Yep you’re right. Just read up on it. Small invertebrates (snails included) are on the menu.
AQUASCAPING
- Thread starter Caveden
- Start date
Another option is an algae scrapper. That might be the best thing to get at this point.
I read through all the other responses before responding and it seems like your questions have been answered.How do you tell it’s a female bristlenose if it doesn’t have the bristles ?? I’m also clueless about plecos.
there’s nothing you can add to your tank that won’t also add to the bio load of the tank.
the best algae eater is your own hand a a brush or scrubbie.
I don’t think ottos will work in your tank as I think I read you had larger fish in your tank (the ottos could become snacks) ottos also do best in very mature tanks. If you add Nerite snails to your tank you’ll have a bigger problem than algae….the nerite snail eggs are like cement and very hard to remove, more so than algae. If you go with mystery snails they are essentially s**t machines like plecos. If yougo with Siamese algae eaters the true version they will work while small and once they learn how delicious the fish food is they will stop eating the algae and wait for the fish food.
if you want plecos I say definitely go for it, they are awesome! But they won’t be as good at eating algae as you want for the most part. The suggestion of rubber lip is a good one!
one good rule of the hobby is don’t add a fish to your tank to solve a problem. Solve the problem by figuring out why it’s a problem and then fix that problem. Add fish to your tank bc you want to care for and keep them.
I don’t really know how to stop algae from occurring. I just thought of getting a small pleco to help keep the tank cleaner. Now my options are either rubbernose or bristlenose I guess after reading your message. How do you differentiate bristlenose from other plecos? Thanks niki
I do scrape off, but i swear it grows back within a day, which I don’t have the time for
Lighting could be a problem.I do scrape off, but i swear it grows back within a day, which I don’t have the time for
Try reducing the amount of hours your tank light is on.
There are a number of ways to reduce algae. Reduce lighting times, less feeding, more water changes, adding a lot of plants to out compete the algae for resources.
honestly if you learn to live with a bit of algae then it make keeping tanks less stressful bc your not always trying to get rid of it lol
all healthy environments in the wild also have algae, it provides a placefor smaller organisms to live that are live fish food for fry , algae also helps use up extra nutrients in the water the same way plants do, just keep the main viewing panel clean of algae.
you honestly should t have any problems knowing the difference between a rubber or bristlenose as they are both commonly available and will be labeled for you. There’s no reason to mis-label these two plecos (which can happen with the more difficult to ID plecos for financial gain).
Just so you know they are just called blue eyed lemons and the albino term does not apply bc it has blue eyes and not red eyes.
I have also noticed (maybe bc I feed well) that they don’t do much for of algae control
