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Ive got a planted tank with ammano shrimp in it right now. I love them to death, but they don't do a great job with algae on the glass. I was gonna put one of my BN babys in there to help out. But then it got me thinking if they would go ok together. Ive never kept shrimp and plecos in the same tank before. What do you guys think?

well if the thing is alge cleaning put some gohst shrimp in i have plecos with goshst shrimp and its ok try that but i dont know if the 2 shrimp can mix

>>>>>>a learning experience as an aquarist can be fun but you must be ready to take and obey advice and criticism but most of all be patient<<<<<<<

Hi,
I don't think that you will have any problems between
the pleco and the shrimp. I suspect that you are using
the shrimp for something that they cannot do, and that is
cleaning the glass of any and all algae that might grow
in the tank. The shrimp will work on the algae that is
reachable. On Driftwood, on some plants, and along the
substrate. But, unless the algae on the glass is within
reaching distance from something such as a piece
of driftwood it will thrive untouched.

Plecos are good algae eaters in that they browse on it,
but other vegetation is their primary source of food.
If you feed them only the algae that grows in the tank
they will not thrive. There are pellets enriched with
nutrients that you should feed along with blanched pieces
of Cucumbers, and zucchini, etc. Many plecos grow very
large, and as they work (lumber) their way around the
tank they will uproot the plants and smash others as
they try to rest on them, especially if there is not
a suitable sized piece of driftwood for them to rest
on and gnaw on.

A more suitable algae eater for the sides of the tank and
other surfaces might be the Otto's. They are small, around
2 to two and a half inches. They don't threaten
the plants, and thrive in groups of at least three.
Again, they require a more substantial food and a break
with some blanched vegetables as well.

Another choice might be the American Flag Fish. This is a
small, around 2 inches, and very colorful fish. As normal,
the males are particularly striking. They too eat the
algae, particularly the hair algae, but although they may
scrape at the glass, they won't accomplish anything with
the green spot algae as they don't have the proper dentures
like the plecos or ottos to actually remove the algae from
the glass.

All of the "algae eaters" will eat some amount of algae
but they will not eat all of it, and it should not be
their main food. For them, in our tanks, it should be
something that they browse on like a snack so to speak.

Lastly, some algae on the glass is normal and just one of
the many chores that we have with our tanks. I would not
expect any one or even several of any of the fish to keep
the tank glass surfaces clean. That, is our task.

Frank

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Gourami

Ive got a planted tank with ammano shrimp in it right now. I love them to death, but they don't do a great job with algae on the glass.

You are perfectly correct there I have CRS and I have never seen then on the glass at all.
I have tried the ottos but I lost them and not available for a while yet. This means I have to clean the front glass now but not a problem.


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Keith


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Well ive seen the amano shrimp on the glass. Apparently the algae makes it easy for them to cruise up and down the glass. But its a 29 gallon tank they are in, so they deffinetly need some help with algae control. That's why I was thinks a BN pleco, ottos might work, i've never had luck with them though,

I have had good luck keeping a single gold algae eater, I believe Chinese Algae Eater in my 20g with Rummynose Tetras, an Opaline Gourami and Gold Pristella Tetras. The Gold Algae eater does a little chasing but nothing to out of hand.

He keeps some algea eaten, and doesn't cause problems.