Loaches Online Forum

I have eight Sewellia living together in 160l tank with white cloud mountain minnows. I have two internal filters (Aqua 100 and 200) plus a 1600 powerhead with venturi oxygenator. They've all been together for a few months.

They seem a happy lot and rush about chasing each other, feeding on the green algae on big flat stones, cucumber, tetra flake on the sand and so on.

However fluffy green algae is growing everywhere - the long green stuff like hair algae you get in ponds. Is that OK? Should I be removing it or is it the kind of algae my fish like? I'm new to fishkeeping and I love my hillstreams.....

Generally speaking, fish eating algea in the form of hairs are rather specialized. I don't know about Sewelia, but I would assume they won't eat it.

It won't harm your fish, they will most likely ignore it

If they are not eating it then they probably prefer the other foods.
I agree with Bas Pels, most Hillstream Loaches seem to prefer the flat, stuck on sorts of algae, not the stringy, hair-like algae.
The only algae I have ever heard of being toxic is not even an algae, it is certain species of blue green algae, actually one or more species of the cyanobacteria.

OK, thanks. It sounds like I need to start hooking it out.

Yes, I noticed they didn't seem to forage amongst the hairy stuff, only on the flat stones. They do seem to be happy but this stuff will just get in the way of the current and so on.

Lesley