Help! My Fish Tank is out of control w/ green algae.

[jmowreader]

16. Two suggestions

Otocinclus and Ancistrus.

Both of these are loricariid catfish, like the "Plecostomus" they sell by the ton in local fish stores. Unlike the "Plecostomus" they don't get very big: Otocinclus top out at maybe two inches, and Ancistrus (also known as bristlenose plecos or bushynose plecos - they have these projections coming off their faces that look like little bristles) get to maybe five inches. Those fishes will clean out the algae in your tank so effectively you'll have to start feeding them after a couple weeks - Hikari algae wafers are good, also sliced zucchini. Zucchini, you will have to weight down; when I had a sailfin pleco that outgrew three aquariums, I would cut a zucchini in half lengthwise, stick it on the tines of a fork and shove the fork handle down into the substrate on the floor of the aquarium.

Also...just for reference, what's the fish load in this aquarium? If it's high, they're expelling a lot of ammonia into the water which cycles through nitrite to nitrate...which is a very fine fertilizer and perfect for growing algae.