cold water algae eaters!!

[jessey]

my sister's 10 gallon tank, which has 1 goldfish in it, has quite a bit of algae growth. the girl at my lfs (who i trust more than some other lfs employees, but i still take her info with a grain of salt, lol) said an oto would be fine in cold water. i put one in there and it died within a couple of days... did it die due to the cold water, or just bad luck? and if not otos, what should i use to clean up algae in a goldfish tank?

thanks darlin's

 

[FroggyFox]

Well...for starters you should figure out what is causing the algae. It would probably be easier to stop it from growing, rather than find an algae eater. With goldfish I'd wager a guess that more water changes need to be done to keep the nitrate level in check. Excess nitrates would cause algae outbreaks. Also things like overfeeding or direct sunlight, not enough gravel vacuuming etc.

That said, you could try a common pleco or just a big apple snail...I would not try ottos.

 

[IDunnoWhy]

Well, our profiles section here says they can tolerate temps from 70-82 degrees, so if your tank is less than 70 it may have been too cold for him.

Also Ottos seem to be quite fragile right out of the gate, I've bought many, and I've lost almost 50% (Usually the first week).

So, I'm guessing you may have a combination of both things (assuming your water parameters are good).

 

[jessey]

i didn't know nitrates could cause excess algae.. and like you said, being a goldie tank, i think they are higher than ideal. i will make sure to do a good cleaning tomorrow.

that being said.. some algae is probably bound to spring up from time to time, and i don't want a common pleco... i think i'm going to try keeping an apple snail.