Siamese algae eaters

[jonnytens]

I have a planted 20 gallon tank with several tetras. For my algae cleanup crew I have 6 oto's and was wanting to add one or two SAE's. What is their temperment and would it be a good fit for the tank?

Thanks

[rED O]

I would not get any more fish to clean algae, I would just turn down the light, feed less food and use a razor blade to get rid of algae.

[devocole]

SAE will get too big

[Vallisneria]

SAE aren't a good choice for a 20g. They get to be 6" and like to be in groups. They also only really eat the hair algaes(mine have never touched the green algae on my plants or rocks) and once they are adults they prefer fish foods and can be lazy in their algae cleaning duties. They are great at getting rid of BBA though!

In my 20g planted tank I have Zebra snails, amano shrimp and a BN pleco for a clean up crew. A 20g isn't very big and can quickly be filled with just an algae crew.

[firestorm]

SAE's will probably get too large for a 20. But they do make better algae eaters than oto's, since oto's eat very few types of algae. However SAE's are great for a planted community tank. They have a peaceful temperament, so hopefully no one mistakes them for CAE's.

My SAE's even ate the green dust algae when I was having problems. Here is an algae chart so you know what type of fish eat what type of algaes http://www.aquariumalgae.blogspot.com/

Edited November 22, 2008 by firestorm

[Baos]

sae's get lazy. though they do eat the algae, doesn't really seem to make a difference. You could try going for an aquarium light that runs at about 10,000 kalvin to remedy an algae problem. I've also never had a hair algae problem since getting sae's.

[bottomdweller_fan]

I have found that zebra snails do an excellent job of algae clean-up and they don't harm your plants.