What type of algae fish do I have?

Question

It is brown and has spots on it and there are small brown spots on their tails. I have 3 of them. They don't stick to the glass or anything. I got them at Wal-Mart.

Answer 1

Is it a corydora?
http://www.neptuneaquatics.com/images/Corydora%20Julii.jpg

If so, they aren't algae eaters, they eat detritous (leftover fish food, shrimp pellets, etc).

If that's not it, it might be an
oto cat: http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/oto_cat.jpg
chinese algae eater: http://www.tropicalresources.net/phpBB2/templates/BMan1Blue/images/profile_pics/fish_profiles_aymonieri.jpg
pleco: http://www.tntcichlids.com/New_Pics/gold%20nugget%20pleco.jpg

But those all suck on the glass.

Answer 2

That's pretty vague.

Click on the links I've posted below.

#1 is an Otocinclus. They stay very small, they are good algae eaters, and they are peaceful.

#2 is a Chinese algae eater, which is really bad at eating algae and might suck on other fish when it gets older. They can grow to half a foot, tops.

#3 is a Siamese algae eater. They are very good algae eaters, they grow to half a foot (tops), and are one of the few aquarium fish that eat red algae. Note that the black stripe goes all the way through the end of the tail.

#4 is a false Siamese algae eater. They aren't very good algae eaters. They're hard to tell apart from the true Siamese algae eater... the best way is to note that the black stripe doesn't go all the way through the end of the tail.

#5 is a Bristlenose catfish. They can get up to half a foot long, tops. They're very easy to care for and eat green algae pretty well. They hide during the day, though.

#6 is a Plecostomous. They can get very big, and you should only put them in big tanks. They're also hiders.

Answer 3

Sounds like Synodontis Catfishes,and they don't eat algae. They like fairly hard water with a pH above 7.0, and they may well swim on their sides or upside down sometimes.The people at Walmart don't know diddly about fish,same for most of the people in the great big pet stores. If you are lucky enough to have a small locally owned pet store in your town, that's the place to go for advice and for fish. Also it's a real good idea to read up on a fish before buying it,that way you will have a much better chance of keeping it alive,there by saving money in the long run. If you buy the cheap fish at the Big Box Store you get a lesser value than a more expensive one that will live, bought from someone who knows how to take care of them. PeeTee

Answer 4

there are countless distinct sized plecos yet not all are efficient algae eaters so i might want to ignore those. ottocinclus are litle fish and really feed on little micro organisms that stay contained in the algae better so than the algae itself so are confusing to save alive in case you do not have adequate algae contained in the tank, different shrimp species are solid for finding out on algae of flora and decor and also you may purchase magnetic algae scrapers that are somewhat solid to maintain away from algae strengthen on the glass in case you take advantage of them each and every water replace even if there is not any seen algae. once you've genuine flora they could really help forestall algae because the dissipate the same foodstuff as algae and so out do the algae for a nutrition source, in case you dont have genuine flora and do not favor to flow there you would possibly want to get some marimo moss balls as they could help save algae at bay.

Answer 5

Wal-Mart generally sells Plecostimus and Otocinclus , but the manager in that department can tell you for sure. I know that Wal-Mart employees here are VERY HELPFUL. Anyway , next time you make a purchase , read the tag under the aquarium at the store , not all fish are compatible.

Answer 6

If they dont suck the glass, and you got them at walmart, chance are they are Synodontis. Either Synodontis Nigrita(lace catfish), Synodontis Nigriventis(upside down catfish), or Synodontis Eupterus(featherfin catfish). Look at Planetcatfish under the Mochadia family, and you should find picks of the types I told you. Forgive my spelling on the scientific names, they are prolly not perfect, but will get you where you need to get photos.

Answer 7

Maybe a Placostamus (sp?) they have a sucker for a mounth and just scrub away all day long they like the dark and can grow quite large mine is about 10 inches its has grown alot.

Answer 8

to me it sounds like either a hillstream loach also known as a butterfly or stingray pleco. or it sounds like a type of catfish. but i would need a better description

Answer 9

Probably a type of catfish.

Answer 10

It must be some kind of pleco