# Larger (2-3"+) algae eating fish



## smackpixi (Oct 15, 2008)

I have a currently 6" Senegal Bicher in a planted tank. I love him, but he eats small and slow fish at night. He will get a little bigger. Ottos I think wouldn't last very long.

I have 6 1.5"-2" swordtails in with him and he hasn't bothered yet, though he'll get bigger...these guys are great, spend all day eating algae...except when the two males chase each other.

Also have a Rainbow Shark, actually a "Blue Fin Shark", the store called it. Fins look sorta pale white translucent to me, but liked the odd variety of a Rainbow and didn't quibble. He's still small, maybe a bit over 1" atm, a two week ago addition...but apparently fast enough to stay alive. Spends all day working on the algae.

Yeah, have an algae problem...it's getting better with more attention to the root causes...algae isn't growing back as fast as it showed up. (brown diatoms, green hair, and green scum on the glass)

Plants are starting to grow now (tank is 7 years old (though drastic change recently, removed ug filter added laterite, and new gravel to supplement the old which wasn't deep enough 3 weeks ago, been planted with new brighter lights for about two weeks).

Anyway. Bigger fish that eat algae. Rosy Barbs come to mind, but would really like to transition in gouramis...and not sure that's a good mix.

Any ideas?


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## 808aquatics (Sep 26, 2008)

You should try raising some Siamese Algae Eaters. They get as big as 5 to 6 inches. And they do a great job in your tank. It's hard to find a single algae eater that will eat all your algae.


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## smackpixi (Oct 15, 2008)

Sorta thought i'd populate the tank with lots of different kinds of fish that ate algae. Had one SAE...he was there three days, didn't seem to eat any algae, just spent all day going up and down the glass...which was already clean...was about 1.5" and seemed very fast...yet he "vanished" after 3 days. Guessing bicher ate him. But that's an idea, once they get bigger, safer...but the one i had didn't eat any algae...and i'd spent about an hour studying them at the store to make sure they were the real ones. Were.


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## 808aquatics (Sep 26, 2008)

smackpixi said:


> Sorta thought i'd populate the tank with lots of different kinds of fish that ate algae. Had one SAE...he was there three days, didn't seem to eat any algae, just spent all day going up and down the glass...which was already clean...was about 1.5" and seemed very fast...yet he "vanished" after 3 days. Guessing bicher ate him. But that's an idea, once they get bigger, safer...but the one i had didn't eat any algae...and i'd spent about an hour studying them at the store to make sure they were the real ones. Were.


My SAE ate the black brush algae I had growing in my tank, but hardly would I catch him on my glass. They would normally be eating the algae off the leaves of my plants. That bicher is pretty lethal, maybe he should be seperated.


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## 808aquatics (Sep 26, 2008)

These guys do a great job cleaning tanks, but it's illegal to sell.


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