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Algae munching monsters!

esoxlucius

esoxlucius

Balaclava Bot Butcher
MFK Member
Some of you may remember that I set up my old hex tank back in April. My only stock in there were 12 Serpae tetras. I just left this tank to its own devices and it wasn't long before it was over run with algae. I loved the look and the algae ensured constant 0ppm nitrate readings too.

However, apart from the front viewing panels, which I cleaned weekly, the algae began to get a bit much for even my liking, lol. So, on August 1st I put in two tiny bristlenose catfish ( less than 1") just to help "trim" it a little and keep it under control.

Well, about a month has passed now, and as you can see from the two before and after pictures below, there is a startling contrast! Actually I'm quite staggered at how efficient these two tiny little fish have been during the short time they've been in there.

They have decimated every bit of algae in there! The tank now looks more like a barren moonscape than a lush underwater paradise, not sure I like the look anymore. The thing is I expected my nitrate to start registering now the algae has gone, but I still have constant 0ppm, for now, checks are ongoing.

I think it is safe to say that if anyone is looking for advice on a good algae eater......let me introduce you to the work of two tiny bristlenose cats, lol.

The first pic is from July 12th, before the bristlenose were added. The second pic is from yesterday!!!

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Midwater said:
Yes, yes. But show pictures of the bristlenose as well.
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Lol. I hardly ever see them myself, they're usually in the rocks! They certainly don't do much munching during the day, they're a proper nightshift clean up crew.

I need to make some decisions on this tank now. Getting them out is going to be a nightmare, but it's the only way I'm going to get my algae back, lol.

I knew they were efficient algae eaters but honestly, I had no idea just how efficient, kudos to the little guys, lol.
 
It looks like a fair portion of the algae in the first pic is actually Cyanobacteria, and that stuff seems to eventually peak and then just recede naturally on its own, at least in my tanks. But there's no doubt that the plecos do their job. I have a Bristlenose in my Heterandria tank, which sits in front of the window in my little library, and I have never had to scrape the front glass to remove algae. I remove duckweed at least weekly, and prune out the Najas at least once a month and I occasionally need to pull out some hair algae; generally, the tank always has that green overgrown "jungle" look that much prefer to the clean, sterile vibe for which many people seem to strive.

Honestly, I prefer the "before" pic! :) Why no plants, Esox?
 
jjohnwm said:
Why no plants, Esox?
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I had salvinia in there at one point, and that started taking over too! The algae didn't start growing with a vengeance until I thinned the salvinia out. The salvinia was blocking the light! Eventually I removed all the salvinia too and the algae took over. Pic below of salvinia, very aggressive grower.

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FINWIN said:
Salad buffet!! I went through the same thing with guppy grass...in one week 15 bunches disappeared. 40 bucks down the drain!
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Lol, it seems they don't care one way or the other then whether the greenery they're chomping on is expensive, or free of charge!

I was a little more lucky than you, 40 bucks, ouch! Lol.
 
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