What would be the Idea algae eater for tiger barbs

[JoLy]

Hey,

I've got some tiger barbs and rosy barbs and I was wondering what kind of algae eater would be best. Would several snails do the trick?

[pcole6765]

I think the fact that your tank is only a 10 gal (if I remember correctly from another post) then you are limited to what you can put in. You could always google algae eaters and find something that stays really small.
The Otocinclus stay pretty small and would probably be ok.

[Fishnut]

I wouldn't recommend otocinclus with Barbs.  They're not the fastest swimmers and barbs can get quite aggressive.  They won't have many palces to hide in a 10 gallon AND if they hide, they're not eating algae .  If you absolutely need something to eat algae I would go with some snails.  Everything else gets too big for such a small tank with Barbs.  The shops sell algae eaters as babies, so don't be decieved by the small sizes you see in the stores. 

In a tank as small as a 10 gallon, you would honestly be better off giving the walls and ornaments of your tank a quick wipe with a non-soapy scrub sponge during your weekly water changes.

If there is a lot of algae within a week, well, that's another problem all together.  Ideally you should only have a small film of algae on the walls and ornaments of the tank if they are wiped down weekly.

[pcole6765]

I love this site. There's so much to learn and some many willing to help.

[dan2x38]

What types and how algae are you talking? Nerite snails eat algae very well. If have a big algae problem you need to fix the cause. Tiger bars are very active and not the best for such a small tank they also do better in large groups.

[washefuzzy]

I wouldn't put snails in with Tiger Barbs. The tiger barbs would harass the snails to the point the snails will be hiding also.

[dan2x38]

I have Nerite snails and a singapore shrimp in a tiger tank with a rainbow shark as well they are all fine together.

[washefuzzy]

I wouldn't trust them. Those antennas are just to tempting for fish but if you have a well planted tank like you do Dan I guess the snails are okay.

[dan2x38]

The shrimps been there for over 2 years in the open always he is filter shrimp. The snails are on the glass on the wood right in front of the tigers... that tank is not heavily planted... they prefer to chase things snails move to slow... no fun in that chase... LOL