# When to Get Sucker Fish?



## stacey (Nov 16, 2010)

Hi,

I've had my aquarium since October 31. It's a freshwater with some tetras, guppies and mollies. There is a foggy coating starting to form on the inside of the glass which I have learned is the beginning stage of algae growth. I would love to get a sucker fish, but when is the best time to get one? How much algae growth will be necessary before I get the fish?

What all does a sucker fish eat? Just the algae on the glass or does it also eat organic material on the rocks?

Thanks.

-Stacey


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I get the white film, but never algae. I just wipe it off when I do my water changes.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Getting a Pleco or a Siamese Algae Eater never hurt anybody, except that they get big (between 5" and 10" fully grown). They like algae wafers, available at your local fish store, but also don't mind some mashed up cucumber or lettuce. If you get one, only feed it a wafer once a week or it will be eating the wafers and not the algae.

Snails are great for tank wall cleaning too, just make sure that you get an asexual snail such as an apple snail, or they will breed out of control.


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## mfgann (Oct 21, 2010)

stacey said:


> ... I would love to get a sucker fish, but when is the best time to get one? How much algae growth will be necessary before I get the fish?
> 
> What all does a sucker fish eat? Just the algae on the glass or does it also eat organic material on the rocks?


You can get one anytime you like, if you want one. 
What you're probably talking about is a common plecostemus. You do not want one of those. They grow to be HUGE. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 18-24" long. He has a few different cousins, though, that stay pretty small. One that is good is called a Bristlenose Plecostemus. Those only get about 4" big. If you get a pleco, they need driftwood in the tank. It is a major part of their diet.
Other good choices are Otocinclus, which look like mini-plecos, and never get very big (2"), Nerite snails which look nice, and don't breed in freshwater, Mystery snails which only breed if you have a male and female and let the tank water down an inch or two from the top (lay their eggs above water), or other common snails like the malaysian trumpet snail which breeds like mad, but eats algae very well.
For most of these you can drop in an algae wafer (you can by them right next to the flake food in most stores, including walmart) once a week. For treats you can take a slice of zucchini or cucumber, zap it in the microwave a few seconds so it sinks better, and let them munch on that (weight it down so it stays on the bottom, and remove it within 24 hours so it doesn't rot).
I have the otos, and some malaysian trumpet snails (and some other snails that hitchhiked on live plants I bought).


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## MGA (Dec 1, 2010)

stacey said:


> Hi,
> 
> I've had my aquarium since October 31. It's a freshwater with some tetras, guppies and mollies. There is a foggy coating starting to form on the inside of the glass which I have learned is the beginning stage of algae growth. I would love to get a sucker fish, but when is the best time to get one? How much algae growth will be necessary before I get the fish?
> 
> ...


You can get algae eater whenever you feel there is a need as it can get along with all your tropical fish. However, in my case my tank will run out of algae after they perform their eating ritual and eventually die due to lack of food (algae). So to keep your algae eater alive you should also get the algae blocks or waffles and feed regularly.


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## chris oe (Feb 27, 2009)

Just because I can't stop myself from bringing it up, chinese algae eaters will, when they get old enough, attack fish slow enough for them to grab and try to bite chunks out of them. its a maturity thing, when they get to that age, they will try to bite big fish, little fish, any fish they can grab, and will stop being such good algae eaters. I don't recommend buying them.


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## verdifer (Sep 8, 2010)

Get 1 when you want, they are called Algae Eaters but in fact Algae is not their primary food they will eat vegtables and this will be their main food source.

Folks think because the way their mouth is they are designed to eat Algae this is un-true as they have a sucker mouth to hold onto the rock in the fast flowing rivers they are from, if you were to leave it eat only lgae they starve and die, and avoid the common plec it does grow very large and when it gets to big it will find it hard to move in your tank and it will not eat the Algae, get a bristlenose they will hrow to no more than 6 inch from tip to tail.

I think the Albino versions look a lot better and are more eye catching.

You will feed it vegtables, when I had mine I found lettuce to be a bit messy so I went with courgette I believe they are called zucchini in the USA, mines loved cucumber but they are mostly water based and have little nutrients in them, Ive seen folks feed them potato also, they will more or less eat any vegtables on offer.

You will prob find your other fish will have a nibble at the vegtables also, to feed mine I used to put the zucchini in before I went to my bed and took it out in the morning when I got up. 

You can try different types of fruit, but to stop them polluting your water you maybe best sticking to stuff that won't go mushy and float about.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

How big is your tank?


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