Which aquarium additions will help clean up algae and debris the best?

Question

I recently started a 30 gallon tropical fish tank. In it, I currently have 5 platies (and the 1 last baby (fry) that I was able to save last night before it got gobbled up), 2 blue gouramis, a very small (for now) albino african clawed frog, 3 live plants, and I am thinking about adding 1 last addition... something that will eat algae and tank debris. What is the best choice... snails, algae eaters (I forgot their scientific name), loaches, or something entirely different that I am not currenly aware of? Any recommendations (keeping in mind my current tank population) would be appreciated.

Don't ask me what kind of plants I have because I cannot remember. One is some kind of fern, one is a grassy looking plant, and the other one is hairy looking thing that the fish like to munch on and apparently it is good for them, according to the pet store.

Answer 1

most snails will eat some of your plants (though i'v heard of people having good luck with mystery snails) snails can also breed like crazy in your tank, some varieties also will climb out to lay thier eggs above the water...
shrimp (http://www.azgardens.com/shrimpfactory.php ) are good usually.. but eventually the clawed frog may try to eat them (when it's big enough it may try to eat your fish too).. cherry shrimp are pretty and good at cleanup...
Cory's or other catfish will be good at removing debris but not so much at removing algae..
Siamese Algae Eaters (commonly called S.A.E.) are good for algae but hard to find (where i'm at atleast)...
Oto's (otocinclus) are the best fish for algae that i can find easily but usually they are wild caught so may be sickly etc.

heres a page to compare algae eaters;
http://www.aquariumsecrets.com/Algae%20Eaters.htm

If it were me; I would get some shrimp... they don't have much impact on the tanks bio-load so you can always add another cleanup crew after them...

Answer 2

A water change with a gravel vac is the best solution to clean up debris--50% every week. You can also get an algae "magnet" (found at any pet store) to clean algae off the glass. There is really no need to get a fish for the sole reason of eating algae--they honestly add as much to the mess (through their waste) as they take away from it.

With that being said, you could add a small pleco (be sure to get a species that stays small, like a bristlenose or a clown pleco--NOT a common pleco). Cories or otos are also suitable for a 30 gallon, but I wouldn't risk adding them with an ACF--he would probably eat them. A snail would probably be OK too. Just remember that anything you get--even a snail!--would have to have their diet supplemented with veggies and algae tablets. They cannot survive on algae alone.

Answer 3

We have an algae eater with our tropicals and it works great... he does not bother the other fish at all and keeps the tank pretty clean for us... also, he is very active at night and our 2 year old just loves to watch him dart around the tank looking for a good spot to eat on...

Answer 4

Before you get another fish, do keep in mind that algae eaters don't eat all that much algae. They nibble on it, but if you have serious algae problems, they won't help.
Anyway, you do have a few options. The first in plecos, but unless you LOVE plecos, don't get one. Most of them can grow to 1-2 feet long. If you do want one, go for a smaller type like a pitbull pleco, bushy-nosed, or rubber-lip.

Second option would be a small school of corydoras, like julii or sterbai. Get at least 4.

You could also go with oto cats. They are small plecos (like 1.5" long) and are good algae eaters. Get at least 4 of them.

There are two types of so-called "Algae Eaters" - Chinese and Siamese. SAEs are great for eating hair algae, you could get a couple, but they do get pretty big. CAEs I would advise against - not only do they reach the 6" mark (in captivity), as adults they are carnivorous and can be very aggressive.

You could get some shrimp, too. Amano, cherry, ghost, rock; for example. Amanos eat algae, cherries eat algae and detritus, ghosts eat everything, and rock shrimp filter particles from the water. Freshwater clams also filter particles from the water, although they don't move very much.

You could also go with a couple mystery snails. They don't eat much algae but they will eat leftover fishfood.


Just some name ideas for your plants, you could look them up and see if they match your plants :)
Cabomba
Vallisneria
Mondo Grass

Answer 5

You don not prefer clear out on your tank. The clear out is growing to be action and te action is taking any CO2 interior your tank. flora prefer CO2 you do not prefer that plenty easy . the reason which you have plenty algae is given which you're letting the easy one to lengthy. on your case purchase a time and positioned of the element to coach off after 8 hours. do not advert oxygen to the tank. you're taking way CO2. For this sort of fish which you have you do not prefer bubbles. determine you clean your flora first with clean water earlier you put in the tank. Your Ph according to risk is purely too intense. determine you alter the water a million/4 ones a week .

Answer 6

Get a Plecco. Mine cleaned up my tank fabulously in s a few days