Suckermouths from Africa...

ac82 · Post by **ac82** » 18 Feb 2006, 15:55

Hi there,

I have set up a West African biotype tank (30"x18"x12") with x4 S.Nigriventris, x2 congo tetras, 1 elephantnose fish and 1 Ctenopoma acutirostre. I have planted it with Anubias Nana and Bateri on bogwood.

I was wondering whether there was anything similar to Otocinclus from this region to keep any algae at bay. Would you recommend any other cats suitable for a tank like this given its size?

Cheers

Andy

Post by **Silurus** » 18 Feb 2006, 16:22

The suckermouth mochokids are not really algae eaters. You might have better luck with African cyprinids like Garra.

sidguppy · Post by **sidguppy** » 18 Feb 2006, 16:54

Garra's are quite beautiful as Cyprinids go; they have a few things you should be aware of:
-first; unfortunately almost all (perhaps all) Garra's in the trade are Asian, not African.
African barbs are in short supply and I only saw African Garra's once (at a wholesaler/importer, NOT LFS) in 31.5 years of keeping fish.
-second Garra's are quite territorial, and often this does not stop at speciesmembers; they can be quite nasty. boisterous at least.
-third: Asian Garra's look a lot like African Garra's; they're sturdier built, and one of the more common Garra's has a vague stripe on the flank. but you can add an Asian Garra, and still have an 'African look" in the tank. African Garra's are also quite a bit more fragile than Asian ones.
-to keep Garra's, you'd need a big tank, a single fish or a group; in that group it's best to have all fish of a similar size! smaller ones are terrorized 24/7....
-last: they are pound for pound really excellent algae-eaters; also when adult! a healthy Garra can give any Bristlenose a run for the money

Currently I keep a few Garra's in my Tanganyikan tank, as a "wannabe Labeo cylindricus". L cylindricus (an African labeo species) is too big for my tank, and also rarely imported and agressive as well. friend of mine has 4 (in a big tank) and my Asian "Fake Labeo's" (Garra's) look exactly like bluntnosed Labeo's.....Barbs/Cyprinids are native to Africa; Loricariids not; I also want to have at least the African atmosphere in my tank

ac82 · Post by **ac82** » 25 Feb 2006, 12:11

Went down to my LFS today and was suprised to find some Garra congoensis on sale. Got four for my tank and I will see how they get on. They weren't too expensive (Â£3 each) so it was worth a try to see how they get on eating the algae.

Cheers for your help

Andy C · Post by **Andy C** » 26 May 2006, 12:24

Silurus wrote:The suckermouth mochokids are not really algae eaters. You might have better luck with African cyprinids like Garra.

Chiloglanis neumanni is an algae eater is it not?

Post by **Silurus** » 26 May 2006, 12:36

My experience with them (or at least with C. polypogon and another undescribed Chiloglanis species) is that they don't eat much algae and prefer meatier foods.