# are ghost shrimp good at eating algae?



## nightwing (Jul 18, 2006)

I have not found a single store in the Cleveland/Akron/Canton area that sells amano shrimp. However I can find ghost shrimp by the bucketfuls. Will they suffice? Will they eat my plants instead of algea?

I can find ottos here and there. How many fit in a 10gal?


----------



## stepheus (Jun 13, 2006)

hmmm....amanos cant be replaced by ghost shrimps. they are not good with algae. maybe if you are planning on something that eats debris and leftover food in the tank. i would guess 4 oto for the 10gal. i would put so many if you are planning on other fauna as well.


----------



## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

I agree, ghost shrimp are not big algae eaters. Flake yes, but algae no. 

Otos would be a good alternative, or even a population of cherry shrimp.

-John N.


----------



## fish newb (May 10, 2006)

John N. said:


> I agree, ghost shrimp are not big algae eaters. Flake yes, but algae no.
> 
> Otos would be a good alternative, or even a population of cherry shrimp.
> 
> -John N.


I agree. But I would say only 3 ottos. Four is too many... And with three You really only want two but for some reason that one dies there is still two which is why I would recomend three.

Also cherries are probably a better alternative to both of the choices. Cheaper, They're shrimp, And there are tons and tons of great bloodlines out there!

-Andrew


----------



## Burks (May 25, 2006)

Aquarium Adventure in Cleveland sells Amano Shrimp. I was there about a month ago and they had some. You may have to ask when they get them in though, probably go pretty fast like they do around here.


----------



## black_lung (Dec 19, 2006)

My colony of ghost shrimp do a good job at controling hair algae..however, this is likely only because they are in a tank soley by themselves and have little opportunities to scavange for anything else, save for at feeding time. In a community tank they will touch very little if any algae. Like the others said, cherries are a great compromise. If you go with otos, I wouldn't do more than 2 in a 10 gallon. They can be really finicky about water quality and like high oxygen levels; unless your tanks very heavily planted and has a decent amount of surface agitation, it'll be hard to keep more than 3 alive and happy for very long. Especially if you'd be keeping other fish.


----------

