Algae eater
Encyclopedia
Algae eater is a common name for many bottom-dwelling fish that feed on algae
. Algae eaters are important for the fishkeeping
hobby and many are commonly kept by hobbyists.
Some of the common and most popular freshwater algae eaters include:
Some of the common and most popular saltwater algae eaters include:
Algae
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
. Algae eaters are important for the fishkeeping
Fishkeeping
Fishkeeping is a popular hobby concerned with keeping fish in a home aquarium or garden pond. There is also a fishkeeping industry, as a branch of agriculture.-Types of fishkeeping systems:...
hobby and many are commonly kept by hobbyists.
Some of the common and most popular freshwater algae eaters include:
- Fishes of the genus GyrinocheilusGyrinocheilusGyrinocheilus, also Chinese algae eater or sucking loach, is the single genus in the family Gyrinocheilidae, a family of small Southeast Asian cypriniform fishes that live in fast-flowing freshwater mountain streams...
, family Gyrinocheilidae. There are three species in this genus with the Chinese algae eater, Gyrinocheilus aymonieriGyrinocheilus aymonieriGyrinocheilus aymonieri is a freshwater fish that is native to large parts of southeast Asia. It is of interest as a local food source and for the aquarium trade, being first imported into Germany in 1956.G...
, the most common. Small specimens make good community fish but may become territorial when older.
- The Siamese algae eater, Crossocheilus siamensis, is a more gregarious and tolerant cyprinidCyprinidThe family Cyprinidae, from the Ancient Greek kyprînos , consists of the carps, the true minnows, and their relatives . Commonly called the carp family or the minnow family, its members are also known as cyprinids...
that ranges up to 15 cm. It is the only fish that will graze on "black brush algaeAudouinellaAudouinella is a widespread genus of red algae, found in marine and freshwater. Grows as small tufts of red, brown, or black hairlike filaments on any solid surface - most dramatically on the edges of slow-growing leaves. Often tolerant of high levels of pollution, acidity, and thrives on dissolved...
" (freshwater Rhodophyta, or red algae), but even so will eat anything else in preference.
- American-flag fish, Jordanella floridae, are also dependable algae eating fish.
- Many loricariidLoricariidaeLoricariidae is the largest family of catfish , with almost 700 species and new species being described each year. Loricariids originate from fresh water habitats of Costa Rica, Panama, and tropical and subtropical South America. These fish are noted for the bony plates covering their bodies and...
catfish of South America, such as genera OtocinclusOtocinclusOtocinclus is a genus of catfish of the family Loricariidae commonly called "dwarf suckers" or "otos". Otocinclus originate from tropical, freshwater rivers in South America.-Taxonomy:...
, AncistrusAncistrusAncistrus is a genus of freshwater fish in the family Loricariidae of order Siluriformes. Fish of this genus are commonly known as the bushynose or bristlenose plecos.-Taxonomy:The type species is Ancistrus cirrhosus...
, and PlecostomusPlecostomusHypostomus plecostomus is the scientific name for a type of freshwater tropical Central and South American fish belonging to the family Loricariidae. They are large algae eaters, and to differentiate them from small algae eaters, they are often referred to as plecostomus, often abbreviated as...
, constantly graze algae and biofilmBiofilmA biofilm is an aggregate of microorganisms in which cells adhere to each other on a surface. These adherent cells are frequently embedded within a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substance...
, although many species of "plecos", which attain an adult length of over 10 inches, eat much less frequently as they near adulthood.
- Some freshwater shrimpShrimpShrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...
are also excellent algae eaters. One shrimp well known for its ability to clean an aquarium is the Amano ShrimpCaridina japonicaCaridina multidentata is a species of shrimp found in Japan and parts of Korea and Taiwan. It has a translucent body covered with reddish brown points of ± 0.3 mm on their sides which may look like a broken line of reddish colour. The dorsal surface has a white stripe that runs from the head...
.
- Most species of freshwater snailSnailSnail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
s, discounting most adult specimens of species belonging to the family AmpullariidaeAmpullariidaeAmpullariidae, common name the apple snails, is a family of large freshwater snails, aquatic gastropod mollusks with a gill and an operculum...
, which primarily subsist on aquatic plants as adults.
Some of the common and most popular saltwater algae eaters include:
- RabbitfishRabbitfishRabbitfishes or spinefoots are perciform fishes in the family Siganidae. The 28 species are in a single genus, Siganus. In some now obsolete classifications, the species having prominent face stripes—colloquially called foxfaces–are in the genus Lo. Other species like the Masked...
which eat most algae, including cyanobacteria, diatoms, and hair algae.
- Sea urchinSea urchinSea urchins or urchins are small, spiny, globular animals which, with their close kin, such as sand dollars, constitute the class Echinoidea of the echinoderm phylum. They inhabit all oceans. Their shell, or "test", is round and spiny, typically from across. Common colors include black and dull...
s.
- Some snail species such as the Turbo, Astraea, Turban and Nerite snails.
- Surgeon fish or tangs are also known for their appetite for algae.