Algae Eaters eat Algae?
 

I have often thought about buying an algae eater to help keep my tank in check. I feed lightly (once a day) and run the lights 10hrs a day on average. my question is, I always have green algae on my centerpiece (I think it's a ceramic version of driftwood) which I actually like, but then I get brown algae growing on the bottom sides of the glass that keeps returning about every 2-3weeks after wiping it down. Ok...now here's the question (I promise this time), will an algae eater eat this stuff and if not, what are my options. Sry for any spelling error that may be present....on mobile device .

Metal

Most algae eaters will deal with the diatoms (brown algae), you will be hard pressed to fine one that deals with the hard green algae. Diatoms though are usually signs of a new or establishing tank, they shouldn't be present in a mature setup even without an algae eater.

Snails work well. They clean the green algae off my tank walls brilliantly. Mystery snails or nirite snails are both good choices, they're big enough that you can just get 1 to do the job and you won't have the massive reproduction problems that you get with the tiny snails.

I really like my mystery snail. Had him for a month and he's very active... he covers the entire 10 gallon he's in pretty much every day. :)

So for a 27gal cube, 1 mystery snail will be enough? I never got one in fear of them multiplying ( Ive heard horror stories)

Metal
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I have two mystery snails in my 30 gal, but I've never had algae problems so I have to feed mine. I'd start out with just one (unless you want two; they're $2-3 a piece) and see how he does. Mystery snails are heterosexual, so you have to have both a female and a male snail to reproduce. When buying one or two snails , it's a bit hard to sex them since the male reproductive gland is not exactly visible, so don't worry about what you have. They don't hatch overnight. If they spawn, one will lay red eggs around the water line; it'll look like you have a raspberry in your tank. Just scrape them out, dry them out/alcohol, and voila! no snail problems.

I love my two snails; they're darling, active, and generally more entertaining than my fish.

Cool,I'll have to check them out. Will they climb up my artificial rock work and clean it? Also I have artificial plants, is that a problem? Do the play nice with cories? Sorry for all the questions :)

MetalArm3
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Since you have algae, they should clean it up. If you run out of algae, though, you will have to feed them some wafers. It's not a big deal. They'll crawl over everything. I've read that some people's stick to walls and smooth surfaces only, but mind don't. They have covered every surface right down to my plants (and we have the same plants in our aquariums). I remember watching my gold one balance on some "prickly" plant (the short blue one in yours) and thinking that must not be comfortable.

But yes, they clean your tank, crawl on everything, and provide superb entertainment.

Awesome, i think I will pick one up. Feeding them isn't a problem because I feed my cories algae wafers every other day as well.

Thanks for all the input,
MetalArm3
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Oh, one last question :)

I have a 4" gap between my canopy and the back of the tank, will a mystery snail climb out from this opening?
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