out here. Ah well, insane fish quest here I come.


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## Momotaro (Feb 21, 2003)

An alternative to getting an SAE to tackle your algae problem would be getting your CO2 levels above 30ppm and working out a good fertilizing regime, if you haven't done so already.  

SAE's do a good job on BBA, but once they get a taste for regular fish foods, they tend to loose the taste for BBA.

Besides, you want to be able to eradicate algae by being able to maintain and manage your water parameters. roud: 

Mike


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## nimmat (Feb 14, 2005)

Cardinia shrimps (amano shrimp) will also have a go at BBA but you will need plenty in numbers. Though, nothing devours this algae like the SAE.

Nothing will touch the bluegreen slime algae as has already been stated so you need to work another way round it. Maybe it can sort out the BBA problem togather.

Nim


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## John P. (Apr 10, 2004)

Momotaro said:


> An alternative to getting an SAE to tackle your algae problem would be getting your CO2 levels above 30ppm and working out a good fertilizing regime, if you haven't done so already.
> 
> SAE's do a good job on BBA, but once they get a taste for regular fish foods, they tend to loose the taste for BBA.
> 
> ...


Exactly. Fix the problem, not the result. roud:


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## Badcopnofishtank (Jan 20, 2004)

What eats the brown algae?


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## nimmat (Feb 14, 2005)

Brown dust algae? Most plecs, and otocinclus eat the brown dust or diatoms.
SAE and Shrimps etc. will not touch it though.

Nim
ps: The best cure for Brown dust is adjusting your photo period or getting a proper plant growth light. experiment, and you may be able to get rid of it.


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## Bichirdude (Apr 16, 2005)

My CO2 has been over thirty for a good while now to no effect. I have 3.2 wpg for around 12 hours per day. 

I put in a SAE the other day after an extended hunt. found the only one for sale withing thirty miles of my house. it didn't touch the stuff. some ghost shrimp I picked up are sampling it however so it's not a severe problem anymore. I'm thinking it might be the brown dust algae, how should I change the params?

The green slime I suspect to be just regular green algae after closer inspection.

a firend of mine has been drooling over my SAE and I've been thinking about giving it to him and looking for a bristlenose. largely for the asthetic value, not to mention that it'll save me the hassle of scrubbing the back wall of the tank. I hurt my shoulder a while back and that angle is really unplesant.


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## shalu (Jan 16, 2003)

I am at a point that I can no longer trust ANY algae eater: SAE perfers frozen food, Ottos prefer discus slime coat, Bristlenose/rubbermouth plecos scratched my acrylic tank... Fortunately, I don't need any of them any more.


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## yznj99 (Nov 1, 2004)

shalu said:


> I am at a point that I can no longer trust ANY algae eater: SAE perfers frozen food, Ottos prefer discus slime coat, Bristlenose/rubbermouth plecos scratched my acrylic tank... Fortunately, I don't need any of them any more.


LOL very true


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## joan (Apr 25, 2005)

I love my two baby bristlenose plecos. I've heard they may grow lazy with age, but we shall see I guess. They have personality plus and I'm a sucker for plecos, so as long as they keep the algae down in the near future I'm happy to give them a permanent home. They are workhorses, cleaning the tank walls and meticulously working their way through the plants, down to thoroughly but gently stripping the algae off of each and every blade of my fledgling dwarf hairgrass. They aren't shy and work constantly throughout the day. Awesome little aquarium residents. roud:


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## reiverix (Dec 2, 2004)

Bichirdude said:


> My CO2 has been over thirty for a good while now to no effect.


CO2 at 30ppm will not kill existing BBA but will put a serious dent in its growth. You have to remove what's already there and use the CO2 as a prevention.




shalu said:


> Ottos prefer discus slime coat


They are hungry and need their diet supplemented with veggies.


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## shalu (Jan 16, 2003)

reiverix said:


> They are hungry and need their diet supplemented with veggies.


Possibly, but their bellies are always round and full. Although I have not seen them swallowing the bloodworms, they always swarm the area where the worms are dropped from the feeders. It means they outlived their usefulness in the current tank. I started moving them to my low tech tank where there is slightly more algae to munch on.


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## rayhwong (Aug 6, 2004)

I agree with Shalu, esp those plecos! In addition they always eat my sword plants despite being plant friendly.


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## Clownknife (Feb 11, 2004)

Ibn said:


> Most algae eaters won't touch that stuff due to the toxicity.


Not to mention they hate the smell of that stuff.


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## rscott (Apr 24, 2005)

my pleco stopped eating so much algae off the rocks/plants mainly because he got too big for the stems to hold him up. Now he likes to eat my frozen food leftovers and poop from all over the tank. Its great. He eats all the poop thats on the sand from the other fish then he goes to the back to poop on the root area of my swords. He really makes cleanup a breeze.


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## rscott (Apr 24, 2005)

i mean really...how many of you can say your fish are potty trained? roud:


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Bichirdude said:


> What algaes will the various algae eaters eat?
> 
> I'm specifically curious about ottos and bristlenosed plecos regarding BBA and green slime.


Neither put a dent in it.
The only thing that works wel for BBA are SAE's and nothing eats healthy BGA.

To get rid of both: 3 day blackout for BGA(see several threads) + KNO3.
BGA appears when the tank is chonically low on NO3.
BBA=> definitely CO2 is poor.

BBA:
Now remove as much as you can manually, trim and prune off infected parts.
Bleach any equipment, non living plant material that you can remove and put in a bucket to bleach dip. Rinse well, add dechloro, return. Then do a large water change. 

Scrub wood etc.
Spot treatment with H2O2 is okay for small BBA issues or decore that's too large to remove easily.

BGA:
3 day blaclout, see many other post.
Follow it all, do not delete KNO3, clean filter well, remove as much as you can, place a trash bag 1-2 layers thick so that no light gets into the tank for 3 days. Add 1/4 teaspoon of KNO3 per 25 gal of tank. Wait 3 days.
Remove bags, do 50% water change, add KNO3 at the same rate and then thereafter 1-3x a week.

Prune the tank if overgrown.

Amano shrimps are good at preventing algae, but once these species take hold, you need to remove it and then have a large job on your hand.

Keep an eye on your tank in the future and hit the algae before they get out of hand.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## BiscuitSlayer (Apr 1, 2005)

My SAE thinks that he is a tetra. He has become a fish food eating fool. I think that he swims around in my tank scouring the surface of things just trying to make me think that he is actually doing something productive. He doesn't fool me though. When I go to feed my fish, he is one of the first ones in line to the dinner table.


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## jhoetzl (Feb 7, 2005)

I didn't see it mentioned (maybe I missed it), but an America Flag Fish (not a Florida flag, alhough you might see them labeled as such because of their true name, Jordanella floridae). 
While I have read all sorts of stories about their agression, many seem to have varying stories on them. 

I haven't seen them in my LFS's lately, but next time I do, I am going to pick one up just to see how it does, because as most people have discovered, SAE's really do turn into eating machines, but not algae.


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## shalu (Jan 16, 2003)

jhoetzl said:


> I didn't see it mentioned (maybe I missed it), but an America Flag Fish (not a Florida flag, alhough you might see them labeled as such because of their true name, Jordanella floridae).
> While I have read all sorts of stories about their agression, many seem to have varying stories on them.


I had them too, bloodworms fatten them up faster than the SAEs . I have tried them all.


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