What's a good algae eater that lives with angels?

[Eleonora]

Algae is building up greatly in my angel tank. Whats a good algae eater that stays a small size and would go well with Angels?

 

[Missy]

What kind of algae is it?

I have green algae in my tank and I don't think a tank full of algae eaters could handle the job. I have simply resorted to cleaning it out by hand. Its not pretty to look at but is actually a sign of a healthy tank so I deal with it.

I've heard of starving the tank of light to fix the problem but have never tried it as I keep live plants.

 

[Tolak]

Bristlenose plecs do well with angels. My concern is that you have 4 angels in a 50 liter tank. That is around 13 U.S. gallons, when each fish will need at very least 5 gallons per fish, 10 is better. They will need a bigger tank once they approach around 1" body size.

They also need a taller tank, as the are tall fish. 16" is the minimum for adults, Veils will need more than that. If you can rehouse them in the 180L tank in the future, that would work out well.

Tolak

 

[black convict 0331]

the gest kind of alge eater for thick alge is a pleco a regular alge eater is good for small tanks 10-15 gals

 

[Danno]

I would get some flying foxes. There small, fast, they zoom all over, eat alot, and they do good with semi-aggressves

 

[yhbae]

I second bristlenose suggestion. You could also look into true SAE. Don't get Chinese algae eater or flying fox...

 

[jonny toe tags]

I have Ottos and true SAE's.

 

[freddyk]

Eleonora

I fear that angels were a poor choice for that little tank, as they grow quite large and can get pretty aggressive toward each other.

Keeping that in mind, here are my thoughts:

Oto: Excellent little guys, clear up algae, quite active, and stay small.
Bristlenose: Mid sized, too messy for such a small tank, less efficient as they grow but do a great job when younger.
Common Pleco: Do a lousy job on algae, get massive.
Chinese Algae Eater: Very poor choice, extremely aggressive and get quite large.
Flying Fox: More of a scavenger, not a good algae eater. Can be aggressive.
Siamese algae eater: Good choice, not too large, good on algae, quite active

Beware: The last 3 are often confused in fish stores, yet they are very different fish. Try to get the scientific name of the fish in the store and double check that it's the correct one.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Angels need to be in a 3ft long and 18" high tank, although I kept some with sucess in a 2ft cube. Your tanks is far, far too small. Perhaps a biuld up of NitrAte is playing a part in you haveing excess algae.

The algae eating fish I have are:

Otos
True Siamaese flying foxes
Farlowella catfish
Butterfly plec

 

[Mamaschild]

I have to disagree with freddyk on getting an SAE (Siamensis) for a tank that small. First off, they are very social fish and need to be in groups of at least 2, 4 is better. Second, I had 2 in a 40g breeder (that's more surface area then a regular 40g) and they got too big for it. They DO get to 5", and NEED swimming room. I ended up putting them in my 80g and they ZOOM all over the place in there.

Your best bet would be Ottos or Amano Shrimp. Both small, and both great algea eaters. Shrimp don't really add to the bioload either, because they do more good them harm in a tank.....eat lots of algea and leftover food, but produce little waste.

HTH

 

[George Farmer]

True Siamese Algae Eaters are excellent for all types of algae except brown which Otos love. I have 5 Otos and 2 SAEs in my planted 125 litre (35G), they all seem fine with my pair of Angels. I only have a slight covering of algae on my front glass which I clean off every week.