what is the best algae eaters you guys have used with your natives? I have a large mouth bass and a bunch of bluegill and insane algae growth!! any luck?
Algae eater
- Thread starter VT2011
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I'd like to know as well. Both pleco's I've tried to put in my outside tanks have died. One of them jumped out of a converted bathtub I have and the other one I just found dead. I thought maybe it was water temperature since they aren't native and I don't heat/cool it. I've given up on plecos after those two.
I have been using regular old plecos and they do an awesome job. I have 3 tanks and 2 plecos, so I usually move one between the 2 smaller tanks and leave the other in my big tank.
BNs do work good. As long as you keep the temperature above about 74 they do fine.
Just be careful with fish big enough to eat them. You wouldn't think a lot of fish would be interested in eating plecos since they have those hard scales, but some just don't care.
I've heard Florida flagfish are good algae eaters too, but have never tried them.
Just be careful with fish big enough to eat them. You wouldn't think a lot of fish would be interested in eating plecos since they have those hard scales, but some just don't care.
I've heard Florida flagfish are good algae eaters too, but have never tried them.
How big is your large mouth? Just curious, I love those fish I want to get one eventually when I have a large enough tank.
If you are really concerned about algae a better strategy is to address why you have algae. Any fish that eats the algae is just going to create additional waste which is a lot more detrimental than algae growth. Some of my tanks look downright awful due to algae but they are tanks where I either have pairs spawning or fry growing. I do not care to clean the algae since it is a source of micro-organisms for the fry and most fish seem to enjoy picking at it at some point. The real issue with a tank that is growing algae is what source is the algae using for energy? In some cases it is phosphates due to the tap water beign not so great or due to fish food (apparently some foods have a lot of excess phosphates), in others it is just the accumulation of organics, and in still other cases it is a question of excess light. Other than the case of excess light, all of the issues can be corrected by increasing the amount of water changes. I have also had good luck with Al-Gone. I tried it for kicks on a tank that was having a lot of algae issues and was growing out fry. The tank had a tendency to develop a really nasty algae mess so I dropped in the Al-Gone and the tank has cleared up remarkably. I also did due some serio0us extra water changes so I do offer that caveat. Long story made short, increase the water changes and decrease the photo period to get rid of algae instead of enlisting a fish.