Just watched your last video- well done. Of the three amigos of low tech/no tech you are without a doubt the most informed and rational. The other two Amigos are a bit out there and over their skis when it comes to the science but do your homework, incorporate it into your big picture view and have established a perspective, walking the walk and talking the talk. Hang in
I appreciate your insight. I cant say i have more experience than either of them, but i do have different opinions on the science behind why certain systems and chemistry or biology is feasible in low tech, and im always a bit frustrated when people explain it away as "nature does it"... but ive always been that annoying kid who asks: "Why?" About 500x in a row lol. I can learn from just about everyone around me. And i pick up things that i would not have thought possible...due to science at one point not being caught up with the tests or actions of some bold aquarists...so i totally understand the value in the approach of "just going for it"... but personally i always want some evidence or reasoning why im doing what im doing...perhaps im a bit too cautious? Anyhow, thank you for your kind words. Have an amazing weekend
In a lot of my tanks I purposely keep or grow algae. It is food for my algae eater pets. But my tanks are very balanced and I don’t grow much. But I have one nerite for 2 10 gallons and a 5. So I just rotate him so he will always be fed. He is 8 years old.
Hey Alex Have you used, read up on, or possibly made a video on the use of Barely straw or barley extracts to manage algae? I was looking into plants that combat algae through chemical means rather that resource competition and did some light reading on Barley. It is my understanding that when it decomposes it produces hydrogen peroxide in small quantities. It is also my understanding that this does not actually kill the algae but prevents it from reproducing or possibly just prevents it from attaching to new surface. Im not clear. I am considering an experiment using this to maintain a desirable level of algae. I imagine that managing the decomp in an all natural inviroment may be a task of its own. I would very much appreciate your thoughts on this or possibly a video expanding on this topic.
Just found out i have a Chinese algae eater. I have him with peacocks and just had one get beat up and not make it. I assumed it was the other cichlids because thats what they are known for. Today I come home and see him tackle my biggest cichlid and start sucking on his body. He must have been hungry i dont really feed things for him too often. So i threw some algae waffers in and he lost all interest in my cichlids and is as derpy as ever. But my cichlid is out for blood now and wont leave the algae eater alone. So this led me to down a rabbit hole and now to your video. Thank you for educating me. Im am not happy that hes going to get to a foot long. Hes already pushing 7.5 and my cichlid is around the same length.
My nerites and shrimp do an amazing job but I’m surprised at my guppies that will pick off caked on algae on my plants till they’re clean. Pretty amazing.
Alex, my friend, once again you have presented us with another amazing deep dive. This is the first one I have seen anywhere, on so many types of algae eaters. Keep up the good work. Cheers!
Good bits of information. As for the nerite snails laying eggs, I have found that over populating a tank with them based on the "normal" density numbers given on the internet seems to keep them from laying eggs. I will quite often use a number of 1 snail per 2 gallons so like in my 90 gal tanks I put 40 to 50 of them in them. I think this is one of those nature things where when a population gets too dense it by nature stops populating because of the amount of food available. It seems to work really well as I had the same tanks where I got eggs everywhere and then I bought a hundred pack of them and increased the density and they stopped laying eggs and now I am two years into this experiment and I have not seen any eggs since upping the density. These tanks are heavily planted tanks like I see that you have and my tanks tend to be heavily stocked with fish. I likely somewhat over feed my tanks also which tends to keep aggression down among the fish and likely leaves extra for the snails. Question for you, I did not see that you addressed Mystery Snails. Why is that? I have found that they do a great job on the algae that grows on my anubias plant leaves and since I have added them to the tank I had string or hair algae in, that it has all but disappeared. I have both mystery and nerite snails in the same tanks without issue.
So great tips first off, thank you!. But i kept them seperate due to their size, the fact i intend to eventually do a stand alone video, and that ... (sigh) i know people sware they don't... but they do in my experience...eat new tissue on plants...they wont usually chow down on anubias or java ferns, but co2 grown carpeting plants, delicate lilies and needle leaf plants, either get eaten or perhaps just damaged while being cleaned...but either way, i wanted to address all that, as well as the color morphs and apple snails as cousins...in a stand alone video, that ive just not yet made
Thanks for the video. I don’t buy fish to ‘fix a problem’ but if they can then that’s great lol. I just so happen to love all fish and have a BBA issue, my SAE (Timmy, is more interested in the malaysian trumpet snails on the glass than the BBA lol and he’s young.) This weekend i am going to pick up a Silver Flying fox (Jimmy) another beautiful fish but this time hopefully has more of a taste for that stuff lol. They will both be moved into their forever home in a few weeks (a 330litre) running an FX4 in which I hope they get along.
I have been planning to add Pygmy Corydoras since I set up my 15 gallon. I put sand, river rocks, and driftwood in for them. Tomorrow I am purchasing the unplanned otocinclus because I need algae eaters and I hear they are great with Corydoras and my 4 male guppies and 1 mystery snail currently occupying the tank.
They are good... but theyll need some help with a scraper on the glass every now and then probably...the hard algae would benefit from a few nerites i think...but it sounds like you are set!
I've found that panda garra can be a bit of a slept on algae eater. I added 4 to a 29 with minor algae issues a few months ago and haven't seen a speck of algae since! The garra do have some Amano shrimp and a couple otos as backup
Here in South East Asia we call it SAE (pronounce as say-ya) and it is very common in many LFS. The combination of these 4 the Bristlenose pleco, Amano shrimp, SAE and Nerite would address most if not all the algae problems you have. SAE doesn't go after adult size Amano shrimp and it could thrive up to 30°c.
My Siamese algae eater shoals with my otos. It’s actually really cute. I have Borneo hillstream loaches and of course Lemons my blue eyed yellow bristle-nose pleco….not sure how much he actually cleans but he looks cool. Keep a few mystery snails in my larger tanks also bamboo shrimp. Amano shrimp of course neon blue gobies. I have 5 tanks and the clean up crews are a little different in each just cause I find it fun to switch it up. Observe different species.
In Sweden, aquarium fish shopping is hassle-free thanks to accurate labeling and the display of scientific names. Unlike the American problem of incorrect fish identification, Swedish pet shops prioritize transparency and provide clear information on tank labels. This enables customers to make informed decisions about their desired fish. Knowledgeable staff members are available to offer guidance and address any concerns. Overall, Sweden's commitment to precise labeling and trustworthiness ensures a smooth experience for aquarium enthusiasts.
Spotted scatfish are great algae eaters, specially they LOVE eating green thread algae more than anything else. I believe they are found in brackish water and can grow more than 6 inches or bigger. We get them very cheap in south east Asia in fish store close to lagoons and they look awesome as well. Best looking Orange version is very difficult to keep because they are strictly algae eaters. Yellow version is easier to keep because they eat other pellets also when they grow larger.
I made the mistake of thinking mystery snails were enough to keep the glass clean in my 10g shrimp tank that gets lots of natural light. All they did was leave funny fern like tracks through the spot algae 🤣. And then grow to the size of a ping pong ball in like 3 months because of all the powdered food left over from my bamboo shrimp. 🤯
@@Fishtory it was kind of cool though. Their tracks when they went along the glass and cleaned left a pattern in the glass that looked exactly like a fern leaf! Or I guess the inverse? Because it was a walk of algae with clear prints that looked like a fern pattern. And yes, they were pooping a ton because they tripped or more in size cleaning up all that powdered food!🤣
I have pretty densely planted 20 gallon long which is stocked with 7 rummy nose, 6 neons, 6 sterbai corydoras ( I love them ❤) , kuhli loaches 5, snails : Malaysian trumpet, assassin snails, mystery and nerite, 6 otocinclus ( one of my favorite algae eaters and just fun fish to have ), super red bristlenose pleco ( she is almost 2 years old and oh boy she is a big mama ), malawy shrimp, cherry shrimp. With this set up, I barely see any algae. It is something like you showed in one of your tanks. If you look closely, sure . I did notice the beginning of black beard algae on my swords. What I did was reduce light intensity and time, started feeding less, larger water changes . It’s been 3 weeks and I haven’t noticed any new growth of BBA.
As usual great educational content. I have an honorably mention for the otocinclus cat fish. While as fragile as they are, a nice school can do some damage to green dust algae.
Hi Alex. Another great video. Thank you!!! I was lucky enough to get a pair of Florida Flagfish and they do a good job and I think they are just beautiful peaceful little fish. ❤🇨🇦
I love those fish too! They can be nippy...but i rarely notice that happening. Its mostly just if theyre bored i think haha. Like out of algae and not enough fellow flag fish to play with
Kind of hard to find, but my Iguanodectes spirulus absolutely relish hair algae of all types. I've seen them munch on black beard and other staghorn-esque algaes. Additionally, Cladophora is a favorite.
Living in South Africa... I have siamese algae eaters with my goldfish and koi in a pond that survives winter outdoors and at times reaches 10 degrees celcius in winter. They impossible to catch.
I bought a tank from some one that has what I believe to be a golden Chinese algae eater. Hes currently about 3" long. Its a 65g tank, with angels and other community fish. Do I need to rehome that fish?
I have 3 "SAE" in a 50 gal and I had always labeled them as C. oblongatus. After, looking up the genus, I may actually have one C. atrilimis and maybe 2 C. langei or oblongatus. None of them is aggressive.
Yeah there are a good number of look alikes...its pretty interesting. I almost just a video on that, but didnt want to confuser newer aquarist with how similar some look...since they work about the same in each case ive seen
I recently got two Siamese algae eaters. I did some research and knew there were similar looking fish that often get sold as SAE so I went to a fish shop that had good reviews that advertised online that they had them. I even asked if they were the real deal because of the sometimes mislabeling and was ensured that they were and that they only use the best sources for their fish. Low and behold I get them home and start watching more videos on them and I for sure got the flying fox 😂😂😂 Moral of the story is I should have done more research on the common differences so I could have realized this before I purchased them.
@FISHTORY! (Secret History Living in Your Aquarium) means the world coming from you! Talk soon! I hope 🙏 I am just finishing that great live stream with you and lrb which was a particularly great one for sure! Not that they all aren't ❤️
Hey, what do you recommend for a 75 gallon tank with angelfish that has a green fuzz-like algae on the leaves? I’m somewhat concerned the Siamese algae eater will damage the plants.
So the algae eater WILL eventually rip tiny pin holes in the plant due to ripping at the algae...however other than amano shrimp you dont really have another solution in biological form... you may need to try using seachem flourish excel or spot treating with hydrogen peroxide in a syringe
@booperfumprdink859 not in my experience.. only the 3 true siamese algae eaters ( the species reticulatus, when under 2 inches will eat its own weight daily in the stuff!).. And the florida flag fish, and hungry mollys and platys will pick at it a bit too
@booperfumprdink859 yeah as long as the angels dont eat them...which is an issue with young amanos sometimes...othertimes it works fine...but there is that slight risk
Any general recommendations for how many Nerite snails to keep for tank size? I have a 20 gallon (UNS 60U), so thinking a couple would be good, but don't want to overdo it.
My sister came to live with me for awhile, and had a 75 gallon tank. She had a bit of that Noah's ark syndrome, two of everything! There's a golden algae eater, and a Chinese algae eater in there, plus a common pleco (only one, thankfully). Anyway, she moved out and couldn't take the tank with her, so now I am figuring out how to sort out the fish. I think I am stuck with the warring algae eaters, but I'm setting up a pond for the pleco. I wonder if one of the algae eaters could live in the pond? I haven't figured out how I'm going to heat it in the winter, but I will.
Hi Alex, I’ve seen them called Siamese Flying Foxes before but never Chinese Flying Foxes. All of these fish are prevalent in Thailand, which used to be called Siam. Hence they are all Siamese. I had a fish store in NJ sell me the False Siamese Algae Eater aka Cambodian Logsucker and insist that it was the Crossocheilus Siamensis. There are just way too many fish species that look like this. Not sure why people keep calling them Chinese though.
They call the chinese algae eaters that, because their northern range is into Yunnan Provence of China. But most of the population is well south of there. The flying fox doesn't even live in China nor does the log sucker or various other loach look-a-likes... perhaps its from the early 20th century or WWII era when China and then Japan... had a bigger sphere of influence? So maybe dumb Americans thought of Chinese as exotic and didnt know where Malaysia, Indonesia or Myanmar are lol
You are very welcome. Dont underestimate amano shrimp and flag fish either ....if they work for the small tanks you have...if you have angel fish and medium size or large fish then these are your best options
Am I the only fish keeper that likes algae? I only put shrimp and snails in my new tanks and I hardly ever see algae. I Get excited when I see hair algae I scoop it up and feed it to the fry or live bearers.
I love my community tank and I love this show because it is so infermashionel .. and if ther is anything that I can share from my experience on this channel I will do my best .. I got 2 nerit snales the other day and I got them home and put them on one of the rocks in my tank and they rally have cleaned that rock theraley .. the girl in the shop also told me when you put them in the tank try to put them in so they or not upside down because they can't tern themselves over agen and they will die .. but yea a new introduction to my community tank and fun times ahead 😂❤ so from what I'm looking at and how just 2 nerit snales have cleaned an intier rock in just 3 days if I take those 2 snales and put them on another rock they will clean that aswell. And so on and so on .. magical little creatures ❤
What is your opinion on the various Pleco species, Hillstream loaches, etc.? You mentioned the question of "Are these fish worth their weight or are they just taking up space?", and you never really went into detail on if any of these species eat any types of algae.
Well if you like the fish... then thats all that matters. But for cleaning the tank....almost none of them clean anything beyond maybe 3 or 4 soecies of algaes, out of about 3 dozen algaes we see in the hobby....however most species get large... 4 or 5 inches minimum...some get 24 inches though...and they all poo a whole lot lol
I really need one that's safe in a shrimp breeding tank but i think Snails are the go. I do move a hillstream loach between the shrimp tanks in 24 hours all my glass is 80% cleaned. Siamese algae eaters were good to keep the black beard down in my community tank, but those fish are aggressive assholes so they were "relocated". What else eats it?
Maybe amano shrimp...thats really your only choice in a shrimp dominant breeding tank unfortunately. But shrimp will slowly munch on it if theres nothing else and no green algae left too
Well I have some, what I've been told is just called black algae starting around the edges of my swords, and I have no clue quite what to do about it. If it looked as hood to theceye as the microscopic pics, I'd probably welcome it 😁I dont really want any large growing or plant eating fish, I have a 5ft tank with 6 long finned angels and a 6 inch pleco, so far not too much other algae, a little hair on a few blue stricta leaves, but nothing major.. its only 6 weeks old, haven't found any nerites around here yet .. suggestions welcome
Alex, you're looking pretty... Healthy. Have you gotten meds under control? Or just getting those teeth taken care of maybe? Your skin looks awesome! 🙏
Aww thank you so kindly. The meds are much more level thankfully and yes the lower "teeth" implants are doing great ... im just saving the 1/2 of 15k ...so 7,500 to do the top now lol. But life is good. Im just not used to being home so long, and now im starting scripts for like 30 videos, but havent been finishing most of them, as some other topic ends up being feasible quicker and skips the line
Message for the people that think snails, snail eggs and a little bit of algae is an eyesore or I've even heard from some people that they don't like the layering their substrate is making or even people not linking plants in their aquarium: "If you don't like nature... don't get bottled nature because that's what a fish tank is... or rather should be... bottled nature. Get a painting..."
I just finished up watching a bunch of your ecosystem building videos and I was wondering in what order would you add the microorganisms and fish in? For example would you add fish before scuds, daphnia, and infusoria or the other way around?
Great question... smallest first and ideally 2 to 4 weeks of population breeding between adding the stuff smaller than a shrimp... you can add the smallest stuff first...but itll need to be cycled and there propbably should be algae or biofilms for them to eat also. Then scuds or daphnia are round 2 above seed shrimp, nlack worms and cyclops/ other little pond "dots" lol. The scuds and daphnia will eat some of the microorganisms and need algae but theyll usually have babies within 2 weeks of so if food is available...even a pinch a week of flake food or so. Then i add shrimp and snails and fish ...sometimes i let shrimp population get to a good number, other times i leave them good hiding places. Its not a science but an art lol... im sure every species, water type and tank is a little different...thats what works for me though. Best of luck!
ALEX, please help. My Siamese algae eaters eat any food I give to the rest of the community tank fish, therefore, the small amount of black beard algae I have is starting to grow more. I cannot be removing the SAE every time I feed the rest! What am I supposed to do?
Find a floating food or sinking food... whatever layer of water the SAE tends to spend the least time in and feed very small amounts while you kind of monitor which fish are eating... sometimes frozen foods work better too, and other times i just sort of fast all the fish for 3 or 4 days and the SAE seem to start nibbling again at day 2 or 3 usually. But yes, it can be tricky if they are very persistant individuals
Otocinclus are the worst, because they are so fragile. One day, they are doing well, and within a 4 week span, they can start dying off (even if fed more than just aquarium algae such as vegetables, flakes, algae tablets)
Greetings from Singapore... Otocinclus are my favourite algae eaters. Cheap and good. Been 6 months now, my 4 Otos are still healthy in my 123 litres shrimp tank. I guess when I bought them, I look for ones with rounded tummies...😅 Thank you, Alex for another great video.
To me, Garra is disaster ,,,they run all day like CSGO players..it almost destroy my whole Monte carlo bed ( 2 month old ) . Actually i accidentally bought Garra Rufa rather than Ottocinclus.
i never hv garra rufa dont know their behavior 🤔 ..i only hv panda garra & usually i choose the smallest one because they more 'hardworking' than ottos & less chances they climbing out from tank@@shubhajitmallick4121
They will pick at anything with about 2mm of length to it, but cant scrape rocks really. So a flag fish with a nerite or two... thats a brutal algae crushing combo haha
Oh yeah they truly are.... i had one that would head for the kitchen once a week for 3 years almost lol...his name was Cracky...since he had scars all over from his 3 foot drop eat escape
Like i said nerites will only eat that hard powder algae and a bit of other stuff here and there. But its really the combo of 3 species or so, and trying to prevent the algae in the first place, that keeps the algae away at a intense level
Me before watching the video: *Come on Siamese Algae Eater, you got this*
Like wise
Just watched your last video- well done. Of the three amigos of low tech/no tech you are without a doubt the most informed and rational. The other two Amigos are a bit out there and over their skis when it comes to the science but do your homework, incorporate it into your big picture view and have established a perspective, walking the walk and talking the talk. Hang in
I appreciate your insight. I cant say i have more experience than either of them, but i do have different opinions on the science behind why certain systems and chemistry or biology is feasible in low tech, and im always a bit frustrated when people explain it away as "nature does it"... but ive always been that annoying kid who asks: "Why?" About 500x in a row lol.
I can learn from just about everyone around me. And i pick up things that i would not have thought possible...due to science at one point not being caught up with the tests or actions of some bold aquarists...so i totally understand the value in the approach of "just going for it"... but personally i always want some evidence or reasoning why im doing what im doing...perhaps im a bit too cautious?
Anyhow, thank you for your kind words. Have an amazing weekend
Finally somebody who goes into depth into this topic! Thanks for everything you do for us buddy ❤️ warm greetings from Belgium
No problem! Thank YOU
This video was extremely helpful and filled with great information thank you very much!
Glad it was helpful! I was so annoyed early in fishkeeping having to learn the hard way lol...hoping to save some people time and trouble
In a lot of my tanks I purposely keep or grow algae. It is food for my algae eater pets. But my tanks are very balanced and I don’t grow much. But I have one nerite for 2 10 gallons and a 5. So I just rotate him so he will always be fed. He is 8 years old.
Whoa! 8? Thats awesome. Mine have made 5 or 6 years max i think. Thats a happy snail! I also like algae in many of my tanks...its a free buffet 24|7
Thanks for the well described kinds of algie eaters and their characters ❤
Hey Alex
Have you used, read up on, or possibly made a video on the use of Barely straw or barley extracts to manage algae?
I was looking into plants that combat algae through chemical means rather that resource competition and did some light reading on Barley. It is my understanding that when it decomposes it produces hydrogen peroxide in small quantities. It is also my understanding that this does not actually kill the algae but prevents it from reproducing or possibly just prevents it from attaching to new surface. Im not clear. I am considering an experiment using this to maintain a desirable level of algae. I imagine that managing the decomp in an all natural inviroment may be a task of its own. I would very much appreciate your thoughts on this or possibly a video expanding on this topic.
Just found out i have a Chinese algae eater. I have him with peacocks and just had one get beat up and not make it. I assumed it was the other cichlids because thats what they are known for.
Today I come home and see him tackle my biggest cichlid and start sucking on his body.
He must have been hungry i dont really feed things for him too often. So i threw some algae waffers in and he lost all interest in my cichlids and is as derpy as ever. But my cichlid is out for blood now and wont leave the algae eater alone.
So this led me to down a rabbit hole and now to your video. Thank you for educating me. Im am not happy that hes going to get to a foot long. Hes already pushing 7.5 and my cichlid is around the same length.
Sure thing. He may be okay with cichlids...people with nano fish and small species like tetras are the ones who see real problems with them
My nerites and shrimp do an amazing job but I’m surprised at my guppies that will pick off caked on algae on my plants till they’re clean. Pretty amazing.
Right?! Mollies do even more algae eating naturally. But most people feed so much flake food that they never get to see that behavior sadly.
thanks for such a complete and masterful explanation... never been enlightened this much with agae eaters
Alex, my friend, once again you have presented us with another amazing deep dive. This is the first one I have seen anywhere, on so many types of algae eaters. Keep up the good work. Cheers!
Thanks John. Glad if it helps...i didnt want to go to crazy..but theres about 14 more similar species that sometimes end up in the hobby too lol
Binge watching your videos back to back- and adding comments for the algorithm~! 🌻👍 Keep up the great content!
Awesome! Thank you!
Good bits of information. As for the nerite snails laying eggs, I have found that over populating a tank with them based on the "normal" density numbers given on the internet seems to keep them from laying eggs. I will quite often use a number of 1 snail per 2 gallons so like in my 90 gal tanks I put 40 to 50 of them in them. I think this is one of those nature things where when a population gets too dense it by nature stops populating because of the amount of food available. It seems to work really well as I had the same tanks where I got eggs everywhere and then I bought a hundred pack of them and increased the density and they stopped laying eggs and now I am two years into this experiment and I have not seen any eggs since upping the density. These tanks are heavily planted tanks like I see that you have and my tanks tend to be heavily stocked with fish. I likely somewhat over feed my tanks also which tends to keep aggression down among the fish and likely leaves extra for the snails.
Question for you, I did not see that you addressed Mystery Snails. Why is that? I have found that they do a great job on the algae that grows on my anubias plant leaves and since I have added them to the tank I had string or hair algae in, that it has all but disappeared. I have both mystery and nerite snails in the same tanks without issue.
So great tips first off, thank you!. But i kept them seperate due to their size, the fact i intend to eventually do a stand alone video, and that ... (sigh) i know people sware they don't... but they do in my experience...eat new tissue on plants...they wont usually chow down on anubias or java ferns, but co2 grown carpeting plants, delicate lilies and needle leaf plants, either get eaten or perhaps just damaged while being cleaned...but either way, i wanted to address all that, as well as the color morphs and apple snails as cousins...in a stand alone video, that ive just not yet made
I always feel I've learnt something, thanks. Love your tanks
Thank you kindly
Excellent job. I’m considering the best options for my new setup.
Great to hear! Doing your research will result in a better outcome than any marketing at fish stores or industry names may lead you to believe
My flag fish are algae eating machines! Everything but spot and diatom but the snails help with that! They are pretty and so cool too
Yes. Theyre gonna get their own episode since i went and caught them/filmed them in the wild...i just need to edit the video. I love those fish too!
@@Fishtory mine are in a tank with wild nezzie swordtails, cpds and a pair of flag fish and it is my favorite tank to watch!
this video was very helpful...thank you
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for the video. I don’t buy fish to ‘fix a problem’ but if they can then that’s great lol. I just so happen to love all fish and have a BBA issue, my SAE (Timmy, is more interested in the malaysian trumpet snails on the glass than the BBA lol and he’s young.) This weekend i am going to pick up a Silver Flying fox (Jimmy) another beautiful fish but this time hopefully has more of a taste for that stuff lol. They will both be moved into their forever home in a few weeks (a 330litre) running an FX4 in which I hope they get along.
I have been planning to add Pygmy Corydoras since I set up my 15 gallon. I put sand, river rocks, and driftwood in for them. Tomorrow I am purchasing the unplanned otocinclus because I need algae eaters and I hear they are great with Corydoras and my 4 male guppies and 1 mystery snail currently occupying the tank.
They are good... but theyll need some help with a scraper on the glass every now and then probably...the hard algae would benefit from a few nerites i think...but it sounds like you are set!
I've found that panda garra can be a bit of a slept on algae eater. I added 4 to a 29 with minor algae issues a few months ago and haven't seen a speck of algae since! The garra do have some Amano shrimp and a couple otos as backup
I agree. They do a phenomenal job if theyre wild caught and you dont over feed the tank, especially
Great video! Very helpful :)
like you, i favor the reticulated variety and have a few scattered about my fish room.
Great minds....
Missed you last week, Chuck, but we were in good hands. Staff was very helpful.
Good to hear
Here in South East Asia we call it SAE (pronounce as say-ya) and it is very common in many LFS. The combination of these 4 the Bristlenose pleco, Amano shrimp, SAE and Nerite would address most if not all the algae problems you have. SAE doesn't go after adult size Amano shrimp and it could thrive up to 30°c.
My Siamese algae eater shoals with my otos. It’s actually really cute. I have Borneo hillstream loaches and of course Lemons my blue eyed yellow bristle-nose pleco….not sure how much he actually cleans but he looks cool. Keep a few mystery snails in my larger tanks also bamboo shrimp. Amano shrimp of course neon blue gobies. I have 5 tanks and the clean up crews are a little different in each just cause I find it fun to switch it up. Observe different species.
Thats awesome. Im the same way. I think its most fun to do it that way
In Sweden, aquarium fish shopping is hassle-free thanks to accurate labeling and the display of scientific names. Unlike the American problem of incorrect fish identification, Swedish pet shops prioritize transparency and provide clear information on tank labels. This enables customers to make informed decisions about their desired fish. Knowledgeable staff members are available to offer guidance and address any concerns. Overall, Sweden's commitment to precise labeling and trustworthiness ensures a smooth experience for aquarium enthusiasts.
Europe is better in many ways lol 😆
But what about Otocinclus?
Spotted scatfish are great algae eaters, specially they LOVE eating green thread algae more than anything else. I believe they are found in brackish water and can grow more than 6 inches or bigger. We get them very cheap in south east Asia in fish store close to lagoons and they look awesome as well. Best looking Orange version is very difficult to keep because they are strictly algae eaters. Yellow version is easier to keep because they eat other pellets also when they grow larger.
Thanks for the info!
Thank you for the information:)
You bet!
Great information thanks for sharing 💗✌️👍💯
Thanks for coming by
I made the mistake of thinking mystery snails were enough to keep the glass clean in my 10g shrimp tank that gets lots of natural light. All they did was leave funny fern like tracks through the spot algae 🤣. And then grow to the size of a ping pong ball in like 3 months because of all the powdered food left over from my bamboo shrimp. 🤯
Lol yeah and they poo a lot which kinda encourages algae too lol
@@Fishtory it was kind of cool though. Their tracks when they went along the glass and cleaned left a pattern in the glass that looked exactly like a fern leaf! Or I guess the inverse? Because it was a walk of algae with clear prints that looked like a fern pattern.
And yes, they were pooping a ton because they tripped or more in size cleaning up all that powdered food!🤣
How are Kuhli Loaches? I was thinking about those with snails and shrimp as a cleanup crew for a 20 gallon.
Theyll eat baby shrimp but only occaisionally and leave the ones over 1.5cm or 2cm alone
@@Fishtory Thank you!
@Fishstory you have taken your upload game to the next level Alex. The subs and views will come for sure
Thanks man
I have pretty densely planted 20 gallon long which is stocked with 7 rummy nose, 6 neons, 6 sterbai corydoras ( I love them ❤) , kuhli loaches 5, snails : Malaysian trumpet, assassin snails, mystery and nerite, 6 otocinclus ( one of my favorite algae eaters and just fun fish to have ), super red bristlenose pleco ( she is almost 2 years old and oh boy she is a big mama ), malawy shrimp, cherry shrimp. With this set up, I barely see any algae. It is something like you showed in one of your tanks. If you look closely, sure . I did notice the beginning of black beard algae on my swords. What I did was reduce light intensity and time, started feeding less, larger water changes . It’s been 3 weeks and I haven’t noticed any new growth of BBA.
Niiice!
As usual great educational content. I have an honorably mention for the otocinclus cat fish. While as fragile as they are, a nice school can do some damage to green dust algae.
Yes a school of them is great. I think most people dont keep enough of them to see their true and fascinating behaviors
Whats the Val like plant at 6.42 alex? Its really nice
Cypress helferi i think
Hi Alex. Another great video. Thank you!!! I was lucky enough to get a pair of Florida Flagfish and they do a good job and I think they are just beautiful peaceful little fish. ❤🇨🇦
I love those fish too! They can be nippy...but i rarely notice that happening. Its mostly just if theyre bored i think haha. Like out of algae and not enough fellow flag fish to play with
Kind of hard to find, but my Iguanodectes spirulus absolutely relish hair algae of all types. I've seen them munch on black beard and other staghorn-esque algaes. Additionally, Cladophora is a favorite.
Ohhh whoa. I need to get some of those then! I love the look of lizard and darter tetras as it is
Unobtainium where I live. But would be perfect for my setup.
Always happy with the otocinclus.
What do you recommend for black beard algae if you have small shrimp?
This was super helpful, Thank you!!
No mention of the Florida flagfish I just bought 😅 great looking tank man
So there was in the first edit...but i was like "ill do a whole episode on those" since i have so much footage of them in the wild from Florida
Living in South Africa... I have siamese algae eaters with my goldfish and koi in a pond that survives winter outdoors and at times reaches 10 degrees celcius in winter. They impossible to catch.
Haha fast little buggers. Also tough
I bought a tank from some one that has what I believe to be a golden Chinese algae eater. Hes currently about 3" long. Its a 65g tank, with angels and other community fish. Do I need to rehome that fish?
I found a Borneo Loach/Sucker is good on my glass.
Cool! Can it eat really old. Hardened algae too?
I have 3 "SAE" in a 50 gal and I had always labeled them as C. oblongatus. After, looking up the genus, I may actually have one C. atrilimis and maybe 2 C. langei or oblongatus. None of them is aggressive.
Yeah there are a good number of look alikes...its pretty interesting. I almost just a video on that, but didnt want to confuser newer aquarist with how similar some look...since they work about the same in each case ive seen
I recently got two Siamese algae eaters. I did some research and knew there were similar looking fish that often get sold as SAE so I went to a fish shop that had good reviews that advertised online that they had them. I even asked if they were the real deal because of the sometimes mislabeling and was ensured that they were and that they only use the best sources for their fish.
Low and behold I get them home and start watching more videos on them and I for sure got the flying fox 😂😂😂
Moral of the story is I should have done more research on the common differences so I could have realized this before I purchased them.
Well.... maybe they'll be nice ones? Lol
I have never scrapped my tanks eaither 😂 ❤ I like the oto, snail, amano shrimp, and panda garra combo ❤so far a year in well you've seen my 29 lol
Yeah i love panda garra too. Amanos are ambitious little buggers too. Your tanks look freaking great
@FISHTORY! (Secret History Living in Your Aquarium) means the world coming from you! Talk soon! I hope 🙏 I am just finishing that great live stream with you and lrb which was a particularly great one for sure! Not that they all aren't ❤️
Hey, what do you recommend for a 75 gallon tank with angelfish that has a green fuzz-like algae on the leaves? I’m somewhat concerned the Siamese algae eater will damage the plants.
So the algae eater WILL eventually rip tiny pin holes in the plant due to ripping at the algae...however other than amano shrimp you dont really have another solution in biological form... you may need to try using seachem flourish excel or spot treating with hydrogen peroxide in a syringe
Good to know thank you. Otocinclus won’t pick at it?
@booperfumprdink859 not in my experience.. only the 3 true siamese algae eaters ( the species reticulatus, when under 2 inches will eat its own weight daily in the stuff!)..
And the florida flag fish, and hungry mollys and platys will pick at it a bit too
@fishtory good to know. Seems I may have to try the amanos since the flag fish also aren’t very gentle with plants lol.
@booperfumprdink859 yeah as long as the angels dont eat them...which is an issue with young amanos sometimes...othertimes it works fine...but there is that slight risk
Any general recommendations for how many Nerite snails to keep for tank size? I have a 20 gallon (UNS 60U), so thinking a couple would be good, but don't want to overdo it.
Id get 3 of those thorn/zebra mini nerites ..they do a really good job
@@Fishtory Awesome, thanks!
What about mystery, apple snail's?
They will eat some algae.... but theyll eat plants if hungry enough and theyll go for tender new sprouts the most.
My sister came to live with me for awhile, and had a 75 gallon tank. She had a bit of that Noah's ark syndrome, two of everything! There's a golden algae eater, and a Chinese algae eater in there, plus a common pleco (only one, thankfully). Anyway, she moved out and couldn't take the tank with her, so now I am figuring out how to sort out the fish. I think I am stuck with the warring algae eaters, but I'm setting up a pond for the pleco. I wonder if one of the algae eaters could live in the pond? I haven't figured out how I'm going to heat it in the winter, but I will.
In summer im sure they could... maybe into the fall a bit. But yeaah winter theyd probably have a hard go
Amano shrimp…hands down.
Lb for lb I agree they're tied for my first spot...with malawa shrimp and baby reticulated algae eaters haha
I hear Panda Garra are great algae eaters as well. Thoughts?
I love them for that!
Hi Alex,
I’ve seen them called Siamese Flying Foxes before but never Chinese Flying Foxes.
All of these fish are prevalent in Thailand, which used to be called Siam. Hence they are all Siamese.
I had a fish store in NJ sell me the False Siamese Algae Eater aka Cambodian Logsucker and insist that it was the Crossocheilus Siamensis.
There are just way too many fish species that look like this. Not sure why people keep calling them Chinese though.
They call the chinese algae eaters that, because their northern range is into Yunnan Provence of China. But most of the population is well south of there. The flying fox doesn't even live in China nor does the log sucker or various other loach look-a-likes... perhaps its from the early 20th century or WWII era when China and then Japan... had a bigger sphere of influence? So maybe dumb Americans thought of Chinese as exotic and didnt know where Malaysia, Indonesia or Myanmar are lol
Oh thank you. I needed the info in your video. It helps me very much. Whew. Black beard algae SUCKS.
You are very welcome. Dont underestimate amano shrimp and flag fish either ....if they work for the small tanks you have...if you have angel fish and medium size or large fish then these are your best options
Am I the only fish keeper that likes algae? I only put shrimp and snails in my new tanks and I hardly ever see algae. I Get excited when I see hair algae I scoop it up and feed it to the fry or live bearers.
No, i like algae for breedinf fish too. We actually had a whole livestream about it last week hehe. LRB Aquatics and I
I love my community tank and I love this show because it is so infermashionel .. and if ther is anything that I can share from my experience on this channel I will do my best .. I got 2 nerit snales the other day and I got them home and put them on one of the rocks in my tank and they rally have cleaned that rock theraley .. the girl in the shop also told me when you put them in the tank try to put them in so they or not upside down because they can't tern themselves over agen and they will die .. but yea a new introduction to my community tank and fun times ahead 😂❤ so from what I'm looking at and how just 2 nerit snales have cleaned an intier rock in just 3 days if I take those 2 snales and put them on another rock they will clean that aswell. And so on and so on .. magical little creatures ❤
Good tip... nerites are grear, but yes, on gravel and some kinds of sand, they can get stuck upside-down and die sadly lol.
What is your opinion on the various Pleco species, Hillstream loaches, etc.?
You mentioned the question of "Are these fish worth their weight or are they just taking up space?", and you never really went into detail on if any of these species eat any types of algae.
Well if you like the fish... then thats all that matters. But for cleaning the tank....almost none of them clean anything beyond maybe 3 or 4 soecies of algaes, out of about 3 dozen algaes we see in the hobby....however most species get large... 4 or 5 inches minimum...some get 24 inches though...and they all poo a whole lot lol
I really need one that's safe in a shrimp breeding tank but i think Snails are the go. I do move a hillstream loach between the shrimp tanks in 24 hours all my glass is 80% cleaned.
Siamese algae eaters were good to keep the black beard down in my community tank, but those fish are aggressive assholes so they were "relocated". What else eats it?
Maybe amano shrimp...thats really your only choice in a shrimp dominant breeding tank unfortunately. But shrimp will slowly munch on it if theres nothing else and no green algae left too
My Siamese algae eater is awesome, he loves the veggies I put in for my snails and chills in the funniest places. He’s an oddball
Also, I have a booming shrimp population and he doesn’t eat them!
Amano shrimp for hair/filamentous algae?
or scuds? I need something safe for shrimp and small ricefish/CPDs
What is your opinion of the American Flag Fish as an algae eater?
Excellent!
Well I have some, what I've been told is just called black algae starting around the edges of my swords, and I have no clue quite what to do about it. If it looked as hood to theceye as the microscopic pics, I'd probably welcome it 😁I dont really want any large growing or plant eating fish, I have a 5ft tank with 6 long finned angels and a 6 inch pleco, so far not too much other algae, a little hair on a few blue stricta leaves, but nothing major.. its only 6 weeks old, haven't found any nerites around here yet .. suggestions welcome
Try florida flag fish... buy 3 or so, they should keep black beard algae away actually. They only get 2 inches long max too
@@Fishtory ok, thanks Alexander 😊 only I'm wondering if the algae is Black Beard as it doesn't look the same at all as I see online 🤔
Alex, you're looking pretty... Healthy. Have you gotten meds under control? Or just getting those teeth taken care of maybe? Your skin looks awesome! 🙏
Aww thank you so kindly. The meds are much more level thankfully and yes the lower "teeth" implants are doing great ... im just saving the 1/2 of 15k ...so 7,500 to do the top now lol. But life is good. Im just not used to being home so long, and now im starting scripts for like 30 videos, but havent been finishing most of them, as some other topic ends up being feasible quicker and skips the line
@@Fishtory well, you look great! Really healthy! And more vid are always appreciated by us fan girls, boys and non binary pals!✌️
Message for the people that think snails, snail eggs and a little bit of algae is an eyesore or I've even heard from some people that they don't like the layering their substrate is making or even people not linking plants in their aquarium:
"If you don't like nature... don't get bottled nature because that's what a fish tank is... or rather should be... bottled nature. Get a painting..."
What are Clithon corona Snail?
I just finished up watching a bunch of your ecosystem building videos and I was wondering in what order would you add the microorganisms and fish in? For example would you add fish before scuds, daphnia, and infusoria or the other way around?
Great question... smallest first and ideally 2 to 4 weeks of population breeding between adding the stuff smaller than a shrimp... you can add the smallest stuff first...but itll need to be cycled and there propbably should be algae or biofilms for them to eat also. Then scuds or daphnia are round 2 above seed shrimp, nlack worms and cyclops/ other little pond "dots" lol.
The scuds and daphnia will eat some of the microorganisms and need algae but theyll usually have babies within 2 weeks of so if food is available...even a pinch a week of flake food or so. Then i add shrimp and snails and fish ...sometimes i let shrimp population get to a good number, other times i leave them good hiding places. Its not a science but an art lol... im sure every species, water type and tank is a little different...thats what works for me though. Best of luck!
@@Fishtorythank you so much!
Amano shrimp ? 🤔
Yes theyre great!
ALEX, please help. My Siamese algae eaters eat any food I give to the rest of the community tank fish, therefore, the small amount of black beard algae I have is starting to grow more. I cannot be removing the SAE every time I feed the rest! What am I supposed to do?
Find a floating food or sinking food... whatever layer of water the SAE tends to spend the least time in and feed very small amounts while you kind of monitor which fish are eating... sometimes frozen foods work better too, and other times i just sort of fast all the fish for 3 or 4 days and the SAE seem to start nibbling again at day 2 or 3 usually. But yes, it can be tricky if they are very persistant individuals
@@Fishtory Thank youuu!
Yes please 🙏🏽
Thank you kindly
@@Fishtory you’re so welcome!
Our Siamese algae eater just gives our Cory catfish hell. It chases them all day long, to the point where it is a problem!
Yeah some SAE are jerks if they dont have a group of their own species to annoy lol
Otocinclus are the worst, because they are so fragile. One day, they are doing well, and within a 4 week span, they can start dying off (even if fed more than just aquarium algae such as vegetables, flakes, algae tablets)
Yeah many of them come in sick to stores too... theyre seen as cheap fish and most places wont treat or QT them
Greetings from Singapore...
Otocinclus are my favourite algae eaters. Cheap and good. Been 6 months now, my 4 Otos are still healthy in my 123 litres shrimp tank. I guess when I bought them, I look for ones with rounded tummies...😅
Thank you, Alex for another great video.
Yayyyy! 🐌
Well darn. That explains why Larry The Asshole (my 5" CAE) has gotten so much bigger since i added a bunch of shrimps to that tank. Darmmm
garra also good algae eater..
Agreed
To me, Garra is disaster ,,,they run all day like CSGO players..it almost destroy my whole Monte carlo bed ( 2 month old ) . Actually i accidentally bought Garra Rufa rather than Ottocinclus.
i never hv garra rufa dont know their behavior 🤔 ..i only hv panda garra & usually i choose the smallest one because they more 'hardworking' than ottos & less chances they climbing out from tank@@shubhajitmallick4121
Will say Florida flag fish have tough jaws haha
They will pick at anything with about 2mm of length to it, but cant scrape rocks really. So a flag fish with a nerite or two... thats a brutal algae crushing combo haha
I can never keep Nerite snails in the tank. They are escape artists.
Oh yeah they truly are.... i had one that would head for the kitchen once a week for 3 years almost lol...his name was Cracky...since he had scars all over from his 3 foot drop eat escape
I've never had luck with "clean-up" crews. Nerites do "ok" for me.
Like i said nerites will only eat that hard powder algae and a bit of other stuff here and there. But its really the combo of 3 species or so, and trying to prevent the algae in the first place, that keeps the algae away at a intense level
California black worms are great algae eaters…
I did not know that!
Fo real why my siamese alge eater soooo faat
Just want to say thank you again Alex for all the super cool knowledge keep up the good work brother....🐠🐟🦞🦐🦀
Of course! Thanks for tuning in and dropping a comment
@@Fishtory always 👍