Hi guys... What are my options in terms of algae eaters in a mixed cichlid setup?

I've got a mix of malawi and tangs, I don't want anything that will grow over 3" maximum. I understand i cant have snails as they'll be eaten, so what are my options please?

thanks in advance!

The best alage eater w/cichlids IMO are bristlenose, they get a little larger than you want, but would work well with the fish you have.

I second the bristlenose plec.

I just bought 2 Bristlenose at the weekend for my Mbuna tank.

They absolutely love it, constantly attached to the rock and tank sides, doing a great job of cleaning up, already.

As soon as i put them in the tank, my Cyno afra's had a bit of a go at them but, they fought back and havent been bothered since!

Can someone confirm which type of Bristlenose is suitable for cichlids?

Also... what size can they get?

Hi rossyboy,

The 2 i bought were just called Bristlenose Catfish, i read on here somewhere that they are ok with cichlids.

Grow to about 6 inches.

It is not possible to sex them when they are youngsters, but when they reach about 3" long the males develop bristles around the face.

Hope this helps and good luck

don't the albino bristlenoses only grow to something like 3 inches? I heard somewhere they grow smaller than the original ones,I've got 3, 1 small and others only about 2 or 3 inches and don't seem to be growing.

Albinos can grow just as big...rossyboy do a google on them

Do you know the latin name for the correct type of Bristlenose I need or will most Bristlenose species suffice?

http://www.fishforums.net/content/Plecos-a...ids/4578/Plecs/

Bristle nose pleco - Ancistrus These great plec's will help keep down any algae in your tank and they will not ruin your plants in your tank. They will graze off the algae form the leaves leaving them intact. They get from 4 - 8 inches in length. The males have lots of bristles when mature the female will not have the same bristle amount as the male, althou she will ahave few. The males get mature at about 2-2.5 inches. They need bogwood or a tube in the tank to breed, they produce orange eggs, which the male will look after. He uses his bristles as bait to entice the female to mate with him. Water 70 to 80 degrees, pH 6 to 7.

*they can do great in a higer ph also. I found this just searching around the site...try searching first and then if you have more questions, come back and post them

ps. I havn't heard of any getting to 8"

thanks for that.

Eeek at 8 inches though haha, I'm going to have to get something as algae is getting built up.

Saying this... everyone said dont put snails in because they'll get eaten, i've got a nerite snail from a friend to see how it went and its fine, happily eating algae for the past 2 weeks?

Sometimes africans do ok w/snails and sometimes they don't. One day you could find your snail sucked out of his shell. That's always a possibilty. Since it was free, I wouldn't worry about it

We just don't advise it b/c they could get eaten the next day, 2 weeks from then, 1 month from then. Depends on when the fish find the perfect opportunity and we'd hate to say ya sure go ahead and then have you come back and say "you told me it was fine." There's quite a few mbuna that actually can suck them right out of their shell if not all of them. Right off hand yellow labs come to mind but don't quote me...it's be awhile since I read about that

btw i had a golden snail in my setup for about a month and he's empty now

Ahh right fair point.

I've now only got tangs so most are pretty small, but i'd guess equally capable of sucking the snail out... particular compressicep or Leleupi!