What is a good sucker fish for my tank?

Question

i have a 10 gallon tank with various fish and a sucker fish and tiny snails. now i guess neiter the sucker fish or the snails arent doing their job pretty well, because the tank is still filthy. now, is there any fish i can get that will eat all the algea and dirt? i've heard there's a kind of sucker fish that will keep the tank cleaned? thanks

it has a pump and filter

Answer 1

No fish (or snail) will do this 100% for you. For a 10 gallon tank, the only fish that would be appropriate would be otocinclus catfish, and they can only be added to a mature tank (one that's been running for about 6 months) because they're sensitive to water conditions.

The only way you can keep the tank clean is by cleaning it yourself - scraping the glass, making sure you don't overfeed the fish (only give them what they can eat in 2-3 minutes twice a day), and doing partial water changes of 25% once a week. During the water change, you should be using a gravel vacuum to remove any food or poo that's in the gravel.

If the algae eater you have is a Chinese algae eater, these will only eat algae as juveniles, then they'll start to eat the slime coat on the other fish in the tank - this can hurt or kill them. They get to be about 10 inches long, and can be pretty aggressive to their tankmates. If it's a common plecostomous (pleco) these grow to about 18 inches. Either of these types will need a larger tank.

Answer 2

Hey..

First of all, for a 10 Gallon Tank, one sucker fish and a couple snails should do the trick. It sounds like there is another reason why your algae is out of control. Here is what you can do to get rid of the algae..

First, clean out your tank. You don't have to empty out the water, but there are pads that you can use that wont scratch the glass in your tank. These pads will clean off the algae that has already built up. Here is a link to that item in Pet Smart:

http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023693&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302030125&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441780040&CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673269132&bmUID=1184967708394

Next, make sure that you are changing your water often enough. For a 10 Gallon tank, try to change out 10% (or 1 Gallon) every week.

Also, make sure that you do not have too many fish in your tank. A good rule of thumb is about 1 inch of fish for every gallon.

Finally, make sure your tank is not in direct sunlight. Algae thrives in this.


If you are still having an algae problem, and you just have to have another sucker fish (or pleco), the best ones are the Plecostomus / Suckermouth Catfish.

http://www.petlibrary.com/fw_trop_plecostomus.htm

But beware, most plecos will live for a long time, and can grow up to 1 to 2 feet long! One really should be plenty for a 10 gallon tank.

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
What is a good sucker fish for my tank?
i have a 10 gallon tank with various fish and a sucker fish and tiny snails. now i guess neiter the sucker fish or the snails arent doing their job pretty well, because the tank is still filthy. now, is there any fish i can get that will eat all the algea and dirt? i've heard there's a kind...

Answer 4

No fish of any kind is going to keep your tank clean.There are some that will help it out like your snails. There is also a good fish called a Otocinclus catfish. These fish eat lot of algae but you also have to feed them more than just the algae in your tank , like Algae wafers or fresh vegetables. The OTO fish actually attach them self to the glass of your tank and your deco in your tank and HELP keep your tank clean. But do not keep it clean totally. You still have to do your weekly cleaning to keep a healthy tank. Good Luck. I put a link below that tell some about the Otocinclus catfish

Answer 5

With your small tank, that is far too many fish, of course it is dirty. Sucker fish and snails produce more waste than they clean up, and that is a lot of them for a 10 gallon. How many other fish do you have? You do need to clean the tank, you know, those fish won't do your dirty work for you. If you don't like fish keeping, then don't keep fish!

Answer 6

First, get rid of the sucker fish you have. It is probably a Plecostomus and they are often very lazy about eating algae and they get about 2 feet long. Are you doing regular tank maintenance (vacuuming the gravel once every 2 weeks)? Does it have a filter. The fish aren't the problem I see, it sounds more like a lazy owner issue.

Nosoop4u

Answer 7

most plecostomus get far too big for a ten gallon tank.
L183's (the only one whos number i've memersized) only get three inches and will work good ion your tank but you'd have to get rid of the other algea eater. (bring him back to the store, give him to a friend with a tank, etc. you don't have to kill him LOL)
otos may work but i agree they are a little sensitive to water quality.
doing some partial water changes 10-25% a week will help tremenously too.

Answer 8

sucker fish dont eat fish waste, no fish eats that.

Now for algae, you only have one choice. dwarf oto catfish.
They will eat the algae, but the problem is your water parameters sound off.

This might be a problem for the otos as they can be sensitve to water quality.

But it also sounds like you have to many fish for that 10 gallon.


You need to keep up with your weekly water changes.

Answer 9

crush the food into fine and there is a fish called an aisan algea fish and an african algea fish to.

Answer 10

You want one of these:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plecostomus

You also should get a filter, and clean your tank regularly. While Plecostomus help, they don't work miracles.