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You seriously should get a bristlenose. They're small for plecos, are great algae eaters, are impossible to kill, and are as ugly as sin. How could you not want one?

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Hehe - just checking - wasn't sure by the wording of ure original msg

I got one, they great and hardy, although he about 6 months old, bought him when he was no more than 3cm. now he about 6cm. Unsure if a male as he doesnt have any bristles. Its a great algae eater but poops jus as much as algae he eats! constant green tail!

Hypancistrus inspector is a really crappy algae eater, so he's a no go. Rubbernose species aren't really strict algae eaters and wont do nearly as good of a job as say, your common ancistrus.

Jessnick - the one with the algae problem in need of solving.

-Molly
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LM - me or Jessnick?

BN is a great fish. You should see them when they "Flare" their spines all out. Ugly as sin as sirbooks said!!!
Whatta great fish! And I have found they are as good a conversation starter as any fish could be!
I keep mine in a 10g, so I dont think a 29 would be a problem for you. You could probably even accomodate a male and a female.They are easy to tell apart too ...pick one with lots of bristles you got a boy, with little to no bristles and you got a girl.
Hillstream Loaches are also very cool, so are Pitbull Plecos, Rubbernoses, and Inspector Plecos.
They vary between 2 inches for the Hillstreams to about 5-7 for the Inspector. Provide some driftwood if possible for any pleco.


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What are your nitrates and phosphates? How long is the light on each day? Is it possible you're overfeeding? How often do you do water changes? Do you use fertilizers? Does the tank receive direct sunlight?

Also, algae eaters specialize - both otos and BNs are great fish, but if you have hair algae, they're not going to help. Can you describe the algae?

-Molly
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I don't know if _impossible_ is the word... My BN died mysteriously after 2 weeks, despite good water conditions.. May have been columnaris, given that another fish had a case at the time, but there were no sypmtoms.

I've had better luck with my Dwarf Oto - voracious little algae eater, and about one third the adult size of a BN.

A bit. a 30 gallon would be better, but your average BN should be perfectly happy in the said tank.

from the sound how could I resist! After looking at it, isn't that going to be a bit to big??? Just curious





Last edited by Jessnick at 13-Feb-2005 21:10

29 gal. tank with 2 Angels, 11 Harlies and 7 Panda cories. Looking for a compatible algae eater, who will eat like crazy. Let's hear the suggestions people.

Get a Bristlenose. Great Algae eaters & really Lovely.



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What are your nitrates and phosphates? How long is the light on each day? Is it possible you're overfeeding? How often do you do water changes? Do you use fertilizers? Does the tank receive direct sunlight?

Ok Nitrates are about 15 ppm, don't have a phospate test kit Is that bad? Fed once a day, I guess anything is possible. Water changes are done on a bi-weekly basis, unless needed. I don't use fertilizers and the tank receives no direct sunlight.....here the algae i'm talking about.

Jessnick attached this image:

and another......

Jessnick attached this image:

where'd everybody go?

Hillstreams need cooler waters. I have some in my tank at 76 ( a little high) but lfs here was keeping them CLOSER to 80..

I also have Ottos and Bristlenoses..but,it's a 6ft tank. I'd go with a team of ottos,personally. Or if you have the room..both ottos and 2 Bns. I have 2 female BNS..if I ever see an Albino male BN, I'll get it and have a trio

I can't find any info on these Otos, i'd love to see and research them a little. Anyone that could point me in the direction of some good info? Thanks all!

The Dwarf Oto (Otocinclus affinis) has an excellent profile on this website - it's a great little fish for small tanks.

That looks like brown algae to me and otocinclus absolutely adore the stuff. They are also great at getting every single little crack and corner on a rock or cleaning every mm of a leaf. They are 2" and prefer groups so I generally get trios. Sensitive to nitrates and make sure you acclimate well if the lfs water is different from yours. They can be hard to find though so I'd say a bristlenose which is somewhat less sensitive and more common in most places is equally as good.