Lights! Water! Algae! And What You Can Do About It

OK, the green stuff on the interior walls of your aquarium is algae. If you have water and light (incandescent, fluorescent or natural) you will get algae growth on the walls and decor of your fish tank. Sometimes, the algae decides to bloom and turn the water itself green. Neither situation makes for a happy owner viewing his or her fish.

Here is what I have found:

In any aquarium under 10 gallons, get one totally non-aggressive Otocinclus algae eater. Maximum growth size is 2 inches.

In a 40 gallons (or larger) aquarium one Plecostomus (pleco for short) -- or one of his more elaborate looking cousins. Maximum size 18 to 24 inches depending on who you talk to. You can slow the growth somewhat by not overfeeding algae wafers and zucchini as I did with my first pleco. One quarter algae wafer every other day helps this. When I feed cut strips of zucchini, I use an aquarium-safe clip with suction cup device to pin the zucchini to the wall. Otherwise the hungry pleco has to catch a floating zucchini raft on the water's surface.

If I have an aquarium in between these sizes, maybe the less aggressive and slower growing rubber lip pleco. But not in a cichlid tank. They are not as well armored as their cousins.

One of my favorite plecos is the Gold Nugget or L081. Another is the striking Bristlenose pleco.
All of these are suckermouth armored catfish, and most if not all, originate in South America.

Planet Catfish has an exhaustive list of all catfish species by Latin name. You can also search their database "Cat eLog" using common, scientific, L and C designations as well as other options. Lots of photos submitted by various contributors.

OK so I am enamored of various catfish species. After all, I like cats too! :-)

For those who want to have an in-depth understanding of the biological processes that create algae (or if you prefer quick and easy chemicals), visit Drs. Foster and Smith Top 10 Algae Busting Tips. This is a listing of 5 other algae related articles from the same site.

Just a note, when I use water clarifiers , algaecides, or even after my weekly gravel vacuuming, I put filter fiber into my filtration unit to absorb the fine particles of sludge or algae. In a day or two, it is full of brown or green material and I throw it out.