Killer Vics

[Matt V]

I'm not looking for a reply, more to vent...

My chromogynos/limax Victorian tank just made algae eater #3 disappear yesterday. It was there on Friday, I saw it. Monday morning, it's gone. Not a freaking trace. No bones, no carcass, no nothing. This is the third time they've made an algae eater/plec just disappear. The first time, I found what i think were bones when I popped open the canister, but since then, they've gotten much better at hiding the evidence of their crimes. I'm wondering if my LFS is going to wonder on Saturday when I go to buy my 4th pleco in 6 months... :rolleyes:

[SGypsyMermaid]

are they bristlenose plecos--i've never kept them, but i understand they stand up to cichlids pretty well.

[tarralb]

Oh no that sucks! Those darn fish! I have a Syno. Eupterus catfish and my cichlids never bother him. It's like they don't even notice him. He isn't an algae eater though...but he eats all the food that falls to the bottom. He looks like a little vacuum cleaner. Have you ever tried getting one of those?

[Matt V]

Synos are a bit expensive... i would really hate to spend that $ to have the vics munch him.

i did try a bristlenose (#2). vaporized.

[SGypsyMermaid]

Originally posted by Matt V
Synos are a bit expensive... i would really hate to spend that $ to have the vics munch him.

i did try a bristlenose (#2). vaporized.

are you kidding? synos take absolutely no crap from cichlids...they won't do much for your algae, but you don't have to worry about them(though the syno decorus didn't work out for me--but works for seedy and aharris). get a school of multipunctatus, matt!

[tarralb]

The type of syno I bought was like $15, no more than a cichlid. The spotted ones, I think syno. multipunctatus are the ones that are real expensive.

[Matt V]

Originally posted by SGypsyMermaid
they won't do much for your algae, but you don't have to worry about them

real goal is algae control. in my place, there's direct sunlight pretty much everywhere. I've painted tanks to reduce the light coming in, but it still floods in. in my one tank, my algae control is just going to be a group of mbuna, but in the other one, there's just no more room for a school of anything.

[SGypsyMermaid]

i think algae-covered rocks are great--just clean the fron glass.

[Matt V]

<whine>but i don't wanna clean the front glass... :bawl: </whine>

:wink:

[SGypsyMermaid]

yer jus' sperlt!

[RustyNut]

Matt, if algae control is your main concern, and plecos/ancistrus don't hold up, then why not get a UV Sterilizer? It won't eliminate the algae but it does reduce the amount.