Best Bottom Feeder For Cichlid?

[GentleGiantsCichlidKeeper]

I have 2 Blood Red Parrots, and 1 Golden Severum in a 40 gallon breeder together. They have just been placed here after a move from a 55 gallon tank and are stressed. I moved them because of algae problems, and hope to not have them. I have gotten items so this won't happen, but still want a bottom feeder. Please experienced fish keeps help me make the choice. BTW Blood Parrot, and Severum aren't that big, and still juveniles but not that small either they're in their growing process. Plecos, algae eaters,?

 

[stiker]

I have 2 Blood Red Parrots, and 1 Golden Severum in a 40 gallon breeder together. They have just been placed here after a move from a 55 gallon tank and are stressed. I moved them because of algae problems, and hope to not have them. I have gotten items so this won't happen, but still want a bottom feeder. Please experienced fish keeps help me make the choice. BTW Blood Parrot, and Severum aren't that big, and still juveniles but not that small either they're in their growing process. Plecos, algae eaters,?

You are much better off finding out the root cause of the algae and targeting that (over stocking, too many nutrients, over feeding, not even water changes, etc)
A fish like a pleco only changes the problem. They may consume all the algae, but just convert it to poop, which they produce an extreme amount of. Many of them are also not entirely herbivorous/ effective algae eaters, and once older become lazy and don’t feed well on algae anymore (not all species).

 

[GentleGiantsCichlidKeeper]

This is true, and I have been searching to find that root issue. Thanks for your advice!

 

[duanes]

Usually a high nutrient load promotes nuisance algae, a 20ppm nitrate reading or above is perfect for algae growth, because nitrate is the main food for algae in aquariums.
As stated above, lack of water changes, overfeeding, overstocking all contribute to that over abundance of algae fertilizer, thus algae over growth.
And about light, higher aquatic plants can only make use of a certain number of hours per day, whereas algae can take all the light you give it, so if your lights are on too long, or your tank receives sunlight from a window that is another promoter of nuisance algae.
My tank receives about 2 to 3 hours of semi strong sun in the morning, and another 2 hours in the afternoon, so to help control the nutrients that cause algae, and shade the tank, I do about a 20% water change every day, and have lots of nitrate using terrestrial and aquatic plants to help eat any leftover nitrate.

 

[GentleGiantsCichlidKeeper]

Usually a high nutrient load promotes nuisance algae, a 20ppm nitrate reading or above is perfect for algae growth, because nitrate is the main food for algae in aquariums.
As stated above, lack of water changes, overfeeding, overstocking all contribute to that over abundance of algae fertilizer, thus algae over growth.
And about light, higher aquatic plants can only make use of a certain number of hours per day, whereas algae can take all the light you give it, so if your lights are on too long, or your tank receives sunlight from a window that is another promoter of nuisance algae.
My tank receives about 2 to 3 hours of semi strong sun in the morning, and another 2 hours in the afternoon, so to help control the nutrients that cause algae, and shade the tank, I do about a 20% water change every day, and have lots of nitrate using terrestrial and aquatic plants to help eat any leftover nitrate.
View attachment 1433012
View attachment 1433013

Thanks for all this useful information!

 

[duanes]

One other factor to consider is the type algae that is in your tank, and type of fish that might eat it (or not).
If it is Cyanano bacteria (sometimes called blue green, or slime algae) is not eaten by many fish considered algae eaters.
If it is hair algae, your cichlids might eat it.
Most cichlids are "bottom feeders", or at least partial bottom feeders, so the need for a typical bottom feeder is in a sense somewhat redundant.
Although most cichlid will not suck the algae of glass like a pleco, they will graze on rocks and other decor. Severum will eat hair algae



In some of my sumps, I seeded and purposely grow hair algae to use, and drop wads of it as high nutrient food for Andinoacara.

Another thing to consider with algae eating fish, somewhat like the seeds of higher plants that pass thrush gut of animals that eat them, some algae spores have the ability to pass thru the gut of algae eating fish species unscathed and reseed and regrow in the tank.

 

[GentleGiantsCichlidKeeper]

kno4te