Tank growing algae; should I get a pleco?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
If you are bent on getting a pleco go ahead with the bushy nose ;) they are FINE in a 10 g. You do weeklys anyway.. So sucking up the crap would be 30 second extra in a 10g.
 
You do weeklys anyway.. So sucking up the crap would be 30 second extra in a 10g.
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but that pleco will be puttting out far more waste than the fry, which will be more sensitive to the water quality.
Or maybe I don't need an algae eating fish. I'll see how much algae grows,
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probably the best idea.
 
IT'S A TEN GALLON TANK!!!!!!!!!!!! Scrub the freaking algae!!!!!!! lol:ROFL:
 
I have a 15 gallon setup with Guppies. What works very well for me is a Clown Pleco/Ringlet Pleco (same thing) and a mystery snail. I have to scrub it once every month or so but not often. This pleco is one of the smallest and is easy to find. he cleans the gravel pretty well and eats scraps of food that reach the bottom. Make sure there is a small piece of driftwood for him to chew on too. I also never scrub the back wall of the tank. This way there is always a small amount of algae for the fry and pleco to graze on

I tried Otto's with the guppies and they started sucking the slime coat off of the juvie guppies and killed several of them. I wouldn't suggest them for that reason as well as they prefer planted tanks

Bushy nosed Pleco's are EXCELLENT algae eaters however at 6-7 inches (Adults) they will grow too large for your 10. I put one in my 90 with my cichlids and he cleaned the entire tank, that had been growng algae for over a month, in 2 days!

This set-up won't eliminate your algae but will control it pretty well

Hope this helps
 
Seriously, its a 10 gallon. Is it so hard to take up 12 minutes of your life to scrub the tank as opposed to buying a fish to help solve it, yet the fish isn't needed by the end of the week?
 
OCi cats.... OR just get ur hands wet...
 
algea eaters crap a lot and you will end up haveing to do more gravel vacs and ur watere parameters will be affected.... algea believe it or not is healthy... its just an eyesore as long as your water isnt infested with algea a little spot or two on the sides is not harmful keep your light down to 6-8 hours keep the tank away from other lighting and you will be fine.....this is too everyone out there plecos are not the answer to algea!!! yes they eat scraps but scraps mean you are feeding too much.... my python sucks scraps up and ddoesnt crap all over my tank
 
Then again.. maybe he would just like a little bristlenose in the tank, just because he can.

They are a cute fish, will live fine with guppies and can handle themselves in a tank with bigger fish too. So when it grows into a 4" 'Monster' just move it to a bigger tank and buy another baby one. After a few years you will have quite a group :grinno:

I agree, work on the cause of the algae first, but there is really no problem with keeping a BN pleco in there.

Cheers

Ian
 
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