# Fish Eating Algae



## blist3rX (Mar 10, 2009)

What kind of algae eating fish are good at eating agae, paticularly hair algae?


----------



## Calmer (Mar 9, 2008)

American Flag Fish (AFF) eat hair algae. I don't know if they eat hair algae exclusively or not. Their temperament can vary so read online as much as you can to help decide before purchasing.
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile82.html
You can also take a old toothbrush and twist the brush in the hair algae and gently remove the hair algae from the tank. Some gravel may come out with the hair algae but it is easily separated.


----------



## blist3rX (Mar 10, 2009)

Do you think Otos are good too? Common plecos?


----------



## Calmer (Mar 9, 2008)

I haven't heard of oto cats eating hair algae. They don't seem to have the mouths for it. 
You may want to get to the root of the problem.
What is the size of aquarium and what type and wattage of lights are you using?
You may find reducing the amount or duration of light may help.
These pages may help.
http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm
http://www.aquariaplants.com/alqaeproblems.htm


----------



## FishyCracker (Feb 5, 2009)

I can tell you that my otos never ate hair algae.


----------



## redclove (Feb 26, 2008)

*S*iamese
*A*lgae
*E*aters


----------



## Tropicana (Feb 15, 2009)

Id suggest American Flag fish their know to eat hair algae like calmer suggested. ive kept a few before and have seen them nibble on plants every now and then but i didnt have much hair algae at all so i wasent sure.


----------



## blist3rX (Mar 10, 2009)

I'm probably gonna get some flag fishes then. I have a 28G aquarium. I'm not sure about the lighting, it's the basic light that came with the aqarium. Its a flourescent tube.

I have also read that they don't get along well with other fishes. How true is that? I have 1 pink kisser, 2 thick-lipped gouramis, couple of glow-light tetras, n randomly a dozen or so feeder guppies -__-". You think my fishes will get murdered from the flag fish?


----------



## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

I have one large male flag in with rummies, guppy, shrimp, cory, flying fox, rufus rufus, platy... Trouble springs up if I add any females to the tank. All he wants to do is breed and fight. It even takes a few days for him to calm down when they are removed.

I have one male flag fish in a 30 gallon and he takes care of any hair algae issues.

I had more trouble with a trio of girls alone and them getting along with their tank mates. (Guppies mostly)

Hope that helps some


----------



## Sunstar (Jul 29, 2008)

Oh god.. the way I read the ttl, I thought there was some new algae that grew on fish and ate them LOL.


----------



## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Rosey Barbs are excellent at removing hair algae.

SAE's...are GREAT when they are young....suck hard when they get big.


----------



## Shattered (Feb 13, 2008)

Chris S said:


> Rosey Barbs are excellent at removing hair algae.
> 
> SAE's...are GREAT when they are young....suck hard when they get big.


Not only do they suck and in some cases they get aggressive, I found mine got aggressive due to being in a smaller tank (30g)


----------



## Fishfinder (Feb 17, 2008)

Sunstar said:


> Oh god.. the way I read the ttl, I thought there was some new algae that grew on fish and ate them LOL.


hahaha, i see what you mean. 
however at first sight, i figured 'algae eating fish  
hmmm, if my thread algae issue doesnt clear up soon, even after taking away 40w's from my tank ima have to go pick some up also! any idea where to get nice ones? Any suggestions on male-female ratio? im thinking 4-6. any experience with them and rainbows?


----------

