# Best Algae Eating Fish for a 20gallon?



## aanderson09 (Aug 7, 2005)

or does someone think that shrimp would be better?


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## uncskainch (Feb 22, 2005)

I think a betta would eat small or baby shrimp, although with a densely planted tank maybe they could find cover. In my 29 gallon have an amano and some ghost shrimp, and the lone amano has been in there for months without being eaten. Small ghost shrimp, on the other hand, seem to holler "eat me" to my angel fish. I buy a dozen or so whenever I'm in the fish store and they last a few weeks, but eventually all but the biggest and wiliest become food. I suspect the same might be true with a Betta. I have cherries breeding in my nano, but won't risk them in the 29 until I get better plant cover -- right now, I suspect they'd be snackfoods, especially the juveniles. 

I have 5 otos in my 29 gallon and they do a good job on the algae -- they always seem to have fat bellies and work over all of the leaves every night after lights-out. Others may have suggestions for smaller plecos and other algae eaters, though. Good luck with your tank!


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## bgssamson (Mar 16, 2004)

Olive Nerite snails are the best algae eater IMO.

-Brian


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## Pete City (Apr 2, 2005)

Ammano shrimp and SAE will help you with hair algae.
Diatom algae can be handled by a couple of Otocinclus.
Nothing eats blue-green algae (Cyanophyta) toxic.
I know some species of fish as well as snails also eat algae, just can't think of them at the moment.
Good luck.


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## rdemmin (Aug 24, 2005)

*Amano shrimp eat everything!*

Hey, I just came accross this thread (while researching otos) and wanted to add my thoughts:

Amano shrimp are UNDER-rated! I love these guys. They are the best algae eaters I've experienced, period. 

About 2 yrs ago I had a 30 gal that got neglected due to job change and other family stuff - which gave me the "wonderful" opportunity to test the above statement. It became over grown with just about every form of algae common to aquaria: hair algae, diatom algae, dark/blackish grey tufts of algae, brown algae, and last but not least cyanobacteria (blue/green algae).

I love otos but, probably due to tank conditions prior to the algae take-over, I have never been able to keep them alive for longer than a few months. 

SOOO, when things settled down and I was able to focus back on my aquarium, I purchased 7 algae eating shrimp from a lfs (had not heard of Caridina japonica before this). It seemed to take the shrimp about a month to really get use to their new home, but after about 4-5 weeks they really started cleaning up! (Maybe they just got hungry enough  

They started w/ the green hair algae and within about a month and a half had eaten all most all of the algae in my tank!

They did stay away from the blue-green algae til it was the only stuff left, but I saw them w/ my own eyes picking away at the stuff little by little. 

Sorry for the long post.... 

Just wanted to give my little shrimp some credit. I've read many places on the net stating Amano's eat only hair algae, but it just ain't so. Maybe that's their favorite? 

Peace roud:


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## jhoetzl (Feb 7, 2005)

Hmmm, I don't frequently see ancistrus mentioned, but I have a lone one in my tank and the thing never stops sucking away at something...all over the place.

I also have a few oto's and an SAE, but the SAE seems to have developed a taste for everything buy algae and may soon need to move onto a different tank.

Any thoughts on ancistrii?


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## trckrunrmike (Jul 20, 2005)

I heard red cherries eat BGA but I'm not sure.

I personally have 3 otos in my 20 gallon and they keep the glass clean except for the bad algae.


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## sarahbobarah (May 20, 2005)

*Ancistrus*

Definately consider ancistrus. I've got one albino one and he/she's the cutest little worker bee. I also have a small fleet of 5 otos in my tank, and they've done away with algae on my leaves.


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## jimmydrsv (Apr 8, 2005)

I saw my cherry shrimp picking at spot algae on my sword for a good hour before moving on. I find though that they prefer almost anything else. 

The one great thing is that they removed all the detrius stuck in my java moss and it is no longer brown. Very nice green now! roud:


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## ringram (Jan 19, 2005)

probably something smaller, like ottos and shrimp. Although I have a 20g and it has 5 SAEs, 3 ottos, and more snails than I would like. :icon_roll


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## jimmydrsv (Apr 8, 2005)

I saw my shrimp eating the spot algae off my glass for almost 3 hours. I went back and forth watching him as the strand of poop got longer and longer. roud: 

He stayed on the glass for another 30 minutes while the lights were off but eventually left. The strand of poop was a little over the length of his body by then and very green. I tried taking a picture but i couldn't get anything but a blurry red blob with him on the glass.

So i guess they do eat cyanobacteria.


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