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Old 28-04-2005, 08:16 PM
Elaine T
 
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sophiefishstuff wrote:
In message , Elaine T
writes

wrote:

I have an algae problem, and I have plants that I don't want to poison
getting rid of the algae... it is a green algae in the goldfish tank,
and a brown algae in the danio/guppie tank... are there some breedsof
fish who live off algaee that won't decimate my other plants? which
can be good with tropical vs. goldfish tanks?


Otocinclus are awesome for brown algae. They won't harm your plants
at all, and will actually eat brown and soft green algae off of the
leaves, rocks, and glass. They're shoaling fish best kept in small
groups. They require a bit of wood to rasp on, and algae wafers if
they run out of algae.

For the coolwater goldfish tank, you could try hillstream loaches.
http://www.loaches.com/species_pages...chowensis.html.
They also need algae wafers once the algae is gone.



They're river fish and like current, though. They're also keen on very
good water quality, and goldfish aren't conducive to that...


Good point.

Here's a page that lists some coldwater adaptable fish. I don't know
for sure how good the information is, although I recognize most of the
fish on the list as cool water adaptable. I can say for certain that
it's not complete.
http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/...dfishcare.html

From that list, Butterfly Goodeids (Ameca splendens), and American
flagfish (Jordanella floridae) are pretty good algae eaters. Rosy barbs
will also eat algae, but tend to nibble on tender plant shoots as well.
Rosy barbs are easy to find, but the others can be hard.

Also, how about ramshorn snails (Planorbis spp. - not Columbian
ramshorns)? They'll work on algae some and are plant friendly if they
don't overpopulate. Actually, the goldies in my pond will pick at fuzzy
green algae if lightly fed. If your tank consistently stays above 65F,
you could use apple/mystery snails as well. applesnail.net tells you
how to identify the non-plant eaters.

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