Algae Eater For A 20 Gal?

[KrystaK]

Hey all,

So I've finally got the pH in my 20 gal GBR tank under control! To bad I'm having to spend 2.97 for 10 L of water. But considering I only ever do a 20-25 lt water change on the tank it's not too expensive.
The pH is still rather high for a GBR, it's around 7.5. I'm thinking of adding some peat to the filter to help lower it a bit hopefully. And more drift wood - it's a good think I like the tea color it makes the water

ANYWAYS!
Since I'm going to school I'm not always home when the 7 hours of light is up for said fish tank. And I'm starting to get Algae problems . So I'm looking into Algae eaters for said 20 gal tank. I was thinking A school of Ottos. But the last time I had Ottos it wasn't very good. They hid all the time, to the point I forgot I had them! (When I remembered and started looking for them they were all still alive and looked quite plump.) But I want to be able to watch the fish in my tank, not forget I have them...

I have a 3 inch long male BNP in my 30 gal tank, he does a wonderful job of keeping the algae away in that tank. But I'm not sure I want another one in my 20 Gal. I love the one I have, but I just want to have two tanks that have no species in common.....

Are there any other species of fish that would fit in a 20 Gal and consume my algae? I could do the research, but I like to hear peoples personal experiences with these fish so it's easier to just post here and ask

 

[techen]

Pfft I find ottos boring. Bristlenose all the way.

 

[zain611]

I would say BN and i hope my LFS have them and i need to be curtain what plec they have in my local pet@home as i may get that species of plec as they dont grow that big

 

[LucyB]

Pfft I find ottos boring. Bristlenose all the way.

I'm getting a bristlenose from p@h tomorrow but im scared I'll get the wrong type of plec! Techen how can I tell if it's a bristlenose for sure (They'll be young so obviously no bristles yet) I'm just a bit worried, I've already been down the commmon plec route...

I would say you should get a bristlenose, mine is going in a 30 gallon. I can't seen to keep oto's alive so I'm rather biased, take that into account lol

 

[leighton_87]

The OP did say he wanted anything but BNP

 

[NorthEastFisherman]

I have otos and they dont really hide, they like resting on my anubais and sprial bamboo plant, i also have a bristlenose thats albino and he hides more than the otos, It all depends of preference. If you just want one that makes a good amount of waste get a pleco, if you want a few that produce a normal amount of waste get some otos. I like borneo suckers (hillstream loach) theyre pretty cool and from what i hear they dont hide as much.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Clown pleco?

 

[phantomlink]

Pfft I find ottos boring. Bristlenose all the way.

I'm getting a bristlenose from p@h tomorrow but im scared I'll get the wrong type of plec! Techen how can I tell if it's a bristlenose for sure (They'll be young so obviously no bristles yet) I'm just a bit worried, I've already been down the commmon plec route...

I would say you should get a bristlenose, mine is going in a 30 gallon. I can't seen to keep oto's alive so I'm rather biased, take that into account lol

Your store sells them that young? The smallest BNP I've seen was barely an inch and a half and it had bristles you could see

 

[phungi11]

+1 on clown pleco

 

[Sammy1911]

Get a timer firstly for the lights and have you thought about nerite snails aka zebra snails? they dont reproduce in freshwater but do produce white eggs which can be removed

 

[bmonki]

Clown plecs rarely eat algae, they eat wood and meaty stuff. I bought our first clown for algae but he did absolutely zero algae eating, very common on clowns.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Clown plecs rarely eat algae, they eat wood and meaty stuff. I bought our first clown for algae but he did absolutely zero algae eating, very common on clowns.

Thanks for that information.

 

[KrystaK]

Thanks for all the opinions
I'll have to see what the store has, in all honesty. The LFS I'm planning on going to is 30-40 min away and isn't my usual store so I only go there sometimes - they have a larger selection of fish which is why I bother going there in the first place. If they had different colored BNP's like Super Reds or Albino's I'd be more inclined to get one, but they're all the brown ones like my current male. At least that's all they were last time.
The last time I went a lot of their BNP's appeared to have a fungus They were all about 2 inches long so I could sort of tell gender (My local fish store will sell them at about an inch long, and I thought I had a female for about three months tbh)

So if I can find nothing else I'll go to my local LFS and pick up a BNP, I won't get one from the store I'm planning on going to, I don't want to risk bringing home a sick one....

I'll have to look into those Zebra snails, I'm not really an Otto person any more after my first trio of them disappeared for like two months. Would getting a larger group of them help them not hide quite so much??? I always thought they were a schooling fish, like Corys.
I'll also have to look into a timer, I know my local LFS has them (I just found them yesterday when I went there ) They're around 15$ though Which is about the same price as 4-5 Ottos or 2 BNP in my area..

Loaches aren't really my specialty, I've never had any before, but don't clown loaches eventually get quite large? Are there any other types of loaches that eat algae or should I take the four possibilities I have (BNP, Otto's, Zebra Snails, and Timer) And run with that and see how it works?