In need of a cichlid proof cleaning crew!!!

[sniggir]

ahhhh my juvy tang tank kills all the snails and the pleco I put in I have now gone threw like 9 large golden snails and all of my rock are covered...... in algea!!! anyone have any Idea's

Pat

[darkdep]

Regular old BN Plecos are the most African friendly algae cleaner I've used.  Malaysian Trumpet Snails do a good job of keeping the substrate stirred up and help clean it.

Is it brown or green algae?

[sniggir]

green algea

[THEKINGCOBRA]

I also am wondering about a cleaning crew for my Central/south american cichlid tank. Right now I have a 7-8 inch pleco in mine that keeps my glass, rock, and orniments clean....but he drops a ton of waste!...
He also wrecks any decor I set up. He is a frenzy feeder I guess and cand just swim slowly , he has to make mad dashes and tear up my tank.
If you come up with a good solution please let me know.

Reg

[Steve_2]

I have a good solution for your problem....Trade him in! Get a smaller kind of pleco. Like a BN pleco for exemple.

[THEKINGCOBRA]

Ok, heres a dumb question. I've seen em refered to alot in the forums....what exactly is a BN Pleco? All I ever see is signs for plecos, and they all look the same to me.

[groan]

Bushynose or Bristlenose pleco.
look in my sig for a link to what they look like.
Ottawadiscus on this forum sells then and they are excellent quality.

oops, just realized i dont have a link to them in my sig...must edit.

here's a page for some info
http://www.fishpondinfo.com/bristle.htm
or
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=49

[darkdep]

BN Plecos are ideal cleanup crew for african tanks for several reasons:

A) BN Plecos stay relatively small
B) They are well armoured and can take the occasional poke by cichlid aggressors
C) Many African tanks generate a lot of algae; so they have plenty to eat
D) They aren't aggressive themselves, so they are safe to have in a tank with African fry

[kennyman]

and don't forget E

They are so gosh darn ugly you have to love them 

[darkdep]

VERY true.  Ugliest fish I have

[sniggir]

thx guys I am going to see loyd on thurs. so maybe I will pick up a couple

[StylinT]

I use MLS  in all my tanks my 225 has to have about 1 per gallon lol hahaha