African chilids and algae eaters

[mcrudd]

Hi there

I am trying to get some info for a friend of mine. He has a 250 litre tank and have lots of different african chilids (spelling) in it. He is getting those hard algae against his glass those type where you have to scrub for like 20 minutes before it comes off. He currently have two bristlenoses in there but they only hang out in the back. He thinks they are scared of the chilids. His fish is quite aggressive and takes out almost anything small so he will need something that is allready about 15cm that would eat the algae. Do you guys have any suggestions?

[Josh_S]

I find that Golden Algae Eaters work well in my tank. They get quite big and will hold their own against the cichlids. Although if it is the green spot algae your friend has it will be hard to get a fish that will completely clean it all. Mine will eat some of it but i still have to use a credit card on the side near the window every now and then.

[ryanjury]

Yeah I agree with Josh sometimes the GAEs work well, but I have seen photos of them hanging out of giraffes mouths before so depends on what type of africans he has really..

Failing that he can always try and address why he is getting too much algae. Ie is there too much light, too many nutrients in the water etc.

I keep bristlenoses in my tanks and they reduce algae but I still have to get in the tanks every week or 2 and use some filter wool to get the worst of it off, I leave most of it because most africans are algae grazers so it has to be good for them.