Algae Eater

[liz]

Hello My Discus are still doing fine.A question I wanted to ask do any of you keep an Algae Eater in your tank .And if so what kind.

[RAWesolowski]

Liz,

I keep two kinds, the otocinclus and the bistle nose pleco. Neither have bothered the discus.

[gary1218]

For many of us the dwarf albino bushy nose pleco is "the beast" of choice. Great on the algae and more importantly they leave the discus alone. You can usually find them on Aquabid.

GARY

[liz]

Thanks for your replys.I presume these ones do well in the higher temps of the Discus tank.

[gary1218]

Yes liz, that's correct.

If you're not in a big hurry to buy them I may have a good source for you. He's a college student in Canada, just over the border from Buffalo, NY. I met him last summer after I saw his post in Aquabid for these plecos. Mainly he's a guppy breeder, with ABSOLUTELY gorgeous guppies I might add. He also has one breeding pair of these plecos.

I bought 20 of the plecos at that time and recently contacted him about buying 20 more. He's recently had another spawn and is just waiting for them to grow up a little before selling them. He usually only charges $2.50 a pleco, whereas others charge up to $4.

He does ship to the USA. In fact when he does he drives over the border and actually ships them from the USA.

If your interested in getting some from him drop me an e-mail and I'll send along his information.

GARY
gary1218@rochester.rr.com

[liz]

Thanks Gary I live in the UK so maybe not a good idea.I will have a check around and see if I can get one locally.

[liz]

Hello I had a check around a few of the local fish shops and not having any luck.They say they could get me an Albino but not a Dwarf.Is this quite an unusual fish.

[Wahter]

There's a previous posting here on algea eaters:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com//index.php?board=7;action=display;threadid=1273

Hope this helps!

Walter

[liz]

Thanks Walter I still am undecided.I dont know if I should put one in or not.Iwill have a think about it.

[EthanCote.com]

Ok Liz, no one has mention this and so I will take it upon myself to tell u.

These plecos sure poop alot. sheesh my 5 Discus even poops less than him combine ;D

But I guess he does his job well thus explains the amount of poop he produced.

hehe


Cheers,

Chi.

PS: Just like to add this as well, you do not have to buy an albino bristle nose but also a regular bristle nose will do. I think reason ppl buy albino is the preference for the white colour.

[beta]

I have had bad experiences with siamese algae eaters which try and get the mucus frm the discus body

[liz]

Thanks Folks If you were me would you put an A/E in.I dont want to take any risks with the Discus.The D/Albino I think I will have difficultly getting.So an ordinary B/N I know they get to around4 inches or perhaps something smaller.

[BLUEKNIGHT]

Hi liz
you can keep otocinculus, bristlnose plecos, and siamese algae eaters. All of these fish will do fine with the discus the otos if they dont find enough food they will go after the slime on discus and the plecos will also do it when they get older. As for siamese algae eaters i have had them for about and year with discus and had no problems with them and plus they eat almost every type of algae. ;D

[Wahter]

Liz,

As a footnote, some of the fancier pl*cos will stay small and leave your discus alone, but they are NOT good algea eaters! An example of this is the zebra pl*co - Hypancistrus zebra:

http://www.planetcatfish.com/cotm/1997-11.htm

http://www.planetcatfish.com/ilibrary/loricari/hypancis/168_f.htm

(they are pretty though!) ;D

You can find lots of photos and info on catfish at:
http://www.planetcatfish.com/

Hope this helps.


Walter

[liz]

Hello Folks Enjoyed the photos.I did not realize there was so many different ones.I like the Zebra nice markings.I already have a 10inch Sailfin in my community tank.When I first put it in the tank it was under 1 inch! I have two little Otos in my small fish tank.But the Discus tank still trying to decide.