algae and plecos?

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C

chronick

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Oct 18, 2009
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Canada
im aware that a lot of plecos don't eat algae and that their diet can consist of a variety of food. Lately, my tank has been growing more and more algae and at the moment i only have a common pleco which tends to suck on the driftwood in the tank rather than cleaning the algae on the glass.

My question is which plecos eat algae exclusively? I've heard that BN are one of the best algae eaters, is this true? If so, which variety has the nicest or unique pattern? Also, are there any other unique plecos that will do a good job cleaning algae from my tank? I'm willing to spend up to $100 on a pleco that looks nice and does the job, any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated :D:D
 
BN plecos do eat diatoms and green algae but if there is abundance of other foods, then they may simply prefer those and neglect to eat algae but that's natural. My long-finned bristlenose pleco luckily keeps the algae at bay despite being spoiled with other foods.
 
Depending on the size of the tank and the tankmates, I'd recommend a(or more) Otocinclus for a steady algae eater.

One time I had a 5 gallon completely covered in algae, I put 3-4 Otocinclus in it and in a day or two they had it spotless. Of course I had a green bottom.
 
My first 5 plecos do not bother to eat algae.They're just lazy from their usual food.
The last one i got, a hypostomus is a very good algae cleaner and is a real asset to my tank. Cleans the algae even after eating his normal food.
 
My Otto's do a great job of cleaning the algae. As far as true Plecos, I like my L187 Rubbernose/Rubberlip/Rubberwhatever. They stay small & love to clean the glass.
 
I'm kind of set on getting a nice pleco, not really sure why, i've always thought that plecos are kind of unique and neat looking. So anyone have any other suggestions on plecos? :P thanks for the input
 
l076's are pretty cool looking I think, and they don't get too large.

Plantcatfish says they don't eat algae, but I have had one in a 55 gallon that got alot of sunlight, and for years it has never had more then a tiny film of algae. I see him on the glass all the time after lights out, he moves quick.
 
i threw my regular pleco in my planted 55 and by the end of the day, all the algae that was on my driftwood was gone. it also clean off the algae on the glass too but not as much.
 
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