plebian
Fish Crazy
I have had an algae problem for many years. The primary culprit is brown algae, though I have had occasional (minor) bouts with black algae, green dust algae and blue-green "algae". It's defeated every attempt I've had to add plants, because it begins covering leaves as fast as the plants can put out new growth.
Aside from multiple attempts at regular manual removal and chemical removal, I also kept Bristlenose because of their reputation for eating algae. I've kept 3 different individuals, each raised from young juveniles, over the years and never once observed them eating any algae whatsoever, regardless of algae type. I also made an attempt to introduce Otocinclus, but none of them survived my QT even though it was full of both green and brown algae.
I decided to take one more shot, and it seems I've finally struck gold. I purchased eight of them and watched them thoroughly clean my QT. Once transferred them to the aquarium I was simply stunned at how efficient they were at consuming algae (mostly brown). First they cleaned the plants, then the substrate, then the glass. My aquarium is 9 feet long, so that's a lot of surface area. Simply amazing.
The one thing that's a bit surprising is that they ignore the driftwood completely. That's not a problem for me as I don't really care about algae on the driftwood, but it's contrary to numerous reports suggesting driftwood biofilm is not just food source, but necessary to their health. That doesn't seem to be the case, as all 8 of the Otos appear healthy and active and are sporting surprisingly striking coloration.
Aside from multiple attempts at regular manual removal and chemical removal, I also kept Bristlenose because of their reputation for eating algae. I've kept 3 different individuals, each raised from young juveniles, over the years and never once observed them eating any algae whatsoever, regardless of algae type. I also made an attempt to introduce Otocinclus, but none of them survived my QT even though it was full of both green and brown algae.
I decided to take one more shot, and it seems I've finally struck gold. I purchased eight of them and watched them thoroughly clean my QT. Once transferred them to the aquarium I was simply stunned at how efficient they were at consuming algae (mostly brown). First they cleaned the plants, then the substrate, then the glass. My aquarium is 9 feet long, so that's a lot of surface area. Simply amazing.
The one thing that's a bit surprising is that they ignore the driftwood completely. That's not a problem for me as I don't really care about algae on the driftwood, but it's contrary to numerous reports suggesting driftwood biofilm is not just food source, but necessary to their health. That doesn't seem to be the case, as all 8 of the Otos appear healthy and active and are sporting surprisingly striking coloration.
