Suggest a long algae-eater!

[Velvet AciD]

I noticed lately that I need an algae-eater. Are there any common ones that are longish? And cheap? Nothing has come to my mind, what do you think?

And I don't want to run out and get a loaner Pleco.

 

[catfishmike]

this is kind of a redundant question as most fish genericly labeled as algae eaters are long to start with.from ottos to caes true saes flying foxes,plecos they all have a longshape versus a stocky shape.some unorthodox are cherry barbs,some african cichlids,florida flag fish,mollies amano shrimp most snails.best algae eater though would have to be the true siamese algae eater.shouldn't be too hard for you to get sense i know that azgardens.com sells them so worse come to worst you can always get one from them.they run about 6 bucks from azgardens if i remember correctly.

 

[Super_Fishy]

Yup, IMO "Siamese Algea Eaters" are the best algea eaters. Be warned, if you're going to buy SAE's from lfs, be sure to you can tell the real ones from the fake ones. Lfs will try to sell you chinese algea eaters and everything they can throw at you. I bought my true SAE labeled as a flying fox... but I knew it was a true SAE.

 

[Velvet AciD]

Yeah, I've been looking at those since mike posted that link. If they aren't too far up north, I'm thinking about driving up to AZ Aquatic Gardens to get a few.

I just hope they have an actual public store.

 

[wayne]

Real long.... farlowella, rhineloricaria alias twigcatfish

 

[lighter]

Yes, twig catfish willl be the answer! They're long!

 

[Velvet AciD]

lol But too long! I don't think they'll fit in my 10G...

 

[fishface]

S.A.E the best around IMO i got otts but there not v.good they only eat BROWN algea S.A.E eat everything and r long there great for keeping a tank clean grab 1!

 

[Lotus]

I was looking at the AZ gardens web site. They don't have a store that's open to the public, and hinted you can't pick up there either. I guess it's worth calling them and trying, though

 

[bumblebee]

I would go with the farwalla cat, they look cool, and give your tank a different look. but imho, mystery snails and common plecs are the best algae eaters. A common plec will outgrow your tank too quickly though! hth,
JC