Loaches Online Forum

I know this has came up time after time but, really am debating on which one.... I know the bristlenose pleco is one, chinese algae eater is another, siamese algae eater, ottos, am i missing anything? Just got a 100g tank and want to keep if algae free. Any info would be great thanks in advance for any replies!

Different fish eat different algae, so there is no one 'best' algae eater. Consider water parameters, temperature, tank mates and species of algae that you want to control

Most of the Loricariads eat the flatter sorts of stuck-on algae. Some eat driftwood and some are more carnivorous. I do not think any of them are really good at the hairy sorts of algae.
Among the best:
Bristlenose Pleco- Thrive in a wide range of water conditions, and are big enough for tanks from about 30 gallons on up (30 gallons as juveniles)
Rubbernose Pleco- A bit smaller than the BN.
Otocinclus- Smaller, more delicate. Thrive in soft, acidic water.
Common Pleco- Good algae eater when young. Actually several fish are sold under this name and the adults may reach 1-2 feet (30-60 cm) depending on species. Some will attack other fish, latching on and sucking the slime coat. They may do this for the protein; they seem to eat more high protein types of foods as they mature.
Peckoltias (there are quite a few available) are wood eaters, and do little against algae.
www.planetcatfish.com is a good resource for catfish info.

Chinese Algae Eater (not a catfish) is a good algae eater when young, but may need more protein as they mature. They get aggressive, and have also been caught in the act of sucking the slime coat off other fish.

Several unrelated fish are pretty good at the hairy sorts of algae.

American Flagfish. Can handle a wide range of conditions, but optimum is a cooler tank with hard water.
Siamese Algae Eater- Get too big for tanks under 30 gallons, and even a 30 only when they are young. They are related to the 'sharks' and may be attacked by Red Tailed Black Sharks, Flying Foxes and similar fish. SAE are usually peaceful enough among themselves, though.
Mollies (also eat Diatoms) Can be a bit pushy toward each other. Optimum water conditions: Warm, Hard, Alkaline water. Salt is optional.
Rosy Barbs: Social fish, cool water.

In my tanks its primarily brown and green spot algae. Im probalby leaning towards the bushynose...? Had prior experiences with chinese algae eaters and they tend to not algae after they get a certain size also, like you said got aggressive. Thanks for the reply and for all of the info

In a few of my tanks I have a BN pleco and a SAE, this combination seems to do well for keeping the tank clean.

Although make sure your tank mates and water conditions are proper for both species.

I have found my panda garras to be very good algae eaters.

For the really hard, flat green algae, that needs a razor blade to remove, Nerite Snails are better than any fish. Not a good choice in tanks with Loaches, though. Loaches tend to pester snails, even if they cannot kill and eat them.

Brown Algae, Diatoms are easy for the fish to eat, and most do.
Mollies in a warm hard water tank, Otos in a small community of soft, acidic water, Bristlenose in many sorts of water, larger tanks...

Dont think that I have seen Panda Garras in Hawaii but, wouldn't mind having them. In this tank i"m going to be having mostly only clowns, and sids. Maybe a shoal of Harlequin Rasboras... Anyways thanks for all of the replies, will be mostlikely leaning towards a BN or two hehe. Mahalos

Parotocinclus.....aka "pitbull pleco" are some of the best small algae eaters I've had. The algae eating gobies, stiphodon & sicyopterus sp. are also very helpful. Not sure how they'd fare with the clowns & sids though?

both my Garras (rufa and flavatra) graze most of the time, but I took one algae-stone out of the tank with garras into the sicyopterus tank and the sicyo's made that stone even brighter than the garras did. But they are more active swimmers than stiphodon and need a larger tank (like garras).

Never seen "pitbull pleco" and sicyopterus in any of the LFS around here. Most common is only the BN pleco, SAE, chinese algae eater, ottos, and other variant kinds of plecos. Wish had a chance to try these guys out hehehe Much Mahalos for the replies

IME, stiphodon are fine with clown through modesta in aggression. RTS and tiger loach gave drama early on, but have since forgotten about the little gobies.
NB: when the gobies were tiny (1-1.5cm), the (then a lot younger/smaller) modesta ate a lot of them. Some gobies are still that small but are now ignored by all.

Mahalo? If that means you're writing from Hawaii then stiphodon should be available in local streams. If so, please get/post photos. They're difficult to catch in a dip-net.... and a lot of fun.
A

Should be Sicyopterus & Lentipes.
http://hawaii.gov/dlnr/dar/streams_native_animals.html

Those nerites will help if they'll live in fresh water.

I briefly kept Nerite Snails (before my Kubotai loaches flipped them over and ate them) and as I remember they will survive in fresh water but can only breed when in salt water which makes them ideal for many fresh water tanks.

Never thought of getting native spieces of fish... Besides i think most of these fish are either in places hard to get at or are on the other islands(Big Island, Maui, or Kauai).

Is there a creek within 20 minutes of your place? In all likelihood it's got something interesting.