farlowella catfish good algae eater?

[FisherCat]

Hello,

So my local petshop said farlowella catfish make good algae eaters like plecos do. Did warn me they get up to a foot long.

Do they compare well to plecos? Eat from glass, plants and old growth?

Do they need driftwood and hiding places?

 

[Desert Bus]

I currently have 2 F. gracilis and 1 F. vittatus. I don't know much about F. acus, as I haven't kept it.

F. gracilis and F. vittaus both seem to top out at around 8" TL. The vittatus has more bulk, as part of the total length for the gracilis consists of long tail streamers.

Mine are always out and about grazing on algae, they don't care what it's on. They do spend a decent amount of time on driftwood, but I don't know if they're eating it.

They don't need hiding places, since they look like sticks. Most fish ignore them.