# algae eaters



## starrysparkle (Aug 4, 2013)

i have 4 golden dojo loaches anywhere from 4 inches to 6 inches long and fat good looking ones ,,, i had a some algae in my tank like grass algae and on my glass i decided to get some algae eaters and got 4 chinese algae eaters they took care of the algae real fast but now a couple of them are getting real territorial and i did some reading on them ( i know after the fact ) but they do tend to get somewhat territorial and agressive... should i fear for my dojo loaches ??? im kinda freaking out now oh and my tank is a 55 gallon planted tank with a bunch of drift wood and caves thanks stephanie:smile2:


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Stephanie,

Unfortunately, if there was a fish I needed to name the biggest a-hole of the aquarium world, it would be a Chinese algae eater (close second being a crayfish, maybe). I would look into trying to re-home the CAE's, or maybe give them to a big fish owner to use as feeder fish.

Sorry for the bad news


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## starrysparkle (Aug 4, 2013)

thanks for the quick reply ,,, its cool i have a pet store i can give them too they are happy to take them ,,, just catching them is going to be fun,,, lol ,,,so let me ask you one more quick question what is a good but not so aggressive algae eater,, because the CAE are algae eating machines ,,lol,, and i need something like that in my tank ,, thanks stephanie


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Stephanie,

I'm a big fan of shrimp, plecostimus, corydoras catfish, and snails. Different critters eat different types of algae, and different critters have different drawbacks. Here's a quick pro/con list of the 4 I mentioned:

Shrimp: Pros - they eat most types of algae, can survive on little/no food (they also enjoy microorganisms that naturally inhabit the tank), and have the lowest bio-load on a tank, save for snails. Cons - they are very delicate and suffer from abnormal water parameters more than other critters, plus they are the most docile critters in the tank so they hide, and often end up as snack food for more aggressive critters, like loaches.

Plecostimus: Pros - they decimate green spot, brown spot, and most other algae that grow on the tank glass. They're also very beautiful. Cons - they can get BIG (even a bristlenose pleco can get up to 4"-6" long, necessitating a 30G or bigger tank), they have spiny fins so grabbing them is a big no-no, they don't eat hair algae, brown beard algae, or blue-green algae, and when they get big they can uproot plants. NOTE: Plecos rasp on driftwood as part of their diet, and they need a hidey hole to chill in. If you don't have driftwood in your tank and you want a pleco, I suggest you get some.

Corydoras catfish: Pros: Great little guys, stay small, enjoy some (but not all) types of algae, and are very docile. Cons: They are a schooling fish so you need at least 6 for them to feel safe and comfy. Another option along the same lines is an otocynclus catfish (oto).

Snails: Pros - they are the lowest bio-load on the tank, until they die (then they flood the tank with obscene amounts of ammonia very quickly), they are rarely picked on by swimmers (though loaches have been known to eat snails), and they are pretty, especially Nerite snails. Cons - they take FOREVER to do ANYTHING, if you get the wrong type of snail they will breed out of control, and they are often pests/hitchhikers on plants that you buy from the pet store.

I personally have 3 of the above types - red cherry shrimps, otos, and pond snails as well as Malaysian Trumpet Snails (both considered pest snails). The Malaysians burrow into the substrate and clean the gravel for me, so I haven't vacuumed my tank in years.

Hope this helps!


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## starrysparkle (Aug 4, 2013)

holy crap those critters are smart i finally got the last one,, thats funny about the malaysian trumpet snails i had a ton of them and finally got rid of them,,, now im just suffering from pond snails from the guaranteed snail free plants ,,lol ,,anyhow thanks for the great advice i have 2 otos in my tank which i hardly ever see only when i tear the tank apart so im thinking im just going to go ahead and get some more of them and maybe a snail or two i had plecos before and i remember the one i had was huge 11 inches long and wreaking havoc in my tank and scary as hell looking in a pre- historic sort of way lol,,gave him to a friend of mine where he had his own tank ,, will a pleco get along with my dojo loaches ??


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

starrysparkle said:


> will a pleco get along with my dojo loaches ??


As long as you don't get a common or a rubber-lip pleco, yes. Those two varieties of plecos get too big, even for a 55 gallon.

Talk to Susankat on this forum, she deals in some very awesome varieties of plecos and might ship you one. Look up Green Dragons


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