Best Cleanup crew for cichlids

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
BN plecos can be fickle it seems. I've had groups that cleaned algae and slime really well (I used to use them in discus tanks for the slime build-up) and others that won't touch it. I currently have five BN plecos in various cichlid tanks here and all they eat is pellets, bloodworms, algae wafers, and veggies. They refuse to even get on the glass.

I just ordered some Nerite snails so I will keep you posted on whether or not that works better.
 
Siphoning the tank with regular water changes helps a lot. Limit the amount of natural sunlight on your tank and make sure that your actual tank lights are not designed specifically for plant growth. My Raphael Cat eats everything that he can find. Snails work too if they stay off your cichlid's menu.
 
^ Even with regular, large water changes (80% - 90% once a week) I still see bright green algae about 3 days after a scrub/refill. It's frustrating. I even got some film to put on my fish room windows that blocks out all sunlight. I guess it's just a combination of the tank lights and nutrients in my water. Hopefully snails will help me out. It gets old scrubbing a 210 gallon tank from top to bottom every 3 days.
 
Malaysian Trumpet Snails work good if you don't have sand and just regular gravel they can burrow around in. I am actually getting some and have a group of bristle nose plecos. They eat everything aswell as the algae in the glass. Just can't keep them full or they will choose food over algae.
 
ryansmith83;4549383; said:
^ Even with regular, large water changes (80% - 90% once a week) I still see bright green algae about 3 days after a scrub/refill. It's frustrating. I even got some film to put on my fish room windows that blocks out all sunlight. I guess it's just a combination of the tank lights and nutrients in my water. Hopefully snails will help me out. It gets old scrubbing a 210 gallon tank from top to bottom every 3 days.
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That's easy to fix, and you already know what the problem is, too much light, and nutrients in the water. F*** snails. If you have gravel, I would get rid of it, and use not more than 50 lbs. of pool filter sand in a 210 gal. (a shallow layer). Cut down on the wattage of your tank lighting, or raise it above the tank to spread out light and cut down on the intensity. Transfer some fish to another tank if it is overcrowded, and instead of once a week water changes, split it into 2-50% water changes weekly. I guarantee if these changes are followed, you can eliminate almost any algae problem you may have. Oh, and like I posted before, siphon hose, siphon hose. It is our best friend! :D
 
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hillbilly;4549430; said:
That's easy to fix, and you already know what the problem is, too much light, and nutrients in the water. F*** snails. If you have gravel, I would get rid of it, and use not more than 50 lbs. of pool filter sand in a 210 gal. (a shallow layer). Cut down on the wattage of your tank lighting, or raise it above the tank to spread out light and cut down on the intensity. Transfer some fish to another tank if it is overcrowded, and instead of once a week water changes, split it into 2-50% water changes weekly. I guarantee if these changes are followed, you can eliminate almost any algae problem you may have. Oh, and like I posted before, siphon hose, siphon hose. It is our best friend! :D
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I'm not so sure, but I'll try splitting up the water changes. Before I moved here, I had the same tank, lights, filters, water change schedule, and a heavier bioload (more fish). That tank received sunlight about 6 hours a day and I left the lights on most of the time. I never saw algae then. Now it comes back after a few days and it just blankets everything. This happens in every tank in my house now. All that changed was my water. :(

Usually I don't mind scrubbing, but fry tanks + growout tanks + two big show tanks = full time job. I'll take any little bit of help I can get. :D
 
After having tried a couple kinds of pleco, snails, and shrimp, hands down my best success has been with Siamese algae eaters. I have them in a cichlid breeder tank and they keep it absolutely spotless, are very good at staying out of the way of aggressive fish, and their waste is negligable. They eat most all types of algae, even bacterial lookalikes, along with food waste, and don't damage plants. Seriously, awesome.
 
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