# Planted Tanks > Fertilisation and Algae >  Best Algae Eaters for a Planted Aquarium

## seanskye

I just want to share a good article from *Aquascaping World Magazine* by Tom Messenger which I came across while looking for a solution to my algae problem. Good for beginners to the hobby!

*Best Algae Eaters for a Planted Aquarium* 
*Written by Tom Messenger* 

*Otocinclus* *spp.* 
Otocinclus spp. are one of the most popular fish used to help in the control of algae. There are a few species that I have seen available here in the UK, and these are O. vestitus, O. affinis and O. macrospilus. Most 0tocinclus sold are caught in the wild. When these fish are imported, they are often starved during the transport stages, and so many tend to die off even before they reach the wholesaler/retailer. Because of this, you need to be careful when choosing your Otos. A fish with a nice, rounded silvery stomach should be fine, as this indicates that they have been fed on adequate foods since their import and should continue to do so. All too often though, Otos found in aquatic shops are very skinny and suffering from malnutrition. This is why they are often considered to be tricky to keep, and can die off during acclimatisation.
Most Otocinclus will grow to around 2” or less and eat a wide range of algae, so making them a great choice of algae eater in large or small tanks. They should really be kept in groups of around 6 and will often stay close to each other in the aquarium. This is when they are at their most effective in a planted aquarium. In my experience they are very gentle with aquatic plants, and will not even damage soft leaved plants while feeding on the algae.

*Crossochelius siamensis*
Siamese Algae Eaters (Crossochelius siamensis), or SAE as it is often written, can grow much larger than the Otocinclus (up to 6”) and because of this are suited to the larger aquarium only. I would suggest a minimum being a 36” tank to keep these fish at their eventual size. I have found they can be a bit boisterous and may uproot newly planted carpet plants and disturb substrate, which is a problem if it clouds easily. Like the Ottos, these algae eaters are said to eat a variety of algae types including black beard algae, or BBA. This is a common problem in planted aquaria and it is sometimes attributed to low CO2 in the water. There is often confusion between this species and the Chinese Algae Eater, or CAE, as they look very similar. One difference between them is the number of barbels, the SAE having one set and the CAE having 2 sets.

*Caridina denticulata*
The Amano Shrimp (Caridina denticulata, formally japonica), or Yamato Shrimp as it is sometimes known, was brought into popularity by Takashi Amano in his search for the perfect algae eating shrimp. He tested many shrimp, but eventually settling on the “Amano” Shrimp, a Japanese native species and ordering several thousand from the supplier! They will eat most types of algae and are very effective at their job. They will reach around 2” and are suitable to most size aquariums. One problem with keeping shrimp in the aquarium is that you will need to be careful about other occupants. Large fish such as Angelfish and Discus are likely predators of shrimp.

*Neocaridina denticulata sinensis*
Cherry Shrimp (Neocaridina denticulata sinensis) are another popular shrimp choice for the aquarium, mainly because of their size and colour. Female Cherry Shrimp are bright red, whereas males can be slightly drab in comparison. These shrimp are smaller than the Amano Shrimp, and I haven’t had any grow past 1”. You will need to be wary of filter inlets due to the small size of the shrimp. They will readily breed in the average aquarium, given plenty of cover such as mosses and few predatory fish to eat the young. Even Tetras will snack on babies. Sometimes when you clean the filter during maintenance, you can find live baby shrimp that have been sucked in and are living off detritus or algae in the filter. 

Credits  :Well done: 
http://www.aquascapingworld.com/maga...-Aquarium.html

----------


## dna9179

nice piece of information, But how do we know which is Otocinclus spp and Crossochelius siamensis? they both look like the same. 

I remember i had 2 Otocinclu and they are "boisterous and may uproot newly planted carpet plants and disturb substrate". The writter said Otocinclus "very gentle with aquatic plants, and will not even damage soft leaved plants"

Maybe i got mix up with these 2 different algae eater? Mine Otocinclus is bright orange in colour anyway. They suck to the glass and when they move they really disturb my substrate and knock now all my plant therefore i remove them...

----------


## seanskye

Otocinclus spp or Otos are different and much smaller in size than the Algae Eaters. Otos are extremely gentle and they usually stick on the walls of your tank.

If your's are orange I think you are probably talking about Golden Algae Eaters (GAE). These look similar to the Crossochelius siamensis or Siamese Algae Eaters (SAE) but are slightly more agressive. There are 3 main algae eaters in my limited knowledge - SAE, GAE, and the last is CAE or the Chinese Algae Eater. The CAEs are the worst experience I had, they are violent and uproot everything in the tank when they dart about. But still cute nonetheless! :Grin:

----------


## s2matt

I experience with Siamese Algae Eaters has not been that great.. they actually goes after my fish food. Yamato seems to do a better job.. 
Siamese Algae Eaters can grow quite big as well...

----------


## dna9179

how about The Amano Shrimp? Any 1 knows which LFS selling them east area not west? thanks

----------


## dna9179

and is Yamato and Amano shrimp the same???

----------


## ervinelin

> and is Yamato and Amano shrimp the same???


Same thing...  :Smile:

----------


## dna9179

> Same thing...


i see, i think i need to get a few more yamato bcoz currently i got 1 yamato and it dun help in algae. think must add more so they can work as a team. haha

----------


## ervinelin

> i see, i think i need to get a few more yamato bcoz currently i got 1 yamato and it dun help in algae. think must add more so they can work as a team. haha


1 yamato? Nano tank?

I've never heard of someone having just a single yamato.. hehe... Yah try adding a whole crew of them.

One tip though, try to get smaller ones. Big ones tend to be a bit aggressive when going after food (yes they eat pellets and fish food more readily than algae).

----------


## dna9179

> 1 yamato? Nano tank?
> 
> I've never heard of someone having just a single yamato.. hehe... Yah try adding a whole crew of them.
> 
> One tip though, try to get smaller ones. Big ones tend to be a bit aggressive when going after food (yes they eat pellets and fish food more readily than algae).


ya sure, haha. thanks :Smile: 

Anyway i got a Q to ask, maybe i open a thread to discuss.  :Smile:

----------


## anaconda

Oto only eat brown algae they dont touch the others

SAE are useless once they grow up

Shrimps(cherry, yamato, Malayan etc) eat algae only if there have nothing else to eat. So if you have fish food in the tank, thats their first choice

Pencilfish will peck at algae when they are hungry 

Florida flag fish just rips off any hair algae and eats it. Only problem is that is not exactly a peaceful tank mate. Very fierce

I read that Cigar fish eats BBA not sure how true that is but again it aint exactly a peaceful tank mate

Best algae eater I have so far are the Nerite Horn snails. They dont breed so easily unlike other snails and they seem to eat most of the common type of algae e.g brown, green spot, hair etc.

----------


## dna9179

> Oto only eat brown algae they dont touch the others
> 
> SAE are useless once they grow up
> 
> Shrimps(cherry, yamato, Malayan etc) eat algae only if there have nothing else to eat. So if you have fish food in the tank, thats their first choice
> 
> Pencilfish will peck at algae when they are hungry 
> 
> Florida flag fish just rips off any hair algae and eats it. Only problem is that is not exactly a peaceful tank mate. Very fierce
> ...


Woooo that is very detail! thanks for the detail information. I went to look for Nerite Horn snails but can't find them in my nearby LFS. Any idea which LFS got sell Nerite Horn snails? thanks again for helping me, a newbie aquarium

----------


## seanskye

C328 usually stocks nerite and horned snails. It's in a small betta tank near the sulawesi and guppies area in front of the cashier's counter.

----------


## dna9179

> C328 usually stocks nerite and horned snails. It's in a small betta tank near the sulawesi and guppies area in front of the cashier's counter.


arh that's way too far away from me, i stay hougang.

Any idea Y618 is selling or any guys here have any to spare or sell? thanks :Smile:

----------


## boxedfish

saw at Y618 today

----------


## dna9179

> saw at Y618 today


oh thanks for the input, maybe i'll go down tomorrow. u remember the price?

----------


## boxedfish

1 for $1.20, 5 for $5

----------


## eviltrain

> how about The Amano Shrimp? Any 1 knows which LFS selling them east area not west? thanks


You can try the LFS at the block oppsite Bedok Libary. They sell Amano shrimps there

----------


## seanskye

> arh that's way too far away from me, i stay hougang.


NA at balestier has them too

----------


## Gucci

my experience with otos are not that good i introduced them when i have brown algae on the wall of my 2 feet tank . i comm them with shrimps and when i feed my shrimps with algae food, the starting coming over and snatch food with my shrimps! soon the only feed on my aglae wafer instead of my brown algae on the wall . 

snails are infact the best so far since i have them after otos

i am trying malayan as i heard some views from other forumers that they are hardcore algae workers

----------


## Foxtrotperv

Anyone knows how many Yamato shrimps are recommended for a one-footer tank?

----------


## charonstix

you need to consider what other tank mates are inside too, but for a one foot probably 5-6 max?

Anyways my otos eats all the softer algaes, like the brown and the green. They also eat green spot algae but are less effective as those algaes are tougher (i.e more deeply rooted in the glass) but those can be removed by snails. cheers

----------


## tsunamisurfer

Bristlenose catfish cannot be beaten as tank cleaners. The brown algae lasted only hours when I introduced a young BN Catfish.

----------


## kopikia

> Hey, check this thread out. It got buried with time but should still be useful. Anyway I suspect what you are referring to are Golden Algae Eaters (GAEs). Less obnoxious than Chinese Algae Eaters (CAEs) but they still grow quite large.
> 
> http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=59858


Thanks. Yea, had read the thread before and it was informative. Thanks for the referral  :Smile: . 




> You'd be surprised if you observe your Otocinclus during feeding time. Mine eat everything I throw in the tank. Frozen bloodworm, live brine shrimp, shrimp pellets, NLS pellets. They take everything. I saw one the other day trying to suck in a live adult brine shrimp. 
> 
> When there's no other options to munch on, they'll be happily grazing away on my plant leaves. They keep my tank clear of brown algae, but come dinner time, they will rush for the bloodworms or pellets, depending on what I decide to feed.
> 
> They are omnivores, and will gladly take meaty foods if you gave them some. I used to feed mine with tubifex worms in the past, now I don't since I don't have an LFS nearby that sells live tubifex.
> 
> @seanskye:
> 
> Golden Algae Eaters are just CAE. It is just a xanthic form of the CAE, specifically bred for the golden colour. Same behaviour as the CAE.


Thanks! Learnt something new. I went back to CR328 today to compare big versus the small golden sucker. Quite sure they are different species. The big one had whiskers, while the small one didn't. 

In the end, I bought 2 bumblebee snails from CR328. Was contemplating other options because the previous two which I bought died within 2 weeks. Not sure whether it was because the water temperature is too hot, or the water was too acidic (pH6.4). Giving it another try and watching water closely.

Hoping for the best.

----------


## blackBRUSHalgae

Best Fish for green filamentous aglae. * ROSY BARB*  period. Seriously this fish will slurps them relentlessly as if the algae is some famous delicious ramen or something!

For best results, you have to have good and healthy plant mass to begin with. Cut down lighting and fertilization. Clean your filter, change your water and dont feed the fishes. 1 of 2 of these fishes are good enough for tank size up to 4 feet. With the proper control of light/nutrient/CO2, mechanical removal and healthy plant mass, this fish will help big time to wipe out the algae in a week time.

For Brown/diatom alage, nothing beats * OTOCINCLUS* 


For the most of the rest of majority algae, *YAMATO SHRIMPS* should do the job very well and proudly!

Black Brush Algae would need mechanical removal and probably daily/direct excel dosage. Bleaching of equipment is a very effective way for removal of this algae on equipment.

Green spot algae on glass. Nerite snails or scraping of glass wall with a plastic card. Increasing of Phosphate is one way stated by some, but I never succeeded in this method.

----------


## TyroneGenade

> Best Fish for green filamentous aglae. * ROSY BARB*  period. Seriously this fish will slurps them relentlessly as if the algae is some famous delicious ramen or something!


By this you mean hair algae? I am so seriously tempted to dump 4 rosy barbs in my tank but don't know how I will ever catch them out! And by the time I do, will they have devastated my Cabomba, HM etc..? Such difficult choices...

----------


## stream

> Best Fish for green filamentous aglae. * ROSY BARB*  period. Seriously this fish will slurps them relentlessly as if the algae is some famous delicious ramen or something!


Are you referring to this: http://www.fishchannel.com/images/ar...s/rosy-500.jpg

or http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/f...641352-800.jpg

----------


## happydanio123

> I experience with Siamese Algae Eaters has not been that great.. they actually goes after my fish food. Yamato seems to do a better job.. 
> Siamese Algae Eaters can grow quite big as well...


My Yamato shrimp totally died on me!  :Exasperated:

----------


## happydanio123

> 1 yamato? Nano tank?
> 
> I've never heard of someone having just a single yamato.. hehe... Yah try adding a whole crew of them.
> 
> One tip though, try to get smaller ones. Big ones tend to be a bit aggressive when going after food (yes they eat pellets and fish food more readily than algae).


My Yamato shrimp hardly ever go to the surface! I think their scared of the tetras  :Grin: . Anyway, they all died on me!  :Exasperated:

----------


## happydanio123

> I just want to share a good article from *Aquascaping World Magazine* by Tom Messenger which I came across while looking for a solution to my algae problem. Good for beginners to the hobby!
> 
> *Best Algae Eaters for a Planted Aquarium* 
> *Written by Tom Messenger* 
> 
> *Otocinclus* *spp.* 
> Otocinclus spp. are one of the most popular fish used to help in the control of algae. There are a few species that I have seen available here in the UK, and these are O. vestitus, O. affinis and O. macrospilus. Most 0tocinclus sold are caught in the wild. When these fish are imported, they are often starved during the transport stages, and so many tend to die off even before they reach the wholesaler/retailer. Because of this, you need to be careful when choosing your Otos. A fish with a nice, rounded silvery stomach should be fine, as this indicates that they have been fed on adequate foods since their import and should continue to do so. All too often though, Otos found in aquatic shops are very skinny and suffering from malnutrition. This is why they are often considered to be tricky to keep, and can die off during acclimatisation.
> Most Otocinclus will grow to around 2 or less and eat a wide range of algae, so making them a great choice of algae eater in large or small tanks. They should really be kept in groups of around 6 and will often stay close to each other in the aquarium. This is when they are at their most effective in a planted aquarium. In my experience they are very gentle with aquatic plants, and will not even damage soft leaved plants while feeding on the algae.
> 
> ...


Where do you buy these fish in SG?

----------


## Dscheng

Otos, SAE, nerite snails is a must for planted tank. Recently, i notice that panda loach is also very hardworking. It actually swimall the way into my lily pipe and chewing on the brown algae.

----------


## tetrakid

> Otos, SAE, nerite snails is a must for planted tank. Recently, i notice that panda loach is also very hardworking. It actually swimall the way into my lily pipe and chewing on the brown algae.


I have kept 2 Chinese algae eaters in my tank which was covered with algae on the walls. After they had cleared all the algae, they starved to death as there's no more algae left. The lesson I learned from that is to use only one algae eater, and not two. These little creatures may look tiny but they can consume a lot of algae.

----------


## Dscheng

> I have kept 2 Chinese algae eaters in my tank which was covered with algae on the walls. After they had cleared all the algae, they starved to death as there's no more algae left. The lesson I learned from that is to use only one algae eater, and not two. These little creatures may look tiny but they can consume a lot of algae.


I had bad experience with chinese algae eater, they are territorial and aggressive. I witness it keep sucking my tiger barb and harassing until it die. Google it, chinese algae eater rated one of top 10 worst community fish, can challenge with dwarf puffer fish. By the way, all algae eater need food too, fed them with some algae pellet. They will love it.

----------


## tetrakid

> I had bad experience with chinese algae eater, they are territorial and aggressive. I witness it keep sucking my tiger barb and harassing until it die. Google it, chinese algae eater rated one of top 10 worst community fish, can challenge with dwarf puffer fish. By the way, all algae eater need food too, fed them with some algae pellet. They will love it.


Last time I kept it with some Rosy barbs, they did not attack them.
But I believe as you said it is not a peaceful fish, because one always bullies the other one when I had two of them.
If I were you, I would have put that Chinese Algae Eater with a Dwarf Puffer Fish, lol, as I hate to see fish bullying other fishes.

----------


## Anders247

CAEs are a no with other fish......

----------

