Still have too much algae growth in your aquarium, even after proper aquarium maintenance and want to know what you should do now? Here are the top 4 algae eaters that many hobbyist purchase to help with their algae problems!
1. Mystery Snails - Snails of any species, specifically rams-horn and mystery snails are algae eating machines - I love snails in freshwater aquariums! They are fun to watch and easy to care for.
2. Otocinclus Catfish - Oto catfish are great algae eaters! I would recommend them over any other algea eaters due to their small size (about 2 inches) and that they are very easy to keep. Oto's do enjoy being with eachother and tend to be shy algae eaters so, don't add have them with aggressive fish.
3. Siamese Algae Eater (SAE)- Another possible contender for fighting algae. Siamese algae eaters will reach up to 6 inches at maturity and are very hard to differentiate from the Chinese algae eaters (CAE). Do not settle for a CAE due to the fish becoming fish killers as they mature. Look for Crossocheilus siamensis when examining the genus species names. (image from The Coral Abyss)
4. Freshwater Shrimp - The ghost shrimp, Amno shrimp and cherry shrimp are great at eating obnoxious nuisance algae. Many hobbyist tend to purchase small armies and then supplement their diets when the algae is under control. The only draw back to the shrimp is that they can not be with aggressive fish at all.
Want to know more? Check out our Five ways to reduce aquarium algae growth, and whether or not a Plecostomus algae eater is right for you!
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I've heard about the three except for the Siamese Algae Eater. I didn't know there's such a thing.
Posted by: FTF | 08/18/2010 at 02:59 AM