# sucker fish or snail for my tank?



## sammys14 (Nov 25, 2013)

hello i have a one betta fish in a 10 gallon tank ...a couple months ago i bought white rocks and i clean 50% once a week and i noticed that during the week there are green building up on my substrate not a lot though just little green dots all over my substrate, so i was wondering if i could buy something like a pleco but smaller a sucker fish which can live pefectly fine with bettas and does not need a higher upgrade then 10 gallons ...cause i know plecos need 20+ gallons cause they get so big.
if there is an "pleco" like that how do i introduce it to my betta?
how do i take care of it? 
thank you


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## 2muttz (Aug 16, 2013)

If the green dots are algae you might want to consider one or two nerite snails ~ they are awesome algae consumers and come in some really interesting color/pattern varieties. Both my bettas totally ignore the ones in their tanks.

I ** think ** ottos and siamese algea eaters are both smaller than plecos, but I've never had either so can't help much there. I believe that ottos are sensitive to water parameters and need a really established tank, but someone more expert than me is sure to chime in on that... I think some algae eating fish actually tend to eat less and less algae as they grow older, but, again, not much experience there so look for a more expert opinion!!

Good luck.


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## sammys14 (Nov 25, 2013)

about the nerite snails, how do i care for them and how many in a ten gallon tank will they have enough food or do i have to give extra. i only have one betta in the tank no other fish .


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## 2muttz (Aug 16, 2013)

Hi! 

I have 2 nerites in a 5 gallon with one betta, one in a new 6 gallon with one betta,(going to add more) and two in a 10 gallon with some danios and ghost shrimp - they are all doing fine. 

If your tanks is consistantly growing some algae you should be fine with 2 or even three. They are pretty small.

I give mine a couple of bits of algae wafer once or twice a week, sometimes they eat it, sometimes they don't . After the wafer has been in the tank for a few hours to soften up a bit, I put the snails on top of it. That's just me, I've read that they will find it even if you don't. I also "grow" some algae rocks for them. I put some tank safe rocks in a little plastic tub of tank water by a window and leave them there to grow algae. Then I can rotate the rocks around so there is always something with new algae on it in the tank.You can also supplement them with real veggies, I haven't done that yet, but am looking into it....

But really, as long as your tank is producing some algae (visible or not) and getting enough artificial or real sun light to continue to do so, they should be fine. They also seem to feed a lot on the biofilm that we can't really see. 

I really think something to remember is the more surfaces ( i.e. rocks, wood, decorations, etc.) that you have in there to grow algae on, the less you will have to worry about supplementing them with other food. My nerites even feed on the fake plants. I watched one once go from leaf to leaf on a wide-leafed plastic plant ~ he spent like three days on just that one plant!

Adding some calcium is good, and necessary if you have soft water. Simple enough, just put a small bit of cuttlebone (the kind they sell for birds) in the tank, anchored under a rock or something until it is saturated.

Good luck, snails are so much fun and their needs are really simple!


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## sammys14 (Nov 25, 2013)

should i clean my tank less since they pretty much clean it? i clean my tank every week should i clean it every 2 weeks instead?


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## 2muttz (Aug 16, 2013)

No, don't change your cleaning schedule at all! Your nerites, if you get them, will not eat anything but algae, they are not scavengers and won't clean your tank. In any case, no critters, either snails or bottom feeding fish, will remove fish waste ~ it is still up to you to do that with a regular water change schedule. 

Your water will still get dirty ( if anything the bioload will be a little bit higher with the added snails) and will still need to be changed with gravel cleaning just as often as without the snails. 

You will probably find that you don't need to scrub algae off your decor as much, if at all, ~ the snails will take care of most of it. But that is the only difference.

Of course, there are other ways to deal with algae if you don't want snails! You can turn the lights on less often, add some live plants ( even moss balls help)...etc. I just happen to like snails !


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