Pleco Algae Eater Fish
The common plecostomus or pleco hypostomus plecostomus often gets sold as an algae eater.
Pleco algae eater fish. A true siamese algae eater fish will have a long body with a ragged looking black horizontal stripe on the sides of the fish. The problem lies in finding a real flying fox since. The rubber lip pleco is an ideal fish if you want an algae eater that will not outgrow your aquarium.
While pleco actively eat algae and detritus otos subsist on algae and biofilm. Plecos for the goldfish tank. Growing up to 15 centimeters in length these sucker mouth fish can cover a lot of ground and can consume a lot of algae.
Algae eating catfish are popular options for planted freshwater tanks but not all pleco fish work out in peaceful communities. The siamese algae eater fish is often mistaken for an otocinclus catfish chinese algae eater fish and siamese algae eater fish. While the fish does enthusiastically eat algae he does not make the best choice for most aquariums since he can grow longer than a foot.
It even eats brush algae. The common pleco is almost a titan of the aquarium hobby a proven monster at eating algae. Rather they prefer a very meaty diet that usually results in them taking chunks out of your.
The rubber lip pleco is distinguishable by the spots on its head and it will not grow past 4 5 inches. The first on the list is the common pleco i think it would be ridiculous to mention any topic on algae eating fish without mentioning this fish although it s cheap you can find it anywhere and as the name suggests common it s this way for a reason. Due to their size it is often recommended to also include sinking algae pellets into your tank to make sure they are being fed enough.
However other species of pleco stay smaller. Just because they can be a bit aggressive occasionally depending on the personality of the individual fish and the dynamics between the goldfish. Many species of pleco and other algae eating fish have very specific care requirements that you will have to meet.
Is the common pleco a good option for your aquarium. If it has a gold stripe on top of the black stripe it is not a siamese algae eater. The common plecostomus may be cheap and widely available but these giant catfish can become problematic as they mature.
These may or may not work out with your goldfish. Pleco originated from the rivers of south america and domesticated in home aquariums as pets. There is a similar fish which is an amazing algae eater.
It is commonly confused with rubber plecos and some pet stores even sell one as the other. The flying fox can be hard to tell apart from the cae and other species but it s one of the best algae eaters around. They are an extremely efficient algae eater because once i had a problem dealing with sudden bloom of algae growth in my aquarium and soon after i introduced the fish all the sides and corners were swept clean of algae.
