goldfish and algae - flying foxes? flagfish?

Hi everyone,

I would post this question on a different site, but any goldfish site would tell me to cut down on feeding - change the type of food - or add something to the tank that would remove organic compounds so algae could not grow.

Due to a die off I had in my tank - my ex roommate possibly killing my fish - I let my girlfriend add her fancy goldfishies into my planted tank (90gal)

The only problem is that my favorite algae eaters like ottos or gold algae eaters are a threat to the goldfish. The goldfish will eat ottos and die because of their barbs. any other type of 'sucky mouth' algae eater will suck on the goldfish's slime coat and cause infection.

Does anyone know if there is a good algae eater compatable with goldfish and planted tanks? I can't find anything on flying foxes or florida flagfish.


Info about my tank that might be useful:
4 t5 lights
water change once a week - 35% to 50% depending on the water quality
I dose with PMDD once every other day (the premixed stuff from aquariumfertalizers.com)
there is only 4 goldfish in the tank
my co2 is good('green') according to my drop checker that I change frequently

Thanks!
-Nerb

 

hahaha I like the way you think! My girlfriend would disagree In all honesty I have enjoyed the goldfish - they have much more of a 'personality' than tetras!

 

Thanks for your response!

I have some trapdoor snails in the tank that are fine for the glass. I guess i forgot to tell you what kind of algae it is To the best of my knowledge I would say that it is staghorn. It is kind of a greenish grey stringy algae that branches off from itself. The goldfish do pick at it, but they prefer their fancy 'Pro Gold' formula. I suggested starving them to my girlfriend - and she laughed at me.

You'd be surprised how big a goldfish's mouth is; a three inch goldfish can eat a full grown fat otto. We lost our favorite goldfish to an otto. I am not too concerned with the goldfish eating the plants because all the plants in my tank were ones that a large common pleco wouldn't eat - or if it did - it grew to fast to matter. (I know.. bad choice of fish for a planted tank.. goldfish and common plecos) My pleco is a rescue fish I took from someones tank - they were feeding it cat food.

Thanks again!
-Nerb