# Algae Eaters For Tang. Community Tank



## evanjohn (Jan 6, 2009)

Is there any type of loach that I can use for my Tang community tank or do I need to use something like a bristle nose plec?


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## MidNightCowBoy (May 7, 2007)

I'd suggest multiple bristle-nose plecos.


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## chapman76 (Jun 30, 2004)

I'd suggest a bristlenose also. If you don't like the look of them, they have different types (calico, long finned, albino). Also, if you get a female, the bristles are much less noticable generally.


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## alfalex (Jan 6, 2007)

I prefer neretinas snail!


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## bobberly1 (Dec 2, 2006)

I've always wondered, do bristlenoses really thrive in those conditions? They come from the soft, acidic water of South America and it's hard to believe that they enjoy that water.

On that note, the BNs in my planted tank just bred! :dancing:


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## evanjohn (Jan 6, 2009)

Thanks, I really like the look of the bristle nose plecs male and female - just wanted to look at all the options.



MidNightCowBoy said:


> I'd suggest multiple bristle-nose plecos.


Multiple? Do they need to be in pairs or will they be happy alone?



alfalex said:


> I prefer neretinas snail!


Those look really cool but I don't know if I've seen any at the LFS.


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## VT4Me (Mar 23, 2008)

It would be fine on it's own.

They'll appreciate a piece of weighted down cucumber, zucini or blanched peas in addition to algae wafers along with the algae you want it to get rid of. Personally, I love BN's and they do an incredible job of algae control. I remember the first one I got completely cleaned my 20g tank overnight.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> I've always wondered, do bristlenoses really thrive in those conditions? They come from the soft, acidic water of South America and it's hard to believe that they enjoy that water.


The biggest threat to them if from the tankmates, not the water. Mine breed like crazy in moderately 
hard water when kept on their own. In my cichlid tank, they hide all day to avoid harassment, and 
come out at night to feed. They survive this way, but don't thrive.

I also use nerite snails. Found mine on aquabid.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I've never been able to find the nerites. But I also heard they leave hard white calcium deposits on the glass that are difficult to remove and annoying. Do you have this problem?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

DJRansome said:


> I've never been able to find the nerites. But I also heard they leave hard white calcium deposits on the glass that are difficult to remove and annoying. Do you have this problem?


I heard the same, but haven't seen it, and I've had mine for a year or so. I think it's the hard white eggs 
that you're referring to. I've not heard anything about calcium deposits. Regardless, I'd highly 
recommend them if you can find them.


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## MidNightCowBoy (May 7, 2007)

The reason I suggest multiple is because they are quite small and one bn pleco in a medium sized tank just can't always keep up on the cleaning duties. So I guess it depends on the size of your tank, which I just noticed you didn't post. I'd say anything 45 gallons or larger you should have at least 2, anything smaller and one will probably suffice.


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## alicem (Jul 26, 2007)

Is it your 46 gallon bowfront with these fish?


> Here's the complete fish list again all together:
> 
> â€¢ Neolamprologus multifasciatus (7+)
> 
> ...


I would wait until you have algae and need one. 
The leleupi would worry me with a BN, but then that's just supposition on my part.


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## bobberly1 (Dec 2, 2006)

Make sure that you supplement the food regularly, there isn't enough algae to permanently sustain them.


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## evanjohn (Jan 6, 2009)

VT4Me said:


> It would be fine on it's own.
> 
> They'll appreciate a piece of weighted down cucumber, zucini or blanched peas in addition to algae wafers along with the algae you want it to get rid of. Personally, I love BN's and they do an incredible job of algae control. I remember the first one I got completely cleaned my 20g tank overnight.


Overnight? wow - that would be amazing, how much food do they go through after they've cleaned all your tanks algae up?


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## evanjohn (Jan 6, 2009)

prov356 said:


> > I've always wondered, do bristlenoses really thrive in those conditions? They come from the soft, acidic water of South America and it's hard to believe that they enjoy that water.
> 
> 
> The biggest threat to them if from the tankmates, not the water. Mine breed like crazy in moderately
> ...


Good to know, and thanks for letting me know about aquabid, I'll have to watch for some Nerite snails.


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## bobberly1 (Dec 2, 2006)

A fair amount, I'd feed them some spirulina every night with the fresh veggies once in a while.


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## evanjohn (Jan 6, 2009)

MidNightCowBoy said:


> The reason I suggest multiple is because they are quite small and one bn pleco in a medium sized tank just can't always keep up on the cleaning duties. So I guess it depends on the size of your tank, which I just noticed you didn't post. I'd say anything 45 gallons or larger you should have at least 2, anything smaller and one will probably suffice.


Tank size would prob help, it's a 46g.


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## bobberly1 (Dec 2, 2006)

Eh still, once they clean it up it takes time to grow back. I almost killed a common pleco thinking it was eating algae, plecos need regular feedings.


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## evanjohn (Jan 6, 2009)

alicem said:


> Is it your 46 gallon bowfront with these fish?
> 
> 
> > Here's the complete fish list again all together:
> ...


Yup that's the one - I've got algae, the tank is a few years old now - there's been multis in their for a long time and petricolas for a month or so.

Here's one of the Petricolas:


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## VT4Me (Mar 23, 2008)

> Overnight? wow - that would be amazing, how much food do they go through after they've cleaned all your tanks algae up?


I used to feed a slice of cucumber each night; it loved that. It also ate bloodworms and algae tablets. As bobberly said, it will definitely need more than just the algae in your tank to survive.


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## evanjohn (Jan 6, 2009)

Is the picture displaying the post I made above?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> how much food do they go through after they've cleaned all your tanks algae up?


Mine will eat as much zucchini as I give them. But then the mess they make is proportionate to the 
amount of food given, so be forewarned.  As a supplement to algae, once or twice per week should 
do. You can also consider running the tank lights longer.


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## alicem (Jul 26, 2007)

evanjohn said:


> Is the picture displaying the post I made above?


Not on my computer. I thought it was just me, tho.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

evanjohn said:


> Is the picture displaying the post I made above?


If I open the url in a separate browser window, I can see the pic, just not in your post. Sort of odd. What 
photo posting service are you using?

If I add it to this post, I can see it in the preview.










Now I see it in my post and yours, very strange. :-?


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## alicem (Jul 26, 2007)

I don't see it in either prov356 or evanjohn's
:-?


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## bobberly1 (Dec 2, 2006)

Yeah, don't see it. Want to though  I love synos.


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## evanjohn (Jan 6, 2009)

prov356 said:


> evanjohn said:
> 
> 
> > Is the picture displaying the post I made above?
> ...


I can see the picture you posted too, and mine display for me... why can't anyone else see them? :-?

I'm using picasa web albums, I'll try loading them onto my flickr account tomorrow then try and put up a few pictures. So ...check back tomorrow (no guarantees though)


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## evanjohn (Jan 6, 2009)

bobberly1 said:


> Yeah, don't see it. Want to though  I love synos.


I'll take more pictures of the even spotted squeakers and try and get them up tomorrow using a different host. :zz:


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## evanjohn (Jan 6, 2009)

alicem said:


> I don't see it in either prov356 or evanjohn's
> :-?


I'll have to try and host them elsewhere.. you could try clicking on the link like alicem did - I'm not sure how it works though. :-?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Now I don't see them again. :lol: Yeah, I'd try a different posting service. Photobucket works.


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## boredatwork (Sep 14, 2007)

One thing about BN, as with all pleco's, they poop a lot. A lot a lot. Some people say BN poop less compared to other pleco's but I don't know how true that is. For that reason I always recommend getting just one. A single BN can take care of algae in any size tank no problem. I had a 125 covered in green algae. The morning after putting a BN in my tank it was all gone. It was actually pretty cool. Ever since then I have never seen even a speck of green algae in my tank.

Notice that I said green algae. Pleco's will not eat "brown algae". Mainly because brown algae is usually not algae but diatoms. A perfect segue...

Tim, a question about the snails. Do they eat diatoms? I am guessing no, but I'm gonna cross my fingers. I looked it up online, but I have found many claims of certain species that will supposedly eat diatoms that end up not eating diatoms.


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## bobberly1 (Dec 2, 2006)

YES. My tank was so full of mulm for a while it was incredible. I did large weekly water changes and there was a layer on the bottom. I just started feeding less (but still a fair amount) and using more fresh veggies.

Mine eat brown algae, that's mostly what I use 'em for. Maybe differing preferences.

I've kept multiple types of snails, common plecos, BNs, and otos and not one of them rejected brown diatom film. Not calling you a liar, maybe we have different types.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> Tim, a question about the snails. Do they eat diatoms?


I don't have any brown algae (diatoms) in the tank, so can't say if they'd deal with that. What's commonly
known as green dot algae is (from what I've read) diatoms, and nothing takes care of that, at least in my 
tanks. I've got a hard green 'algae' looking stuff in tanks that the pleco's don't touch. I have to razor 
scape it once in a while. Is it because it's diatoms or just some type of algae not worth the trouble 
because I keep them well fed with zucchini? Don't know. I've got other tanks that are spotless, but 
they've got a different species of pleco. And, they've also got different lighting. So, I think that's why you 
see a range of experiences here. The only thing I've got growing that the snails don't eat is the green dot 
stuff. Otherwise, they're slow to make a dent in it , but once they get it under control, seem to do real 
well. If you can find these guys, they're not that expensive and no harm in giving them a shot. They 
don't reproduce in freshwater (eggs don't hatch), so it's not like you'd be overrun with something you 
didn't want. I think they make an interesting addition.

I know this doesn't answer your question at all about the diatoms, sorry.  But, does give me a 
thought. I may take one or two and drop them in a tank with the hard green algae and see if they 
make a dent in that. But without know if that's algae or diatoms, it still doesn't answer the question.

And, is *all *brown stuff diatoms. What I've read is that it's *usually *diatoms. Could also 
explain the different experiences.


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## VT4Me (Mar 23, 2008)

I unfortunately brought snails into my tank on some anubias and they reproduced like crazy (now eliminated..I think). I don't know what type of snail they were but the one benefit they brought was that they removed the brown algae/diatoms from my plants and glass quite effectively.


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## evanjohn (Jan 6, 2009)

VT4Me said:


> I unfortunately brought snails into my tank on some anubias and they reproduced like crazy (now eliminated..I think). I don't know what type of snail they were but the one benefit they brought was that they removed the brown algae/diatoms from my plants and glass quite effectively.


I've got lots of little snails in my tank too, all they do though is leave zig zag marks through the algae...


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## evanjohn (Jan 6, 2009)

boredatwork said:


> One thing about BN, as with all pleco's, they poop a lot. A lot a lot. Some people say BN poop less compared to other pleco's but I don't know how true that is. For that reason I always recommend getting just one. A single BN can take care of algae in any size tank no problem. I had a 125 covered in green algae. The morning after putting a BN in my tank it was all gone. It was actually pretty cool. Ever since then I have never seen even a speck of green algae in my tank.
> 
> Notice that I said green algae. Pleco's will not eat "brown algae". Mainly because brown algae is usually not algae but diatoms. A perfect segue...
> 
> Tim, a question about the snails. Do they eat diatoms? I am guessing no, but I'm gonna cross my fingers. I looked it up online, but I have found many claims of certain species that will supposedly eat diatoms that end up not eating diatoms.


I wouldn't mind if they poop a lot, that's better than having algae everywhere, at least you can vacuum up poop easier than spending hours scraping algae off you tank, only to see it return a week later.


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## Razzo (Oct 17, 2007)

MidNightCowBoy said:


> The reason I suggest multiple is because they are quite small and one bn pleco in a medium sized tank just can't always keep up on the cleaning duties. So I guess it depends on the size of your tank, which I just noticed you didn't post. I'd say anything 45 gallons or larger you should have at least 2, anything smaller and one will probably suffice.


How many BN would you recommend for a 125 gallon tank?


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## alicem (Jul 26, 2007)

> How many BN would you recommend for a 125 gallon tank?


I have 3 BNs in my 90G, but have noticed there has been an increase in the do-do :? 
I had been blaming the rainbows,  but it probably is the bristlenoses. 
Just keep an eye on where that stuff collects and vac/syphon that/those area(s) well with each water change.
hth


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## boredatwork (Sep 14, 2007)

Razzo said:


> How many BN would you recommend for a 125 gallon tank?


I have one and I have never had a problem with algae after adding it. Unless you want babies I think more than one is overkill. Especially since they poop a lot.

As for the brown algae. From what I've seen there really isn't such a thing as brown algae. Although I do remember reading once that if it is long and flowly (and brown) than that is brown algae. But as for the other type I have only found brown algae classified as diatoms. http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/a ... toms.shtml

The funny thing is people swear to me that their pleco will eat the brown stuff, but mine doesn't. Even the guy I bought it from says he uses pleco's all the time to clear up brown algae. Maybe mine is just fussy. On the other hand when you search online most information suggests that pleco's will not eat the brown stuff. The main reason being is that the brown stuff is not algae - so being an algae eater they wouldn't eat it.

To be more precise I do see the pleco munching down on the rocks with the diatoms, but it never seems to get cleared up. So maybe he is doing the best he can.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I had one in my 125G for a long time, and she did 90% but not quite 100%. So I've recently added another.


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## evanjohn (Jan 6, 2009)

Alright I've decided to go with just one BN for my tank, thanks for all the help.

One more question though - do they need wood? I have read they like to "rasp" the wood and some even say it's essential for their diet.

The problem I have with this is that I don't want to put wood in there and lower my tanks hardness..


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Need, well kind of. They survive without it (5 years or more for me) but yep I think they like the stuff in wood and they do best at a pH lower than Tang tanks but **** what do you want. There is nothing as far as I know better for keeping your plants and rocks clear of algae in a tang tank. They survive and even breed at pH 8.6. Not their natural pH I admit is far lower, which is 5.8 - 7.2. http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/sp ... cies_id=49


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I think certain other plecos "need" wood but BN not so much.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> do they need wood?


Need no, but I think there may be some benefit and they certainly do eat it. I use mopani wood that's 
been well soaked so it's not longer leaching tannins, and it doesn't noticeably affect pH. I'd recommend 
adding at least a small piece.


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## evanjohn (Jan 6, 2009)

Ok thanks, I'll have to get that soaking soon


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## evanjohn (Jan 6, 2009)

I got my bn from the lfs Friday. 

I found an adult male - he did some good work overnight. Unfortunately he didn't clear all the algae out overnight like some have claimed but he has alread put a nice dent in it.

Thanks for all the help in choosing this plec, I really enjoy watching him work. :fish:

I'll get some pictures up soon.


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## elipsius (Dec 28, 2007)

So I guess BN are the main suggestion, I was hoping that there would be something native (to the lake) or some shrimp (shrimp probably not the best since they would get eaten) ideas about cleaning. The snails are cool, but don't see that species for sale much if ever. But then I like snails, I have a large group of spirals (not sure of the species) that came off of some plants and I make sure they are in all my tanks now just for added cleaning. They don't seem to over populate and probably some get eaten.


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## evanjohn (Jan 6, 2009)

elipsius said:


> So I guess BN are the main suggestion, I was hoping that there would be something native (to the lake) or some shrimp (shrimp probably not the best since they would get eaten) ideas about cleaning. The snails are cool, but don't see that species for sale much if ever. But then I like snails, I have a large group of spirals (not sure of the species) that came off of some plants and I make sure they are in all my tanks now just for added cleaning. They don't seem to over populate and probably some get eaten.


I have those spiral snails too, they seem to borrow into the sand and help mix the sand up. I haven't had the ambition to take photos of my bn yet - soon to come.


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