Which fish species are often referred to as window cleaners.
Some species of fish, especially catfish, like to eat algae from the glass of the aquarium. However, fish species that are tended should not be chosen for their usefulness. Otherwise there is a great danger that the joy in the animals will quickly fade and not enough attention will be paid to them. But if you are interested in such animals and take their usefulness with you, these fish species help to keep the algae in check if there is a slight algae infestation. It should not be expected that heavy algae infestation will be noticeably reduced by these fish.
Both species grow up to 6 cm long and tirelessly graze the algae on side windows, on plants and decorative objects.
Peckoltia vittata grow to about 10 cm. There is a risk with these catfish that they also eat plant leaves, e.g. B. from Amazon sword plants. They need caves as a retreat. Depending on the growth of algae, food tablets are given as additional food. If there is a lot of algae, give one tablet per catfish every 3 – 4 days. If they also eat plant leaves, you can try to dissuade them by feeding them additional vegetables.
Red witch catfish like to eat algae. Plant leaves are eaten cleanly without destroying them.
Catfish, especially the so-called blue catfish, are among the most well-known algae eaters. They grow to be 12 to 15 cm. With increasing age, however, the catfish prefer to eat fish food than algae. The leaves of Amazon sword plants are also often grated. Rodent catfish absolutely need a root in the aquarium because they need wood as a nutritional supplement.