what are some good inexpensive algae eaters or plecos for my 10 gallon tank?

Question

i currently have
8 neon tetras
1 zebra danio
2 silver mollies
1 Harlequin Rasbora

Answer 1

2-3 cory cats like pepper cory's

but i hope you're also aware that zebra danios and rasboras are suppose to be kept in a school of 6 as well normally



Hope that helps
Good luck


EB

Answer 2

I think you're already overstocked, so adding anymore fish would be a bad idea. You can limit the amount of algae you're seeing by keeping your light off as much as possible, making sure you don't overfeed, and doing plenty of water changes.

My recommendation for the best low bioload algae cleaners is nerite snails. Zebras are the prettiest but they are hard to find. Olive nerites are more common and shouldn't cost you more than $3-4 apiece. I have 2 in my 10 gallon and they eat every kind of algae I get, even the hard green spot algae. They do NOT reproduce in freshwater tanks like some snails so you don't have to worry about an infestation. They're pretty cool to watch, too.

Mystery, or apple snails, get really big and poop a lot. They're awfully pretty but I'd avoid them unless you're going to seriously cut down on your number of fish or get a bigger tank.

Any of the standard algae eaters or plecos will also get too big for a 10 gallon tank, especially an overstocked one. The exception is otocinclus, which grow to maybe 2", max, but they can't find enough food in a 10 gallon and can be pretty sensitive to nitrates, making them a bad idea in a heavily stocked tank.

Answer 3

What I see missing in your tank is something to eat the uneaten food that falls to the bottom. You may have less of an algae problem if you get a few cory catfish or even some ghost shrimp to eat the food that falls.

I will let others tell you about which plecos to buy, etc., as I'm not an expert in that department. However, I know many plecos get way too big for a 10 gallon tank. I do know from experience that you definitely don't want a chinese algae eater. They get very big and are very territorial and aggressive (learned the hard way myself on that one).

Why don't you try getting a few ghost shrimp and/or a few cory cats. They're fun and will eat that leftover food that's probably causing your algae problem.

Enjoy your tank!

Answer 4

Your tank is too full for an algae eater

AND!

Algae eaters make more of a mess than they clean. They also require regular meals just like all the other fish. The algae in the tank is snack food only.

Basically, just clean it up! It's part of having an aquarium.

Answer 5

Algae eaters don't really remove that much algae.Your tank has a nice balance now,so concentrate on water changes and gravel cleaning and you won't have any algae to deal with.

Answer 6

You don't have room in your tank for what you've got now, let alone a pleco.

Plecos can grow to 12 inches long, and don't eat only algae. They can be aggressive and will suck the slime coating off of other fish.

Answer 7

Snails or an algae scrub pad. Your tank is too small for a pleco, and I wouldn't recommend adding anymore fish to your tank.

Answer 8

You have a pretty full tank already so I would say get a couple of trapdoor snails or even the "mystery snail" type from the pet store, they eat algae and some of the crud off of the bottom of the tank as well.

Answer 9

Hi,
You may try the following pleco which are in-expensive and will not grow very big in size.L134,L169,L174,L260,L262 and L270.Zebra pleco are very costly now,each may cost you well over $200 or maybe $350+ per pc.Otherwise,they will be nice in your tank as they are very small in size.

Answer 10

Forget it. You'd be doing best getting rid of everything but the tetras. Then maybe you could get a small variety of pleco, like the bristlenose.