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Re: Snails
-----Original Message-----
From: Wright Huntley <huntley1 at home_com>
To: killietalk at aka_org <killietalk at aka_org>
Date: Sunday, February 28, 1999 10:36 AM
Subject: Re: Snails
>
>The most common "algae eater" in fish shops is called "Chinese Algae
>Eater."
There is also a fish known as a "Siamese Algae Eater" that superficially
looks like the CAE but is much much more efficient at actually eating algae.
The hard part comes when you try to find them in the LFS's because nine
times out of ten they are mismarked. They look somewhat more like Flying
Foxes (Epalzeorynchus), but this doesn't make IDing them any easier. There
is a link somewhere for pix of each so you can tell the difference, now
where did I put that one.......... :<D Interestingly enuf. the SAE's don't
have a sucker mouth although it is subterminal.
>Otocinclus are pretty good at eating some kinds of algae,
Yes, and peaceful and they don't get too large and tolerate cooler temps
which came in handy with my natives.
but, far and
>away, the truly best algae-eating fish do *not* have sucker-shaped
>mouths. [That mouth is for clinging to rocks in swift streams.] The best
>are *Jordanella floridae*, aka The American-flag Fish (a true killy,
>BTW),
Aren't they a little on the Nippy side? At least that has been my
experience.
>
>Finally, the very best way to control algae is to have lots of live
>plants that soak up the nutrients your fish provide. If a bit gets on
>the glass, just rub it off. Algae eating animals are vastly over-rated,
>IMO. Good husbandry wins, every time.
In big agreement here. I experimented with some freshwater shrimp (Glass
Shrimp) and they did an awesome job of cleaning up a 55gal tank that was
starting to get some algae growth going. I was shocked how well they did.
One draw back with invertebrate algae eaters (shrimp or snails) is that it
complicates treating for ectoparasites on the fish, as they tend to be very
sensitive to chemical treatments and the shrimp are darn hard to catch-
planted tank or no........
Cheers,
Brian Perkins
Metroserv Incorporated
Tigard, Oregon
503-245-4877