Amano and or ghost shrimp for alage on leaves ?

[Russ]

I recently put 2 Amazon Swords in pots in my 90 gallon tank and at first got spots of green algae on the leaves after a day or 2 which I scrubed away every other day. I read on the forum that putting a 2 or 3 hour break in the lighting cycle would help, so I tried the lights on for 10 hours with a 2 hour break. Now brown algae is growing on the leaves. I have 212 watts of light, I do 50% water changes every day and feed the discus 3 times daily. I asked the LFS for help and was recommended by one person Ghost shrimp and another Amano shrimp. Will either of these shrimp work, I'd appreciate any advice, I'm tired of scrubbing the leaves with a toothbrush.

Thanks
Russ

[Aquatic_Design]

Hi Russ,

I put 20 ghost shrimp in a 55g to hopefully eat some of the hair algae. They never had a chance. My discus ate them all over about 5 days.

Donna :)

[giroux68]

I got 5 shrimp 2 weeks ago. Only 2 are left. The ones left are picking hair algea off small areas of plants.

[rdeis]

Ghost shrimp are small and likely to get eaten. I've even heard of losing them to *guppies.* I had one in a micro-tank and found him to be great for collecting leftover food and other gunk, but not much of an algea eater. (Maybe with less leftover food he'd have done better..) I only have small fish there and plan to get another ghost shrimp after I get some water quality issues sorted out.

Amano (japonica) shrimp are much larger, and have a reputation for being fabulous algea eaters. I plan to keep 2 or more of them in my show tank, but don't know anything fist-hand about them yet. (Planning to get them this week).

What I *can* say first-hand in that as my 60-corner tank first started up, I developed a fuzz/hair algea problem- it was everywhere. There was white stuff growing on the driftwood as well, and I needed to scrub every other day to see through the glass. I added 4 small Siamensis (SAE, Siamese flying fox) and ALL of the fuzzy stuff on the driftwood dissapeared overnight, as did most of what was on the glass.

Since then I've only been scrubbing once a week or so to get green spot that develops on the glass. The driftwoon and plants stay mainly clean.

Another friend has a 55 with serious algea problems due to direct sunlight in the winter. She just added 4 SAEs this week, and they are making a difference there despite the fact that they spend most of the day hiding from two large angels.

[Wahter]

I've been lucky - only lost ghost shrimps to discus and the Amano "caridina japonica" are still alive. ;D (around here the Amano shrimps run around $2.99 each! More expensive than that other discus snack... neon tetras).

For some more info about the "Amano" shrimps:
(caridina japonica)
http://suiso.com/ebi.htm

For some more info about SAES (Siamese Algea Eaters):
(Crossocheilus siamensis)
http://www.aquatic-gardeners.org/cyprinid.html

BTW - you should have at least 1 shrimp per 2 gallons of water IF you have a big hair algea problem. Otherwise they won't be able to keep up.

[stygian7]

I don't have a good source for shrimp and SAE's here. All I can get are ghost shrimp and ottos. Does anyone know of a good source for these creatures. I see that Arizona Aquatic Gardens has a good variety, including the larger wood shrimp. Anyone have experience with ordering shrimp or SAEs from them?
Thanks in advance,
Kevin

[rdeis]

I got my SAEs at PetsMart, they were sold under the name of "Siamese Flying Fox." I would expect them to be available periodicly at all the big box pet stores, but read up on the links above first-- there are several fish that look like SAEs but don't behave like them.

The Krib also has a good article about them and how to tell the real thing from the look-alikes.

[ChloroPhil]

Shrimp only eat filamentous algae, and usually only the soft green kinds. If you've got brown algae on your leaves try a school of Ottos and a Farlowella or two.

Best,
Phil

[M0oN]

I got my SAEs at PetsMart, they were sold under the name of "Siamese Flying Fox." I would expect them to be available periodicly at all the big box pet stores, but read up on the links above first-- there are several fish that look like SAEs but don't behave like them.

The Krib also has a good article about them and how to tell the real thing from the look-alikes.



Flying fox and true SAE's are really really hard to distinguish between, looking almost completely identical with the exception of the shape of the line going through the tail fin...

Problem is flying fox grow increasingly violent with age whereas SAE's school together...be careful which one's you get or you're in for trouble down the line.

I don't see why adding 4 or 5 oto's isn't a solution if you can get them, as long as they're well fed they should leave the discus alone...

[rdeis]

Agree. I intend to add both this week, myself. But I'd think it would be helpful if he could source some of the other fish as well?

It seems a diversity of algea eaters is a good idea for lots of reasons.

[M0oN]

Agree. I intend to add both this week, myself. But I'd think it would be helpful if he could source some of the other fish as well?

It seems a diversity of algea eaters is a good idea for lots of reasons.


Well if you have any java moss or other small plants such as micro sword then ghost shrimp are great, I see mine pruning my java moss for me on a daily basis, even cutting off dead parts of the plant...

I've never had a problem with them eating fry, maybe they snag a couple when I don't look but it's nothing that impacts the entire clutch...

[BobinCA]

Phil, do Farlowella bother Discus? And, are they really effective against brown algae on the plants?
Bob A

[ChloroPhil]

Bob,

I've got 3 Farlowella in my tank and they've always left the discus alone.