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I have a 125 gallon with haplochromine cichlids that will get up to 12 inches. What is a good algae eater for this tank? I like bristlenose but I need one that gets over 4 inches to be safe, but I'd be more happy with a 6 inch fish. Don't siamese algae eaters get 6 inches?

A good old common plec or gibby will fit the bill perfectly.

Its not often I recommend these

Just a comment. Instead of just copy'n'pasting the URL from the top of your browser, could you use the "persistent" version of the link that is in the Cat-eLog page. That way, if someone looks at this post in two years time (or whatever) when Jools has done the third iteration of the database, it will still be possible to find the same page, rather than having a Error 404.

So to clarify:
Instead of
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/sp ... cies_id=88
Use
http://www.planetcatfish.com/scripts/cl ... s+pardalis

Or use the syntax, which can also be copied from the lower regions of the Cat-eLog page.

That way, there's no reason for someone to complain later on saying "Lots of links are broken all over the forum"...

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Mats

Well pointed out Mats.

I'll edit the post.

Thanks.

A common bushy nose gets awfully big in two years. I have an extra male in my discus tank that has reached 6 inches TL and they adapt well to the African lake type water without getting 18 inches long. A common bn six inches or a pair will keep the edible algae under control.

I have two bristlenoses that are both above 2 years old, and they are not even close to 6" - and that's neither from lack of food or otherwise bad treatment, so I wouldn't say categorically that they DO grow beyond around 5 inches. Probably depends on many different factors whether they do or not.

They are, as you say, fairly good at eating algae and are also armoured to withstand a certain amount of "nastyness" from other fishes, but I'm not sure it's sufficient to deal with a 12" hap...

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Mats

Thanks. Much to think about. The haps may just ignore the bristlenoses. I may try them and see.

Hi Mat,
I don't know what's up with my BN. They are garden variety commons that began spawning at about 9 months old and the males were 3 inch total length. They just kept growing and I have two of these big males. Their mates are only about 3-1/2 inches. I've been a lttle taken aback over their magnum size but I knew it was possible when the owner of my LFS brought into his shop to sell, an albino Veil BN that was at least as big plus it had enormously long fins. The total length counting the long fins put that male BN closer to 7-1/2 inches. A very large bn indeed.
The odonotnodes at the gills are imposing weapons that probably make them nigh invincible to attack from most Cichlids.

I'm not saying that bristlenoses can't grow to 6"+ TL - I'm just saying there's no guarantee. Just like so many other fishes, some grow larger than others, and there's a lot of factors that influence their ultimate size. Water conditions, feeding and ancestry all play a role here...

I agree, they can defend themselves against any reasonable sized predator, as long as the size difference isn't TOO much. I have had less than 1" bristlenoses with fairly large Satanoperca and P. pictus... A combination of ability to hide, defences and active at night kept them alive, I think.

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Mats

MatsP,
I fully agree with you. I am citing some exceptional cases by no means typical for me. I only recommend using adults that have fully developed armourment; fish of ~3 inches, at least. I would not expect juveniles to do well with encounters with the cichlids either.
Perhaps a big old common pleco is the best advice after all. It just seems that it would be a shame to have so much of the aquarium carrying capacity go to one of these.

I have ordered some bristlenose plecos that are 3-4 inches long. Most of my big haps are in the 3-4 inch range now too. The bn plecos should be plenty big for now, even when the cichlids outgrow them they will be big enough to deter possible problems, I think.