algae eaters??

suemack · Post by **suemack** » 16 Nov 2003, 07:06

hi - I have a 36 x 15 x 15 inch tank with a red lizard whiptail catfish, 3 cories, a dwarf harahara, 4 kuhli loaches, 2 keyhole cichlids, 1 apistogramma borellii and 6 neons.Well planted tank with soft water, pH 6.7

Q 1 - are whiptail's efficient algae eaters?
Q 2 - would a couple of bristlenoses be ok in this tank and not harass the whiptail or harahara at feeding time and at night?

thanks - sue

Ben · Post by **Ben** » 16 Nov 2003, 09:38

I've never had the exact whiptail you mention, but have had several differnt ones. From my experience, they aren't the most efficiant at keeping you tank algae free. They seem better at cleaning your substrate than anything else. If you are looking for an efficiant algae eater, your choice of bristlenoses is a good one. They shouldn't bother your other fish. For the most part they are a very mello cat, good in a community set up. They really only show agression between males of the same species, and I've found that subsides once the pecking order (or sucking order as it may be) is worked out.

Ben

suemack · Post by **suemack** » 16 Nov 2003, 09:57

thanks Ben -
-is there any way of telling the sex of bristlenoses when they are young (can usually only get babies in the lfs here)
-does it matter if they are from the same batch or would I be better to get them from different places (if that is possible - I'm from an area where we don't have many lfs and our choices are limited)
-do I need wood in the tank for the BN's - am on tank supply (rainwater) which is very pure and has few buffers. I have had problems in the past when putting wood in my tanks with the pH crashing (this was in 10 gall tanks so the small amount of water may have contributed to the problem)
thanks - Sue
p.s what sort of camera did you take your lovely photos with - am looking at makes and models of digi cameras - what to buy!! thanks

Ben · Post by **Ben** » 16 Nov 2003, 10:07

I know of no way to sex them until they actually start developing thier bristles. Males have them, females don't

(femails do have little nubbs when they are fully maure)

I bought 2 from a batch of babies, and a friend bought 3 from the same batch, all turned out to be male...it's tough. However my males doe get along fine, one is much larger and more dominant. Now that there is a female present, the smaller male just stays away...so I'd get 3 or so, and if you do turn out with all males, it's managable with this type of cat. Were it a different type of plec, you might have trouble.

Wood is an excelent idea. I really wouldn't compare anything to a 10 gallon tank. The smaller the tank, the more easily it destabalizes. Wood really shouldn't cause that kind of PH issues.

Thank you for the comments of my pics. Many of the are very much out of date, I'm hoping to update them soon! I used a Kodak DX4330 some good info on it here: http://www.steves-digicams.com/2002_reviews/dx4330.html