# Suggestions for algae eating fish that can live in a cool tank



## skyedale (Mar 14, 2011)

I recently did a big tank shuffle and consolidated 9 tanks to 4. OK - a tech from Big Al's did all the heavy work - I directed.

My 75 gal. heavy planted that used to house my fancy goldfish became my consolidated community tank. Rather than move the plants in the 75 gal. I left them there. In many cases the plants had been there for 2-3 years.

My new goldie tank is 55gl. There are 4 goldfish that are over 4 years old and big. There is one small ryukin, but he is growing quickly. I run triple filtration for the size of tank. The filtration consists of, one 50 gal. Eheim canister, one Fluval G4 internal filter and one Aqua Clear HOB for a 70 gal. I know it is way over filtered but it keeps the tank water in good shape for goldfish. The temp on this tank is on the cool side - averages about 69-71F.

When we did the tank consolidation I left the 3 flying fox in the 75 gal. because they were too hard to catch with all the plants. The result of not moving the Flying Foxes is huge algae growth on the anubis plants. 

Because of the size of the goldfish any small algae eaters will just be a snack. The same would be true of any other sm. algae eating fish. I once made the error of putting in Octo Cats with sm. goldies. That worked until the goldfish became big enough to try to eat them. I lost two big goldfish and both Octo's because the octo's raised the spiked top fin and even thought I managed to remove the octo with plastic tweezers the mouth damage to the goldfish resulted in an infection that couldn't be controlled.

So to recap I need suggestions about algae eating fish that can survive in a cool tank and are too big for the goldies to eat. Common Pleco's are out of the question because they love eating the slime coat on the goldies. I tired bushy nose, but they don't seem to handle the cool temp, plus they are not a cheap fish to loose.

Many thanks in advance

Judi

As a footnote my 75 gal. community is in my opinion stunning with all the plants and assorted fish. To think this all started with a 5 gal. hex tank and one sm. veiltail goldfish.


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

Hi Judi,

Just curious, but what hapened to all your goldfishes, you had much more than 4 before? I am guess the 120g tank plans were canned?
Happy to hear about your consolidated community tank. 

Anyways, yea, otto is a bit too small. Common pleco may attack goldfish. Now i do know you said before that you had bad luck with BushyNose Pleco, but honnestly, this is the best cleaner, and you only need 1. Get it from Menagerie Pet Shop, just so you know it is really a Bristlenose / Bushynose Pleco, and not another type. Mine cleans-up real good, and never bothers the goldfish, and is one of the recognised compatible fish with goldfish. Get one that is about 3 inches to start with, just to be on the safer side. Just note that with this fish, you might be maxed out for the tank size.

I find female fish in general to be less aggressive than male ones, thus why i have a female BN Pleco and a female SAE fish with my goldfish in my 75g tank. SAE may jump, but mine hasnt yet, i guess it is happy in the 75g tank, and all the fish know when i am going to feed them, so they all get ready at the perticular spot in my tank. By the way, flying fox and SAE are NOT the same fish. 

My next suggestion, is Nerite Snails. They clean up somewhat, and goldfish leave them alone. The only thing about them, is they leave eggs that never hatch on branches and wall.

My next recommendation, is Spixi Snails. Get the larger ones from Jackson who is in this forum, and often sells them. They clean up too, and he sells them for cheap. They dont do as well as a job as the Nerite Snails though.

My goldfish tank is so well planted and has rocks and branches, that i have a colony of red cherry shrimps that is surviving / growing in there too. But I dont recommend this unless your setup has alot of hidding spots for the shrimps.

Note, these solutions may not work completely, and you may have to put some shades on Anubias, to help out, as they do best in shades anyways in my tanks.


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## Ryan.Wilton (Dec 12, 2012)

Apple Snails. Get as big as the name suggests 

Common pond snails. They'll infest the tank, your goldies will eat some, but not all.

And finally. A pleco... They're not known for handling extreme colds. But the common pleco can survive in water as low a 60F. It's happier in 66F+ water tho.

I hope this helps. If all else fails, you could try cleaning it by hand


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

DONT get a Common Pleco!!! It may attack the goldfish (ie stick to its body to get the slime), also, they grow too big, your tank cannot handle that. Only compatible pleco is the BN pleco, dont try any others at this time.

Apple Snails is fine too.... They may or may not eat your plants though....

Ramshorn Snails like to eat many types of algas. Not sure if the goldfish will eat them, and if they can handle it. So research that one. However, note that they can potentially multiply alot, same as the pond snails, if your goldfish dont eat them at all.

Hand cleaning is always good, but such a drag and messy if you need to remove the plants from the tank.


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## Ryan.Wilton (Dec 12, 2012)

And Russia may one day release a nuclear device on the world...

Plecos are known for sucking the slime off of laterally compressed species of fish, moreso than rounded body species. You're thinking of the CAE, or SAE. Either of these species will relentlessly. BN plecos need more tropical conditions 72F to be happy. And plecos may grow large, but it takes time. By the time the OP has a large pleco, they could possibly have a means of rehoming it or a larger tank already set up to go with her goldfish.

Ramshorn snails are able to be eaten by the goldfish, and probably cause the goldy to die due to the shape.



zfarsh said:


> DONT get a Common Pleco!!! It may attack the goldfish (ie stick to its body to get the slime), also, they grow too big, your tank cannot handle that. Only compatible pleco is the BN pleco, dont try any others at this time.
> 
> Apple Snails is fine too.... They may or may not eat your plants though....
> 
> ...


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

I highly advise agaist the common pleco with fancy type goldfish (weak and slow moving and fat). Judi, read up on it, and make the decision yourself.


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## Ryan.Wilton (Dec 12, 2012)

I didn't say it was the best choice, but it is a choice none the less. As well, a common pleco at 2-4" is just as slow unless startled.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Glad to hear you finally managed to get this done. 

But, please, do NOT get apple snails for a planted tank !! They WILL eat the plants and also dig them up and mess up the scape.

Mystery snails usually will not eat plants, unless they are very hungry. I've yet to see one of mine eat a live plant and they can be had in some pretty colours, such as blue, gold, or ivory. 

Nerites for sure do not eat plants, and they do an outstanding job of cleaning algae off leaves, especially things like anubias. Get the larger species, such as the Zebra stripe or one often called Tiger Track, which is a variant of the Zebra I think, rather than the Thorny or Horned type, which are very small. 

They all do a fantastic job on algae, no matter where it is. It is true they lay single eggs, on wood, or rocks, but eventually those eggs will disappear. I think they slowly dissolve in the water, though it takes awhile. But they do eventually disappear.. and do not hatch. They need brackish water to hatch. Mystery snails lay eggs above water, so are easy to control if you don't want more, just remove the egg mass if one appears.


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

the Nerites are a good option, as they are the least bioload of the options, and are 100% garanteed not to harm your plants (some snails are iffy). Just have to clean the eggs time to time if they bother you. 

However, i must mention you still may need to do some cleaning yourself if you dont have shades on the Anubias plants you mentioned (i had that problem untill i did this). After all, a 50 gallon tank is big, a few nerites may have trouble getting at all the spots in the tank (in a small tank, this would be different). Another option: Java Fern!!!! They dont suffer from the green alga on leaves too much or at all as the Anubias does. So for example, you could get a driftwood, have Java fern on the top part, then at the bottom, have the anubias, that will hopefully be protected from the light by the java fern. 

Note, if you ever do get a BN pleco for one of your tank, make sure to have Driftwood in it, they require this.

Good Luck


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

69-71F is not that cold of water. Most species will do fine in that temperature. I don't know how big your gold fishes get, but an adult BN Pleco should be okay.


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

I've been keeping plecos for about 15-16 years now and have never had any rasp/suck the slime coat off of any fish and I keep mine with a Senegal bichir and uaru for a long time with no issues.
I wouldn't keep a common or any other pleco to control algae they don't do much unless you starve them to be honest and are a heavy bio load.

Apple/mystery snails are the same thing just a common name for Pomacea diffusa which come in many colours. Mostly youngsters eat plants not really adults. Pomacea canaliculata also known as apple/mystery snails will destroy your plants at any size.
I will have at least 4-5 different colours of diffusa for sale soon all are raised in my tanks. Same thing for some spixis and blue ram horns. I might have some medium/large spixis I can spare now.
Link to read up on the apple/mystery snails.
http://www.applesnail.net/content/multi_languages/english.htm

Asolene spixi IME eat algae and haven't touched my plants if they're well fed.

Ram horns are good for controlling some algae as well but can reproduce in large numbers becoming a bother.

If you go for a pleco BN would be the best choice or a rubber lip pleco. Both can tolerate cooler temps BN's can take much lower temps.

IMO best thing is to use a sponge and clean your glass with each water change.
Goldfish are dirty and adding more to the bio load is not the best solution.


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## Ryan.Wilton (Dec 12, 2012)

+1 again to cleaning the glass yourself ^_^ And I never ever considered the bio-load jackson lol.


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## zfarsh (Apr 7, 2011)

Just a clarification on common pleco and fancy type goldfish: the common pleco does sometime attach itself to the goldfish, and damage it by suking the slime coat. It can even happen when its dark or fish is sleeping. If you dont believe me, just ask the OP herself, as it happened to her as well!!! Will this happen to everyone or every other type of fish or regular goldfish? Of course not! Just happens more frequently to fancy goldfish, and I have seen several reports just googling it, and from the op herself. This was just fyi, not saying you have to follow


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## Newobsession (Nov 17, 2010)

hey Judy, just wanted to say glad you finally got everything re-organkzed and you're up and around and doing well. Did the pearl gourami's end up in the 75 planted ? would love to see pics. After reading all the posts, and excluding all the suggestions and bickering over the ones that you stated in your original post that you didn't want to begin with, I would say nerites are a good way to go. Good call Fishfur. Ryan and Zfarsh...play nice.


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