How come my 2 bristlenose plecos won’t eat this diatom algae that’s growing on top of these two rocks? I thought they loved distoms?BN Plecos and diatoms?
- Thread starter EccelaEkaj
- Start date
How come my 2 bristlenose plecos won’t eat this diatom algae that’s growing on top of these two rocks? I thought they loved distoms?
It’s hit or miss with bn plecos and diatoms. Better chance with otos and nerite snails.
Well when I first put them in they absolutely devoured the diatoms clean but recently they’ve stopped eating the large areas of diatoms. they still suck on the gravel and little bits on the glass but they seem to be staying away from the heavy amounts of it. Would ottos stay alive with the American cichlids I have? how many can I put in the 75g? If they don’t poop as much as plecos and do a better job eating diatoms I’m all in
Probably wouldn’t survive that tank. Would keep the ancistrus and manually remove it.
Not to be rude but thats why expecting a fish to take care of tank maintenance isn’t the best idea...
Whether its algae, diatoms or something else, sometimes the best way to deal with it is to manually get in there and clean it or to find the route cause of the problem and try tackle it from there...
Whether its algae, diatoms or something else, sometimes the best way to deal with it is to manually get in there and clean it or to find the route cause of the problem and try tackle it from there...
I’m not the expecting the fish to do all the maintenance I clean off everything every weekend so don’t make assumptions. Since Ottos won’t work are there any supplements I can add to the take to fight against the diatoms? Also this past week looks like a pinkish type of algae has started to grow on the glass any idea
No supplement to remove diatoms. Can add some phosban in ur filter to remove silicates. Help to reduce the amount. Other option is add a algae scrubber (link below) to help outcompete the diatoms.
Sounds like red algae is present in ur tank. Once need to cont with scrubbing and manual removal. Algae scrubber will also work here. The plecos won’t eat red algae.
Algae scrubber as bio filter.
Can it be done, with enough capacity? It would be great to hear the pros and cons. I am thinking if sized right. They can remove nitrate, seams they might be equally suited at removing ammonia before the bacteria get to it. This is my top tank 75 gallon, internal filter, + 55 gallon chiller...
www.monsterfishkeepers.com
Well my BN just ate a big spot of the red algae so maybe it’s something else but he ate it. I’ll look into the Algae scrubber !
