Algae eater with guppies?

brigid_marie

brigid_marie

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Feb 3, 2006
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I now have a beautifully cycled 10g tank of gups and was wondering if there is any widely accepted algae eating tankmate that I could add? I know a pleco would be too big, but is there anything that wouldn't nip the gups beautiful tails?

They are probably moving into a 20g this summer if we can find a hood for the old 20g my mom got for free :) if that changes any suggestions

Thanks!
 
Only certain types of plec get too large. You could get 2 baby plecs that wont grow bigger than 6" and then when they are moved to the new tank they would just be getting too large for your 10gal tank.

Do some research on plecs on the web to check what sizes they will grow to before you buy anything but maybe things like 1 bristlenoses (male and female, not 2 males) or royal?

Another option are the smaller ottos which are really nice to have in your tank, small and efficient. But you have to make sure they are in shoals.

Last but not least... chinese algae eater.
I would advise not to get these as they often do not eat your algae (especially when older).
 
Otto cats stay pretty small, Siamese Algae Eaters (true ones not imposters) do a good job but they can get a few inches long, Bristlenose plecos will only get 6inches long but thats too big for a 10 gallon tank. I say get some Mystery apply snails (brigs). They eat algae and I don't think they could hurt a guppy if they wanted to.
 
A royal pleco will get way to big for a 10gal tank. They get to around 12 inches and are kind of expensive ($75 at LFS). If you wanted a smaller pleco you could find a clown pleco (L104) they only get around 4 inches. Clown's dont really eat that much algae though. A bristlenose would probably be the best pleco for your tank.

I think Onikun has the best idea a couple of snails would be your best bet. They have breed into every color you can imagine, and they won't bother your fish.
 
Even a 20gal is to small for a royal. A 20gal tall is 24"x13"x16" a 20gal long is 30"x12"x12". How is a fish that can get 12"+ be fine in that tank?

I'm not sure of brigid marie's experience when it comes to keeping fish, but a royal is definately not a beginner fish. They are on the expensive side (compared to guppies), need specific dietary requirements, and hide most of the time. I'm not sure why you keep saying it's fine to keep them. Have you ever kept a royal?
 
how about a chinese or gold algea eaters? i have one and it seems to do a good job with the algea.
 
From the sounds of things, I'm liking the snail idea more and more.

Apple Snails? Just out of curiosity... about how much do they run and how many should I get for a 10g. Do they need special sinking food?

I've always loved pleco's... so much that I would never want to stunt one in a 10 or 20g... so the snails sound great! tell me more :)
 
snails will not need any extra food. They will eat any plant matter and left over fish food that is in your tank. The more you have the faster any live plants will be eaten.

In a lot of cases people just find a snail all of a sudden that has hitchiked its way into your aquarium on a plant or in gravel.
 
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