Should I get some shrimp?

[Whitney]

Hi all,

I'm looking to get some cleaners for my tank.....I'm beginning to get some brown algae here and there and I had been thinking about a pleco....but I've been reading that shrimp are great algae eaters. My LFS carries both red cherry and ghost shrimp. I currently have 3 diamond tetras, 6 harlequin rasboras, and one German Blue Ram in my 30 gallon tank.....do you think that the shrimp will be better for cleaning up my algae than plecos? Will they get eaten? Finally...how likely is it that they will crawl out of the tank?

My LFS also carries wood shrimp....they look very cool....do they do much to filter out floating food particles and help keep the tank clean?

[turbomkt]

With the ram I wouldn't get shrimp. Try otocinclus instead. They seem to have a good reputation with diatom algae.

[jeffs99dime]

also, a pleco is going to get way too big for a 30 gal.

[kimmers318]

Otos can be very sensitive and people usually don't have much luck unless it is a well established tank, so research them before you make a decision on that.
There are several pleco species that stay small enough to be happy in a 30 gal, bristlenose, clown, imperial/zebra, pitbull to name a few. I don't know how they do on brown algae, so, again, research is your best tool. I know my bristlenoses are great for the green that gets on the tank sides and decor. Alot of plecos also need wood for rasping and love fresh veggies regularly which is a consideration.
Don't have any experience with shrimp other than ghost, which did fine with my previous ram, but they are not known for algae control. I believe there is a sight called petshrimp that has loads of info on different shrimps.
If this is a fairly new tank, your algae may right itself over time with diligent cleaning as the tank settles. Every one of my tanks experienced algae blooms that are much better now. I find myself leaving my tank lights on longer than usual to encourage algae growth for the algae eaters I do have, along with supplementing their diets with wafers and veggies.

[turbomkt]

A couple of shrimp sites:
www.petshrimp.com
www.shrimpnow.com
www.freshwaterinverst.com

[Whitney]

Thanks everyone...

since first posting I got an albino bristlenose pleco...who will not outgrow my tank....a while later I got a bunch of cherry shrimp (I knew there was a chance they'd get eaten, but it was an experiment.) It's been several weeks and everyone is doing splendidly and the tank looks much much better. I also got a bamboo shrimp who is very cute as well.

[kimmers318]

Great...I think you will love your bristlenose. I use mine in my 30 gal as a dishwasher of sorts....an ornament in another tank gets dirty...I plop it in there for a few hours and Fugly takes care of it for me! We are terrible about leaving our tank lights on too long around here...can't keep our eyes off of our fish :)