Something Other Than A Pleco

[tarheel]

hey guys,

I need a fish that will clean the algae off my glass but wont eat my plants. and would do well in a 20 g, I have 1 dwarf gourami, 5 neon tetra's and 2 clown loachs and before everyone kills my I plan to give the loaches to my brother who has much larger tanks than I when they get larger (1.5" max now). I just like thier personality. I have tried an oto but he died and I didnt know they can be fragile. I really dont like pleco's because I think they are somewhat ugly. this is probably on the wrong forum to be insulting pleco's but i figured this was the best spot to ask for help

Thanks for any advice

 

[tarheel]

ok going to bed now, 11pm US so hopefully some response in AM

 

[dwarfgourami]

Ah, I know just the fish for you: the Wilkinson Swordblade. Cheap and hardy and, in the right hands, perfectly harmless. Available from Superdrug or any similar store.

In other words, this strikes me as a tank where you would be much better off doing the cleaning yourself, with the aid of an algae scraper and a razor blade for the really obstinate stuff.

You could just squeeze a bristlenose plec in there, but if you think a common plec is ugly, you're not going to like the bristlies. Whatever you do, do NOT buy a Chinese Algae Eater. They are aggressive and territorial and will outgrow your tank.