Aquarium Maintenance Fish – Algae Eaters and Bottom Feeders
A maintenance crew has to be purchased to maintain your aquarium. A maintenance crew is nothing but a group of scavengers that feeds on algae as well as other excess food that had settled up in the bottom of the aquarium. Most of the scavengers can dwell in aquariums without harming the fishes. However, some scavengers attack smaller fishes and may even eat them. So when u buy then ensure that they do not harm your fishes and are community friendly scavengers. Algae serves as a proof that ensures that life can be supported in the tank with excess nutrients. However, excessive algae are actually a problem since they cloud the water and take away nutrients required for the plants. An algae eater comes as a rescue in this situation. Chinese algae eaters can easily remove the algae by simply scraping them off. However when they grow up as adults they turn aggressive and bullies and even eats the fishes that are even larger than them. They can be suitable to your tank only when they are young. Flying fox and Trunk barb eats algae and also the excess food in the tank. However they are not suitable to be mixed with fishes of similar species since they become aggressive and territorial once they become adults. Catfish is a very good algae eater that is shy and peaceful and is can be an ideal community member. Snails eat algae too but if you have aquarium plants then the snails may end up eating the live plants as well. Apple snails are very good algae eaters but they may also feed up sleeping fishes. Snails also reproduce quickly hence you may put just one instead of a pair. Sometimes even when you have not added snail to your tank, the tank may have snails. It is probably from the eggs that have stayed back in the live plants when you purchased them. You may introduce a loach to the aquarium that is very good snail eaters. Another advantage is that loaches also eat algae and continues to remain controlling the algae as well as invasions of snails. However ensure the loaches are not sucker loaches since sucker loaches nip at other fishes when they grow up. Shrimp is quite helpful in maintaining the tank by eating the left over food and waste. By minimizing the availability of nutrients from leftover food and wastes algae doesn’t grow. Bumble bee shrimp is a good bottom feeder but may require extra food as well. They are quite harmless and measures just about an inch. Ghost shrimp eats algae as well as fish food at the bottom of the tank. However the disadvantage is that they may eat up smaller fishes and sometimes eat fresh fish food there by not making them available for other fishes. Mountain fish serves as a good scavenger but feeds on smaller fishes. Crabs are very efficient algae eaters in saltwater aquariums. Hermit crabs eats both algae as well as the left over food from the bottom of the tank. You may purchase crabs that do not grow beyond an inch since when grown up they may attack your other fishes. Emerald green crabs are smaller in size even after they grow and are harmless to other fishes as well. Mithrax crabs eats both left over food as well as algae, especially bubble algae. Sally Lightfoot crabs eats bubble algae and hair algae and are peaceful though they appear otherwise. To maintain the water quality and cleanliness of the aquarium, it is important to have the bottom feeders and algae eaters. More Articles on Aquarium Care: | 