I am starting a planted angel tank. Should I add fish that eat algea. If so what types should I put in.
55 gal, pressurized co2, flourite, 2.5 watts/gallon
thanks
Marty
55 gal, pressurized co2, flourite, 2.5 watts/gallon
thanks
Marty
Fish in planted tank
- Thread starter martinphillip03
- Start date
Re: Fish in planted tank
Well I guess that really all depends... is there algae in the tank for the fish to eat? LoL, Really its a matter of personal preference, many find having a "maintenance" crew of sorts to be of great use. There are a lot of fish you could add to help with the algae my favorites are Siamese algae eaters, one of the few fish that will really eat the dreaded BBA. Oto. sp. and bristle nose pleco's. There are lots of others that folks have had luck with eating one type or another of algae that are sometimes recomened. Those listed are really the only ones I ever keep and they do a fine job... usually in most of my tanks I only keep some Oto's on hand. If it is a well run, healthy tank algae shouldnt be much of a problem at all and there really shouldnt be much of a need for it to be removed. Good luck!
Matt
Well I guess that really all depends... is there algae in the tank for the fish to eat? LoL, Really its a matter of personal preference, many find having a "maintenance" crew of sorts to be of great use. There are a lot of fish you could add to help with the algae my favorites are Siamese algae eaters, one of the few fish that will really eat the dreaded BBA. Oto. sp. and bristle nose pleco's. There are lots of others that folks have had luck with eating one type or another of algae that are sometimes recomened. Those listed are really the only ones I ever keep and they do a fine job... usually in most of my tanks I only keep some Oto's on hand. If it is a well run, healthy tank algae shouldnt be much of a problem at all and there really shouldnt be much of a need for it to be removed. Good luck!
Matt
Re: Fish in planted tank
I've found that SAE's need a big tank real quick and might be too distracting from the slower moving Angelfish. Mine played tag all day!
I'd tell you to start with amano shrimp (1 for every 1-2g of actual water in your tank). They seem quite hardy to me, and are fairly cheap. You could go with cherry shrimp as well, but they tend to be more expensive for some reason.
Once your tank is well established, evaluate how much algae you have on the various surfaces, and then get some otto cats if nesecary. I've found them quite sensitive, and have had better luck adding them to an established tank.
IMO and all that,
meta
I've found that SAE's need a big tank real quick and might be too distracting from the slower moving Angelfish. Mine played tag all day!
I'd tell you to start with amano shrimp (1 for every 1-2g of actual water in your tank). They seem quite hardy to me, and are fairly cheap. You could go with cherry shrimp as well, but they tend to be more expensive for some reason.
Once your tank is well established, evaluate how much algae you have on the various surfaces, and then get some otto cats if nesecary. I've found them quite sensitive, and have had better luck adding them to an established tank.
IMO and all that,
meta
Re: Fish in planted tank
The one problem I have with otto's is my angelfish will swallow them, get caught in the throat, then die. it happened twice to me. I might try the shrimp route. But they probably fare any better.
Marty
The one problem I have with otto's is my angelfish will swallow them, get caught in the throat, then die. it happened twice to me. I might try the shrimp route. But they probably fare any better.
Marty
metasyntax said:
Re: Fish in planted tank
In that case, some of the smaller BN plecos might help. Provided you have some source of wood for them to munch on as well.
In that case, some of the smaller BN plecos might help. Provided you have some source of wood for them to munch on as well.
Re: Fish in planted tank
Angels love shrimp FYI.
I'd go with rubbernoses, bushy noses etc, they also have the giant otto cats sometimes, they are about 3x the size.
algae eating fish/critters are not required, but they do provide some extra help with subtle issues, they basically are icing on a cake, not the main method to addrerss algae.
That should always be done through improving the growth of the plants, when the plants are not happy, algae comes every time.
Regards,
Tom Barr
Angels love shrimp FYI.
I'd go with rubbernoses, bushy noses etc, they also have the giant otto cats sometimes, they are about 3x the size.
algae eating fish/critters are not required, but they do provide some extra help with subtle issues, they basically are icing on a cake, not the main method to addrerss algae.
That should always be done through improving the growth of the plants, when the plants are not happy, algae comes every time.
Regards,
Tom Barr
