Quote:
Originally Posted by cabletech94
plecostomous(sp). what a fantastic algae eater. good luck with your now overactive bladder.
|
Cleaner, yes.
Algae eater? No. Actually not at all.
Plecos and other foragers (I like Corydoras catfish because they stay small) will eat food that falls to the bottom and will clean up some of the detritus in tanks, but they don't eat algae.
If you want true algae eaters, the Otocinclus catfish is very good at eating green hair algae, as long as you get them before the algae gets established. They eat the new growth, so if you get them early, the algae never gets a foothold. Siamese algae eaters and their cousins the flying fox are good at removing black and beard algae too.
In defense of the pleco, they can reduce the amount of algae you have because the stuff they eat would eventually decay, leading to nitrate buildup and the eventual growth of algae. But their effect is indirect.