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suckers eating algae?

Started by Guest_Leo1234_* , Apr 07 2014 02:21 PM

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16 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_Leo1234_*

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Posted 07 April 2014 - 02:21 PM

I've read that suckers like golden redhorse, white suckers, lake chubsuckers, and others eat algae. Is this true? If so, what type of algae? would they work well for cleaning an aquarium with some algae?

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#2 Guest_Gavinswildlife_*

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Posted 07 April 2014 - 03:23 PM

http://forum.nanfa.o...k-cleaner-fish/
Theres an old thread on this.

Edited by Gavinswildlife, 07 April 2014 - 03:25 PM.

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#3 Guest_Subrosa_*

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Posted 07 April 2014 - 04:19 PM

I have a very simple philosophy concerning algae. It's rarely a problem. If it's on a piece of glass I like to look through it's my job to clean it. If it's on glass I don't look through, whoever wants to look through can clean it. If it grows anywhere else except on living plants, it's somebody else's problem as well. If it's growing on other plants I take action.

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#4 Guest_Leo1234_*

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Posted 08 April 2014 - 02:50 PM

why do I keep reading that they eat algae? If they do, Is it hair algae. Or do they eat other, substrate-growing algae? I'm not concerned about the aquarium algae, I'm just wondering why they eat algae in the wild and not captivity. Also, where are their teeth (If any).

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#5 Guest_Gavinswildlife_*

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Posted 08 April 2014 - 03:00 PM

For the unenlightened tropical aquarist, sucker = Plecostumus. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression suckers ate insects and inverts.

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#6 Guest_Leo1234_*

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Posted 08 April 2014 - 03:07 PM

I know suckers do not eat algae off the glass. I know suckers are not plecos and I have a lake chubsucker, so I know they are very different. I keep reading this on websites for native fish. ex: http://web1.cnre.vt..../goldenred.html

Edited by Leo1234, 08 April 2014 - 03:13 PM.

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#7 Guest_Gavinswildlife_*

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Posted 08 April 2014 - 03:24 PM

Well, there is your answer. If a good source says it true, then take their word for it.

Edited by Gavinswildlife, 08 April 2014 - 03:29 PM.

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#8 Guest_Leo1234_*

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Posted 08 April 2014 - 03:28 PM

sorry if I was rude in some way or confusing, but I was trying to ask what type of algae they eat. All it says is algae. I know most algae eaters use teeth to scrape algae off rocks, but suckers do not have these from what I know. The reasons I'm asking is I know this website has prople who are better at saying information that is easy to understand (most of the time). I'm no expert, so that is why I have so many questions.

Edited by Leo1234, 08 April 2014 - 03:34 PM.

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#9 Guest_Skipjack_*

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Posted 08 April 2014 - 05:38 PM

I reckon that the best native algae eater is Campostoma.

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#10 Guest_Gavinswildlife_*

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Posted 08 April 2014 - 06:06 PM

http://lmgtfy.com/?q...ating Algae&l=1 The first result is pretty good.

"Suckers do not have teeth in the mouth. They have a single row of more than 16 pharyngeal teeth, which are toothlike structures located in the throat that aide in digestion. The fleshy-lipped mouth is small, low and directed downward, which suits the way suckers feed. Most obtain food by “vacuuming” or “sucking” it into the mouth." "Young suckers eat zooplankton and algae." "The adults eat aquatic invertebrates, insects and mollusks. They also consume some aquatic plant material." Hope that all helped.

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#11 Michael Wolfe

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North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 08 April 2014 - 06:09 PM

So Matt mentioned Campostoma (Stonerollers), and while these fish dont really have teeth as such they do have a raspy surface on their top lip that they scrape the algae off of large rocks. If you snorkel with these guys you will see this behaviour and you can see the marks on the rocks where they have grazed.

I have kept jumprocks in a tank with a mostly sand substrate... and I had bottle brush looking algae growing in the sand... after having the jumprocks in there, they sifted the sand so much and so often that no algae could take hold... and I assume that they ate some of the algae... I am not sure they really meant to. I know that some fish are occasionally found to have algae in their gut and this gets reported in papers... but I am not sure that all of these fish necessarily are trying to eat the algae, they are just getting some without trying while they sift the substrate.

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

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#12 Guest_Leo1234_*

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Posted 08 April 2014 - 06:11 PM

Thanks for the help.

Edited by Leo1234, 08 April 2014 - 06:12 PM.

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#13 Guest_gerald_*

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Posted 09 April 2014 - 10:47 PM

I have watched torrent suckers in VA scraping benthic algae (and the bugs in it no doubt) and leaving tracks much like stonerollers do. The Thorburnia suckers (torrent and rustyside) are probably better adapted for periphyton scraping than most other suckers.

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#14 Guest_Kanus_*

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Posted 10 April 2014 - 01:43 PM

I will vouch for the abilities of Campostoma to eat some algae. If you want a "clean" tank you still need some pleco or siamese algae eater action, but I recently stuck a stoneroller in one of my tanks that had been winterized (therefore no tropical algae eaters) and two days later the stoneroller had mowed down most all the hair algae on the rocks and had done significant scraping on the back glass. They aren't pretty but I try to keep one in each of my tanks.

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#15 Guest_gzeiger_*

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Posted 10 April 2014 - 02:16 PM

Kanus, are those plant-safe?

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#16 Guest_Kanus_*

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Posted 11 April 2014 - 03:18 PM

I've never seen any of my stonerollers show any interest in plants. I do occasionally have areas where my plants looks a bit beaten down, but I'm pretty certain that is due to the action of Flagfish rather than anyone else.