# Algae eater - Farlowella vs Otocinclus vs Siamese Algae Eater



## astrosag (Sep 3, 2010)

SAEs may eat some algae but the are opportunistic (more so than the rest you mentioned) and will often eat blood worms, flakes, etc. Unless you manage to deprive them of whatever food you feed your other fish, they're not likely to do much to the algae (in my experience and plenty of other people have said the same).

I would most definitely vote for ottos. Not only do they constantly eat algae but they also school which is an awesome effect in a large tank. I'd get 5+ - even up to 10 in a 55g (mine are small - golden ottos - I believe they all stay pretty small). I can't attest to their compatibility with the other occupants but as far as algae goes, they're probably the best option.


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

Bristlenose Pleco.


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## jedimasterben (Aug 21, 2011)

astrosag said:


> SAEs may eat some algae but the are opportunistic (more so than the rest you mentioned) and will often eat blood worms, flakes, etc. Unless you manage to deprive them of whatever food you feed your other fish, they're not likely to do much to the algae (in my experience and plenty of other people have said the same).
> 
> I would most definitely vote for ottos. Not only do they constantly eat algae but they also school which is an awesome effect in a large tank. I'd get 5+ - even up to 10 in a 55g (mine are small - golden ottos - I believe they all stay pretty small). I can't attest to their compatibility with the other occupants but as far as algae goes, they're probably the best option.


Will the otos eat the fuzzy algae that grows on driftwood? Mine is getting out of control, I know my pleco would eat it (the common one in another tank, not the clown), but I don't want him to decide to eat the plants in there, too. Besides, he is having a grand time nomming on an apple snail's algae-covered shell that I picked up in the creek behind my parents' house. 



roadmaster said:


> Bristlenose Pleco.


Though some of the BN's look cool, I'm going more for something you don't see every day.


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

I love Farlowellas, I have a group of 6 in my tank that go to town on everything.

Craig


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## jedimasterben (Aug 21, 2011)

Do they eat spots of green algae? I've seen where otos aren't always strong enough to pull all the green off of glass and such.


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## astrosag (Sep 3, 2010)

Mine do. I'll repeat what I _just_ posted about ottos on a different thread.

When I first got my 5 ottos, my tank had a GSA (Green Spotted Algae) problem ...had to scrape that stuff off every day or so. My back wall was almost completely covered in it but it was more difficult to see due to the black bckground..so I didn't touch it often. And yes I know, this was probably due to my fert regime - which is very weak (but so is my lighting in this low light tank).

With in a few days of introducing the ottos almost all of the GSA from my tank was gone. So much so, that I begin to stress about having enough food for the ottos (many people are unable to keep these guys alive for a long time - a lot of it, imo, has to do with having enough food).

So I decided to increase my fert dose to promote more GSA (the irony). It worked and the ottos are back to eating it again. I supplement that with wafers and flakes. Right now there's a good balance...some GSA but not enough to make the tank an eye sore.


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## jedimasterben (Aug 21, 2011)

astrosag said:


> Mine do. I'll repeat what I _just_ posted about ottos on a different thread.
> 
> When I first got my 5 ottos, my tank had a GSA (Green Spotted Algae) problem ...had to scrape that stuff off every day or so. My back wall was almost completely covered in it but it was more difficult to see due to the black bckground..so I didn't touch it often. And yes I know, this was probably due to my fert regime - which is very weak (but so is my lighting in this low light tank).
> 
> ...


Thanks very much for the info!

I had my LFS order me four otos (she got two or three more for the shop to deal with algae), one farlowella, and a SAE for her BBA problem. They will be here on Friday!

She also could get Zebra otos, but they were ~$20 apiece vs. $3 apiece, so I just went with the normal ones lol.


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## D9VIN (Aug 23, 2011)

Alot of people say sae's don't do a great job, esepecially if you feed em, but I have four in my 40 planted, and I is 100% algae free. I got them to deal with a hair algae problem, and they did quite effectively, then I got a 12 inch tall anubias from my grandfather, literally covered in bba, and they just picked a leaf, and stayed on it until the algae was gone. Otto's are great as well, a little too great. I have 5 of them in another 40, not planted, and after they wiped out all traces of algae in that one I had to start regularly supplementing their diet with blanched zucchini. Mine don't particularly care for algae wafers. My sae's have become a bit bold here of late, and started harassing some of the other in habitants. You will definitely see them all the time. Chinese algae eaters are so insanely worthless! They aren't from china, and don't eat algae. They should be renamed the liar fish.


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## jedimasterben (Aug 21, 2011)

D9VIN said:


> Alot of people say sae's don't do a great job, esepecially if you feed em, but I have four in my 40 planted, and I is 100% algae free. I got them to deal with a hair algae problem, and they did quite effectively, then I got a 12 inch tall anubias from my grandfather, literally covered in bba, and they just picked a leaf, and stayed on it until the algae was gone. Otto's are great as well, a little too great. I have 5 of them in another 40, not planted, and after they wiped out all traces of algae in that one I had to start regularly supplementing their diet with blanched zucchini. Mine don't particularly care for algae wafers. My sae's have become a bit bold here of late, and started harassing some of the other in habitants. You will definitely see them all the time. Chinese algae eaters are so insanely worthless! They aren't from china, and don't eat algae. They should be renamed the liar fish.


lol, we should start a petition!

Really the only reason she got the SAE was because I told her it would get rid of the BBA problem, and once it was done, I'd buy it from her, so it's a win-win for her. It won't go in my main tank, it will go in my secondary one. The farlowella and the otos will be in my main tank, and after they take care of my current algae problem, blanched zucchini and algae wafers it is! I also have two NICE Florida apple snails I picked up from the creek at my parents' house that will eat zucchini as well, so it should work out nicely!


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## tuffgong (Apr 13, 2010)

I would avoid the SAE's due to the fact that they become aggressive and stop eating algae as they get older and go with the Otos and Farlowellas. You can figure out what is causing the BBA, rectify the problem, and then you won't need a BBA eating fish.


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## D9VIN (Aug 23, 2011)

I should also mention that when I had the algae problems in my tank, I also upped co2, and studied more about fert regimes, instead of just guessing. And the sae's that I have are still pretty young, maybe 8 mos old?


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## jedimasterben (Aug 21, 2011)

tuffgong said:


> I would avoid the SAE's due to the fact that they become aggressive and stop eating algae as they get older and go with the Otos and Farlowellas. You can figure out what is causing the BBA, rectify the problem, and then you won't need a BBA eating fish.


I'm not the one that needs it. My LFS isn't about to throw money into an expensive CO2 system to help plants she may or may not sell, or to clear up an algae problem, so it's better for her to get a $1 SAE to take care of it. And if it gets aggressive, she can put it with her large cichlids, then we'll see who's aggressive lol.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

roadmaster said:


> Bristlenose Pleco.


+1

There are quite a few BN species on the market these days, some harder to find than others. I happen to be really fond of the Peppermints, though you don't see them very often...


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## Abrium (Jan 7, 2011)

+1 for otos, BN plecos, and even amano shrimp. I bought a few SAE's and now my only issue is getting them out of the tank because now that they are full grown they eat everything and don't attempt to eat the algae. So hard to catch...


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## garfieldnfish (Sep 25, 2010)

SAEs for hair algae
Otos for brown and green algae on tank decor
Bristlenoses for brown algae and left over food preventing a lot of the algae to grow in the first place.
Rubberlips for brown algae and hard spot algae on the tank wall. 
Nerite snails for all of the above except I do not know if they eat hair algae. Everything else they will. In a tank 46 gal and up if you use SAEs and nerites you will not have algae.


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## jedimasterben (Aug 21, 2011)

Well, got the otos, they are awesome, though very tiny. They school with the feeder fish for my SA Leaf fish, which has me worried, I could only find two tonight, though the lights were off and I just had the room lights. Hopefully the SALF didn't have a $4 snack. 

The SAE she got in wasn't doing so well, it wasn't really swimming around, and at one point was just floating wildly in her tank, so we grabbed it out of the angel tank and put it back in a tank with some feeders to see if it would recover. Safe to say I didn't buy that one!


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## jedimasterben (Aug 21, 2011)

I found the fourth oto! He wasn't a tasty morsel!


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## Abrium (Jan 7, 2011)

I love otos, so cute when they try to swim. For a fish they are not too adept at swimming.


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## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

otos will be a quick snack. I have a 3 inch oscar that ate 2 of my otos before I realized it, and i never thought a 3 inch fish could down one of those fat little otos, but it didn't take much. Your ctenopoma and leaf fish would have no problem chowing down either I'm guessing.

Now, I have blue eyed yellow ancistrus, and as long as the BBA is dead, they'll eat it up, all other problem algaes I've had they have eaten within a day. I have 7 of them though.


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## garfieldnfish (Sep 25, 2010)

Your leaf fish will eat the otos eventually. They can open their mouths much larger than you'd expect and the otos will not be safe.


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## jedimasterben (Aug 21, 2011)

mordalphus said:


> otos will be a quick snack. I have a 3 inch oscar that ate 2 of my otos before I realized it, and i never thought a 3 inch fish could down one of those fat little otos, but it didn't take much. Your ctenopoma and leaf fish would have no problem chowing down either I'm guessing.
> 
> Now, I have blue eyed yellow ancistrus, and as long as the BBA is dead, they'll eat it up, all other problem algaes I've had they have eaten within a day. I have 7 of them though.


I know, but for now, the leaf fish is not eating (he's gonna have to move to his own tank, I think), and the ctenopomas are both only as big as the otos. The angels' mouths are still far too small to eat them (I've actually caught the angels and measured their open mouths lol), so they're safe for now, but I know I'll soon have to figure something else out. 

What's weird is that all of the fish in their would normally eat the crap out of ghost shrimp, but I've only lost a couple of the 20 or so I have in there!


garfieldnfish said:


> Your leaf fish will eat the otos eventually. They can open their mouths much larger than you'd expect and the otos will not be safe.


I know how large their mouths are, the ctenopoma and leaf fish both "yawn" regularly. The leaf fish can eat things over 2" long and the ctenopoma can eat things ~1/2" long.


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## kingdave (Feb 20, 2010)

Some of you mentioned BN plecos as good algae eaters. Do they eat only algae and leave the plants alone?


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## JasonG75 (Mar 1, 2011)

here are my two fav algae eaters.

Thai Flying Fox











Indo Flying Fox


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## Kathyy (Feb 22, 2010)

BNP need wood to rasp and can rasp broad leaved plant leaves badly but cannot eat fine leaved plants and moss like SAEs can.


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## kingdave (Feb 20, 2010)

Kathyy said:


> BNP need wood to rasp and can rasp broad leaved plant leaves badly but cannot eat fine leaved plants and moss like SAEs can.


So bn Plecos with amazon swords wouldn't be a good idea?


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## snausage (Mar 8, 2010)

I have a farowella and it's definitely an awesome fish, but it's in a relatively algae free tank and I've never seen it eat anything (I've had it about 4 months)!

Plecos, SAEs and ottos will all do the trick and they're substantially cheaper and probably much easier to keep compared to a farowella (mine seems hardy but I've read that they can be pretty sensitive. 

Oh yeah, don't forget about nerites.


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## Kathyy (Feb 22, 2010)

BNP and swords are fine if the sword plants are fast growing. I took out the big kind and the smaller one faded away, don't think it had anything to do with BNP damage though. There are other good reasons not to plant sword plants. That they are major space and light hogs are major ones. If I had a 3' wide 10' long tank maybe, they sure are pretty plants.


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

JasonG75 said:


> here are my two fav algae eaters.
> 
> Thai Flying Fox
> 
> ...


nice fish!

here is my black line flying fox(how people call them in Asia)
SAE, specifically crossocheilus atrilimes
(also have crossocheilus langei in the same tank, but no picture)


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## jedimasterben (Aug 21, 2011)

Well, I finally managed to get a farlowella! My LFS ordered me one, but they took it off the order because they only had a few to go and others must have gotten their order in in time.

I made a trip up to Apopka today to help my sis move, and while I was up there I was talking to her girlfriend about how I was looking for a farlowella, but it seems like only Petsupermarkets have them, and she said that there was one around the corner. So I called and they had three of them, so we went and picked up two.

I was honestly surprised at the size of their fish wall, and how everything was separated and kept, and how much the employees there knew about what all was there. Talked to them a bit about cichlids and puffers, too, and they knew what conditions they _should_ be kept in (high pH for the mbunas and brackish for the puffers, etc), but they couldn't there because of the filtration they make them use.

Anyway, they're gonna be awesome! One is about six inches and the other is about five.


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## Method (Feb 13, 2011)

Otos do a great job with the plants, my farlowella keeps my driftwood clean, but NOTHING has ever kept my glass as clean as a rubberlip pleco.


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## jedimasterben (Aug 21, 2011)

Method said:


> Otos do a great job with the plants, my farlowella keeps my driftwood clean, but NOTHING has ever kept my glass as clean as a rubberlip pleco.


I'd bet that my Mr. Clean Magic Eraser could 

So far the farlowellas are adjusting well. I need to start sticking some veggies in there for them, the only algae left after adding the otos and scrubbing the GSA off the front glass is the weird white stuff that's on my big piece of driftwood, and nothing seems to be touching that. :/


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## kingdave (Feb 20, 2010)

"Mr. Clean Magic Eraser" would be quite a good name for a rubberlip pleco!


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## Alyssa (Sep 16, 2011)

Craigthor said:


> I love Farlowellas, I have a group of 6 in my tank that go to town on everything.
> 
> Craig


Which species?


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