'Echinoderms: Part 7 - Sea Urchins (Echinoidea)'. ^ 'Saltwater Aquarium Fish|Live Corals|Marine Invertebrates'.^ 'Saltwater Fish That Eat Algae | Tropical Fish Hobbyist Magazine'.Jordanella floridae The American-Flag Fish.

^ 'Best Algae Eaters For The Freshwater Aquarium'.

Orange Spot Butterscotch Nassarius Snail.

Snails are known for eating hair algae, cyanobacteria, diatoms, green film algae, brown film algae, and detritus. Some sea urchins, such as the variegated sea urchin or the red sea urchin, have become popular as pets for home aquariums because of their ability to proficiently eat algae. Sea urchins act as scavengers and will also eat dead algae that they find. In cooler waters, sea urchins have even been known to eat enough to control the size and compositions of kelp forests. They eat all sizes of algae, from something as small as macroalgae to something as large as kelp, and have been known to eat Coralline algae. Some of the known species are:Īll species of sea urchin eat algae. Crabs eat green algae, film algae, red slime algae, diatoms, cyanobacteria, and microalgae. Hermit crabs and other species of crabs eat algae.

Yellow Tang Halloween Hermit Crab Arrow Crab.

Some of the known species are as follows: These fish eat red slime algae, green film algae, and hair algae. Two of the major algae eaters are blennies and tangs. There are several saltwater fish species that eat algae. These species are known to eat red slime algae, green film algae, hair algae, diatoms, cyanobacteria, brown film algae, detritus, and microalgae. Some of the known types of fish to eat algae are blennies and tangs, but along with fish there are snails, crabs, and sea urchins who also eat algae. Most species of freshwater snails, discounting most adult specimens of species belonging to the family Ampullariidae, which primarily subsist on aquatic plants as adults.

Some of them belong to the genus Palaemonetes (grass shrimp).

Neocaridina: Neocaridina davidi (cherry shrimp), Neocaridina palmata, etc.

One shrimp well known for its ability to clean an aquarium is the Amano Shrimp.

Caridina: red rhinoceros shrimp, bee shrimp, etc.

Almost all of them belong to the family Atyidae (the only family in the superfamily Atyoidea) including many genera.

Some freshwater shrimp are also excellent algae eaters:

ayu sweetfish ( Plecoglossus altivelis).

Bighead carp ( Hypophthalmichthys nobilis).

Silver carp ( Hypophthalmichthys molitrix).

Japanese white crucian carp ( Carassius cuvieri).

Chinese algae eater ( Gyrinocheilus aymonieri).

Siamese algae eater ( Crossocheilus oblongus).

Otocinclus, most often the common otocinclus.

However, like all pupfish, they can be nippy to fish smaller or slower than them. They are one of the only fish to graze on black brush algae, as with the siamese algae eater, and will also indiscriminately graze on other algae such as diatoms and hair algae.

American-flag fish, Jordanella floridae, are also dependable algae-eating fish.

Small specimens make good community fish but may become territorial when older. There are three species in this genus with the Chinese algae eater, Gyrinocheilus aymonieri, the most common.

Fishes of the genus Gyrinocheilus, family Gyrinocheilidae.

It is one of the only fish that will graze on ' black brush algae' (freshwater Rhodophyta, or red algae), but even so will eat anything else in preference.

The Siamese algae eater ( Crossocheilus oblongus) is a more gregarious and tolerant cyprinid that ranges up to 15 cm (5.9 in).

Many loricariid catfish of South America, such as genera Otocinclus, Ancistrus, and Plecostomus, constantly graze algae and biofilm, although many species of 'plecos', which attain an adult length of over 10 inches, eat much less frequently as they near adulthood.

Some of the common and most popular freshwater aquarium algae eaters include:

They are also important primary consumers that relay the biomass and energy from photosynthetic autotrophes up into the food web, as well as protecting the aquatic ecosystem against algae blooms.įreshwater A Plecostomus uses its mouth, shaped like a suction-cup, to attach itself to surfaces and scrape off algae. Algae eaters are important for the fishkeeping hobby and many are commonly kept by aquarium hobbyists to improve water quality. JSTOR ( March 2015) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)Īlgae eater or algivore is a common name for any bottom-dwelling or filter-feeding aquatic animal species that specialize in feeding on algae and phytoplanktons.Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. This article needs additional citations for verification.

Bottom feeder fish name