Bristlenose vs Otto vs Siamese Algae eater

Is there a 'best' option for an algae eating cleanup crew?

I had a common pleco but returned it when I discovered how big they get. The tank has snails (more than a few) but while they clean up leftover food pretty quick, they don't keep the glass clean like the pleco used to and I'm looking for options.

Bristlenose seem to be fairly readily available but there are reports on the web that they don't do well in tanks with amazon swords.
Otto's - I can't find any in CT shops but most tell me they will have stock in June/July
Siamese - Just read about them, have not tried to actually find them yet,

The tank is 200 litres, heavily planted with mainly amazon type plants and tetras.

Any thoughts?

 

Got 4 B/N's. They clean up rather well and leaves my amazon alone. Siamese is the one to get for BBA and string algae.

 

Bristlenose, at least for me, have done well on the algae front. I do have four in the tank, so work is quick for them.

As for Siamese, be careful, as there are a few very similar species on the market that don't necessarily all eat algae. Check out this link to brush up on identification.

As always with algae eaters, remember that you need to supplement their diets with fresh vegetables and appropriate sinking foods. Very few tanks produce enough greens to properly satisfy these animals for an extended period.

 

I don't think any one of them is the perfect algae machine, but a combination of all 3 do seem to put a sizable dent in any algae problems.
Ottos work well for softer algae, especially brown diatoms.
SAE work well on BBA and hair algae.
Ancistrus work well at generally keeping algae in check.

They also have their drawbacks.
Ottos are small, and are very selective in their feeding habits.
SAE are temperamental, and the bigger they get, the less they seem to be interested in algae.
Ancistrus love Amazon Swords as well as certain broadleaf crypts. You will notice holes appearing in Amazon Sword leaves, that make them look like Madagascar Lace plants. That's the Ancistrus destroying your plants.

One fairly rare little critter that seems to work on all types of algae, is the Nerite Snail.
They eat all forms of algae.
Green spot algae on leaves is a thing of the past.
BBA doesn't get a chance.
Hair algae and green slime algae on the aquarium glass is a thing of the past.

I recently got 5 of them, and placed them in a 45 litre tank that was giving me algae nightmares.
It took a few weeks, but now the tank is pristine. There is not a trace of algae, and I am having to look for other sources of algae to feed these snails.
If you can get your hands on a few, they will definitely be worth their weight in gold.

 

Yip one of my bristlenose destroyed an amazon sword leaf recently in my display tank...

 

Hi Dale ... only thing I would also consider is how do you catch them if you want to move them to the next tank.

Otto's are easy .. BN's well you need to see them to net them, SAE ... need to set a trap (450ml coke bottle works OK).

Later Ferdie

 

Sounds promising. Any idea where to get some?

 

Agreed, the algae is not a big issue at present - just a light film on the glass and some brown spots on a few leaves - but I was hoping to have a plan in place so that it does not become an issue at some stage.