Introduction

If you have a home freshwater aquarium then you will need to be concerned about algae. All aquariums will have algae to some extent, so it is to your aquariums good health that you remove it. What better way to remove it is through fish.

I have been raising fish for a number of years now and find these to be the best ones you will want in your aquarium to remove the algae in your tank.

African Featherfin Squeaker (Catfish)

These are beautiful fish, but they are a little pricy, all most ten times as much as my other fish. My three African Featherfin Squeakers range in color from brown to black.

These fish are shy and tend to hide from everything including other fish like them. But they do come out at feeding time that is an hour before lights out.

These eat algae that are on the substrate or the decorations in your tank. I also feed them algae wafers twice a day to ensure they are maintaining a good health.

These are semi-aggressive fish so they should be kept in a tank that has other semi-aggressive fish.

Plecs (Plecostomus)

These too are catfish that eat algae out of your aquarium. Unlike the African Featherfin Squeaker, the Plec will not only eat the algae off the substrate but will eat it off the side of your aquarium or the glass.

Plecs are rather ugly fish but are quite interesting, they are not as shy as the African Featherfin Squeaker, but do have a tendency to hide. The only drawback with these is that you need a large tank to handle them since they can grow to 12 inches. But I think the size of your tank will limit their growth.

Gourami

These are omnivores fish, which means they eat both plant and animal protein. I have three Blue Three Spotted Gourami and three Kissing Gourami and feed them fish flakes twice a day.

In between feedings I can see them feeding off the substrate eating the extra fish flakes and the algae.

These fish are a must for any tank; besides eating algae they are also very beautiful. These too are semi-aggressive and require a semi-aggressive tank.

Tiger Barbs

Tiger Barbs are also omnivores, but I would not rely on them to keep your tank clean of algae. They swim very fast and I seldom see them eating the algae wafers I provide nor do they graze on the substrate like the gourami.

These too are semi-aggressive and will nip the fins of other fish unless they are kept in groups of seven or more.