# Which algae eater for goldfish



## omidod

I've had my one goldy for about a year, and he's been doing fine, but I'm really lazy... The last time i cleaned the tank i stressed out my other goldfish so much it died and the one i have now almost died. I bought a black mystery snail to keep him company but i havn't been able to find an algae eater suitable for coldwater.:fish-in-bowl:


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## Summer

You really cant put anything else in that tank without pushin it over the edge. Upgrade to a nice 29 gal and you'll have more room to play!


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## jrman83

Learn how to do regular and frequent cleanings and when you do them they won't have to be so drastic that it stresses the fish out. Algae eaters will not do normal maintenance for you.


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## omidod

hey summer, if you revisit this post, what would i buy if i upgraded the tank.


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## BBradbury

omidod said:


> I've had my one goldy for about a year, and he's been doing fine, but I'm really lazy... The last time i cleaned the tank i stressed out my other goldfish so much it died and the one i have now almost died. I bought a black mystery snail to keep him company but i havn't been able to find an algae eater suitable for coldwater.:fish-in-bowl:


Hello o...

I've kept "Ramshorn" snails in 68-70 degree water and they seem fine. These little brown or red varieties will eat any form of algae and clean up dead plant and animal material in the tank. They even breed in slightly "brackish" water. I have them in my large, planted tanks and they don't seem to eat my healthy plants. They're very fast breeders in stable water conditions.

B


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## navigator black

Goldfish need tanks as big as you can give them - a minimum of 20 gallons per fish, but even better with 30. That's with weekly 50% water changes. 
I know that sounds insane, given that we all grew up with the fish in a bowl approach, but goldfish can withstand horrible conditions. They shouldn't have to, but they can. They're cheap and expendable so they get the leftovers when it comes to care.
They should be long-lived, big fish, but that doesn't get to happen often. To me, they are outdoor pond fish for places that don't have deep freezes.
I teach in a high school that has a shallow pond (and Canadian winters). I used to keep seven goldfish over winter in a 75 gallon. It lasted three years, until a heron came into the pond one summer weekend and taught the kids about the circle of life...
From November until April, when I had those beasts in my classroom (with a huge and efficient homemade filter) I spent more time on maintaining those goldfish than I did on the Discus I had at home, by a large margin. Goldies are work, work, and more work. Your best algae eater is you scraping away...


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## congar15

I'd get like a 75g, look on craigslist. You could put like 3 goldfish and then a common pleco, which like cool water. But with that amount of waste, you'd need a double filter. Just my .02


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## susankat

1 pond snails won't last long with a goldfish, they will and do eat them.

2. Don't buy a common pleco, it will outgrow a 75 gal tank.

3. If you want a pleco, get one of the smaller varieties, but don't expect them to keep a tank clean as it won't happen.

4. If your goldfish isn't one of the fancy tailed ones and is a comet it will get a foot long.
you will need a 55 for that when its grown.


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## omidod

where do you buy raamshorns? :fish5:


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## Laurencia7

Live plants feed off some nutrients that algae does, you can try that... or a small fix is a Marimo ball. They starve out the algae. But WC to reduce your Nitrate levels, and the algae won't be a problem. Unless your tank is in direct sunlight then it might just get worse. Most fish that eat algae cause just as much other issues than solutions. Like in exchange for harmless algae u get increased ammonia in the tank.


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## navigator black

There is no such thing as a fish that cleans a tank more than it dirties it. It does not exist.

You are the only effective cleaner. As long as you don't excrete into your tank, you are already so far ahead of any cleaner fish that there is no contest. Even the legendary brackish water Scatophagus (scat=poop, phage= eater of) digests, passes out wastes and excretes ammonia through its gills.
Millions of common plecos have been sold through the myth of the cleaner fish, and not one has cleaned.


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## fishguy2727

No fish performs water changes, an essential in any tank. 

No common plecos.

Bristlenose plecos are the only ones I trust with fancy goldfish. They are also fine at room temp. 

Do NOT add anything until you get in to a routine of weekly water changes of at least 25%, although they may need to be larger to keep your nitrate concentration under 20ppm. 

What is the nitrate concentration? 
What size tank is it? 
What are you feeding? 
What type of goldfish is it? Picture?


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## katanamasako

No such thing as a perfect cleaner. I do water changes in my goldies' tank at ten percent every day. and i h ave four snails in there. and mine's only a fantail that's half grown. He's in a twenty gallon and is doing fine, i manage to keep everything down, zero ammonia, zero nitrites and five-ten nitrates.


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## zero

omidod said:


> I've had my one goldy for about a year, and he's been doing fine, but I'm really lazy... The last time i cleaned the tank i stressed out my other goldfish so much it died and the one i have now almost died. I bought a black mystery snail to keep him company but i havn't been able to find an algae eater suitable for coldwater.:fish-in-bowl:



this just screams bad fish keeping. you should read up on one of the other gold fish keepers problems when they didnt do regular water changes and kept the tank clean, the user name is clinicaterra. im sorry to say but no wonder your fish keep dying. i wouldnt get another fish if you cant even be bothered to look after this one properly.


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## katanamasako

Goldfish aren't good fish for lazy owners, they're some of the most work intensive fish you can own. I suggest sending him back to the store and getting a couple of shrimp or snails instead.


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