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Algae eaters

Grazers keep glass, leaves and decor clean. None of them replace water changes, and most need extra vegetable food once the algae runs out.

  1. Otocinclus

    Otocinclus vittatus

    Tiny algae grazers for mature planted tanks; keep six or more and supplement with vegetables.

    1.4 in · 17+ gal · 72–79°F · pH 6–7.2

  2. Cherry shrimp

    Neocaridina davidi

    Bright red dwarf shrimp that graze all day and breed in a planted tank; tiny bioload, but fry are snacks for most fish.

    1.6 in · 4+ gal · 72–75°F · pH 6.5–7.8

  3. Amano shrimp

    Caridina multidentata

    The best-known algae-eating shrimp, made famous by Takashi Amano; bigger than cherries and a good fit for planted community tanks.

    2 in · 7+ gal · 72–77°F · pH 6.5–7.5

  4. Chinese algae eater

    Gyrinocheilus aymonieri

    A popular sucker-mouth 'cleaner' that reaches 11 inches and turns aggressive with age, sometimes rasping the slime coat off other fish.

    11 in · 95+ gal · 72–79°F · pH 6–8

  5. Common pleco

    Pterygoplichthys pardalis

    The classic store 'algae eater' that grows to nearly two feet, fouls the water and eats less algae with age; a fish for very large tanks only.

    22.8 in · 203+ gal · 77–82°F · pH 7–7.5

  6. Leopard sailfin pleco

    Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps

    A tall-finned pleco with a brocade pattern that is sold at 2 inches and grows to about 20, needing a very large tank and heavy filtration.

    19.7 in · 187+ gal · 77–86°F · pH 5–7

  7. Siamese algae eater

    Crossocheilus oblongus

    A slim silver fish with a black stripe and one of the few that eats black beard algae; grows to about 6 inches and loves to jump.

    5.9 in · 95+ gal · 75–79°F · pH 6.5–8

  8. Bladder snail

    Physella acuta

    A small left-coiled snail that usually hitchhikes in on plants; a self-fertilising hermaphrodite, so a single one starts a colony.

    0.6 in · 1+ gal · 63–84°F · pH 7–8

  9. Malaysian trumpet snail

    Melanoides tuberculata

    A cone-shelled snail that lives in the substrate and stirs it; it breeds without a mate and gives birth to live young, so it fills a tank fast.

    1 in · 2+ gal · 64–77°F · pH 7–8.5

  10. Crystal red shrimp

    Caridina logemanni

    The red-and-white bee shrimp, benchmark of the shrimp hobby; it needs soft, acidic, very stable water, usually on aquasoil and RO water.

    1.2 in · 6+ gal · 68–77°F · pH 5.5–7

  11. Silver dollar

    Metynnis argenteus

    A large, disc-shaped silver fish related to piranhas but plant-eating; skittish, shoaling and able to strip a planted tank bare.

    5.9 in · 81+ gal · 75–82°F · pH 6–7

  12. Tropheus moorii

    Tropheus moorii

    A herbivorous Tanganyika cichlid with dozens of colour forms; fights its own kind so hard that it is kept only in big groups of one form.

    5.7 in · 99+ gal · 73–81°F · pH 8–9.5

  13. Twig catfish

    Farlowella vittata

    A slender 6-inch catfish that looks like a dry stick; slow, shy and easily outcompeted for food by livelier tank mates.

    5.9 in · 26+ gal · 75–81°F · pH 6–7

  14. Rabbit snail

    Tylomelania spp.

    A large, colourful snail with a rabbit-like face from the lakes of Sulawesi; it needs warm, alkaline water and plenty of detritus.

    2.8 in · 13+ gal · 79–82°F · pH 7.5–8.5

  15. Butterfly hillstream loach

    Beaufortia kweichowensis

    A flat 'butterfly' loach from southern Chinese rivers that clings to rocks and glass and wants cool, fast, oxygen-rich water.

    3 in · 17+ gal · 61–75°F · pH 6.5–8

  16. Tiger hillstream loach

    Sewellia lineolata

    A flat, stingray-like loach from Vietnamese mountain streams that needs strong current, cool water and algae-covered rocks.

    2.6 in · 22+ gal · 68–75°F · pH 6–7.5

Every tank is different. Set yours up once (size, water, who already lives there) and each species is checked against it.

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