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Ameca splendens... yes it does eat filamentous green algae!


>Date: Tue, 12 Aug 1997 11:33:54 -0700 (PDT)
>From: Erik Olson <eriko at wrq_com>
>
>Some of you who are usenet old timers and/or readers of the Krib's algae
>section may remember an article posted by Matt Kaufmann ages ago extoling
>the virtues of Ameca splendens, an interesting livebearer that drops young
>when they are 1/2 inch long... among other things, Matt claimed that they
>actually eat filamentous green algae, the kind you have to remove with a
>fork like spaghetti (not to be confused with tenacious brush algae, which
>has to be removed with an SAE).  It's true.  They do eat it quite well.
>I've had three juveniles in a 10-gallon high-light tank with algae-choked
>plants such as Micranthemum for the past 3 months.  I don't feed them, yet
>their bellies are always full.  The tank is now immaculate.

I was in NY this weekend and hooked up with Matt for a tour of NYC.  We
visited several pet shops, and the ones with plants had a horrible beard
algae problem.  Matt recommended Ameca splendens for control of brush algae
too.  I'd never heard that, and have never tried it either, but it sounds
possible.  After all, platies and ghost shrimp will eat red or green algae
if you don't feed them.

David W. Webb           Texas Instruments
(972) 575-3443 (voice)  http://www.dallas.net/~dwebb
(214) 581-2380 (pager)  2145812380 at alphapage_airtouch.com