Otocinclus
Peaceful · Bottom · moderate care
- 2 in adult
- 20+ gal
- 72–79 °F
- pH 6 to 7.5
- groups of 6+
Algae eaters
Grazers that keep algae down on glass, plants and decor. None of them replaces fixing the cause (too much light or nutrients), and most need food beyond the algae in the tank.
Bristlenose pleco
Peaceful · Bottom · easy care
- 6 in adult
- 29+ gal
- 73–81 °F
- pH 6.5 to 7.5
- alone or pair
American flagfish
Semi-aggressive · Middle · easy care
- 2.5 in adult
- 20+ gal
- 65–79 °F
- pH 6.5 to 8.5
- alone or pair
Butterfly goodeid
Semi-aggressive · Middle · easy care
- 4 in adult
- 30+ gal
- 70–75 °F
- pH 7 to 8
- groups of 6+
Butterfly pleco
Peaceful · Bottom · moderate care
- 5.1 in adult
- 30+ gal
- 77–84 °F
- pH 6 to 7.5
- alone or pair
Candy-striped pleco
Peaceful · Bottom · moderate care
- 5.9 in adult
- 30+ gal
- 72–79 °F
- pH 6 to 7
- alone or pair
Chinese algae eater
Semi-aggressive · Bottom · easy care
- 11 in adult
- 75+ gal
- 72–82 °F
- pH 6 to 8
- alone or pair
Clown pleco
Peaceful · Bottom · easy care
- 3.5 in adult
- 20+ gal
- 73–82 °F
- pH 6.5 to 7.5
- alone or pair
Common pleco
Peaceful · Bottom · moderate care
- 18 in adult
- 125+ gal
- 72–82 °F
- pH 6.5 to 7.8
- alone or pair
Flying fox
Semi-aggressive · Bottom · easy care
- 6 in adult
- 40+ gal
- 72–79 °F
- pH 6 to 7.5
- one per tank
Gold nugget pleco
Peaceful · Bottom · moderate care
- 8.8 in adult
- 75+ gal
- 77–86 °F
- pH 6.5 to 7.5
- alone or pair
Green phantom pleco
Peaceful · Bottom · moderate care
- 5.9 in adult
- 40+ gal
- 77–84 °F
- pH 6 to 7.5
- alone or pair
Pitbull pleco
Peaceful · Bottom · moderate care
- 1.6 in adult
- 20+ gal
- 72–79 °F
- pH 6 to 7.5
- groups of 3+
Reticulated hillstream loach
Peaceful · Bottom · moderate care
- 3 in adult
- 20+ gal
- 68–75 °F
- pH 6.5 to 7.5
- groups of 3+
Rubbernose pleco
Peaceful · Bottom · moderate care
- 5.7 in adult
- 30+ gal
- 68–77 °F
- pH 6.5 to 7.5
- alone or pair
Sailfin pleco
Peaceful · Bottom · easy care
- 20 in adult
- 150+ gal
- 72–82 °F
- pH 6.5 to 7.8
- alone or pair
Siamese algae eater
Peaceful · Bottom · easy care
- 6 in adult
- 29+ gal
- 72–80 °F
- pH 6.5 to 7.5
- alone or pair
Twig catfish
Peaceful · Bottom · demanding care
- 8.9 in adult
- 30+ gal
- 72–79 °F
- pH 6 to 7.5
- alone or pair
Cherry shrimp
Peaceful · Bottom · easy care
- 1.6 in adult
- 5+ gal
- 65–82 °F
- pH 6.5 to 8
- groups of 10+
Amano shrimp
Peaceful · Bottom · easy care
- 2 in adult
- 10+ gal
- 68–80 °F
- pH 6.5 to 7.5
- groups of 3+
Zebra nerite snail
Peaceful · Bottom · easy care
- 1 in adult
- 5+ gal
- 70–80 °F
- pH 7 to 8.5
- alone or pair
Mystery snail
Peaceful · Bottom · easy care
- 2 in adult
- 10+ gal
- 68–82 °F
- pH 7 to 8
- alone or pair
Bladder snail
Peaceful · Bottom · easy care
- 0.6 in adult
- 5+ gal
- 64–82 °F
- pH 7 to 8.5
- alone or pair
Crystal red shrimp
Peaceful · Bottom · demanding care
- 1.2 in adult
- 10+ gal
- 62–76 °F
- pH 5.8 to 7.4
- groups of 10+
Horned nerite snail
Peaceful · Bottom · easy care
- 0.5 in adult
- 5+ gal
- 72–80 °F
- pH 7 to 8.5
- alone or pair
Japanese trapdoor snail
Peaceful · Bottom · easy care
- 2 in adult
- 10+ gal
- 60–80 °F
- pH 7 to 8
- alone or pair
Rabbit snail
Peaceful · Bottom · moderate care
- 3 in adult
- 20+ gal
- 76–84 °F
- pH 7.3 to 8.5
- alone or pair
Ramshorn snail
Peaceful · Bottom · easy care
- 1 in adult
- 5+ gal
- 64–82 °F
- pH 7 to 8
- alone or pair
No species on this list match those filters. Try a larger tank or clear a filter.
More fish lists
Fish for a 5 gallon tankFish for a 10 gallon tankFish for a 15 gallon tankFish for a 20 gallon tankFish for a 29 gallon tankFish for a 30 gallon tankFish for a 40 gallon tankFish for a 50 gallon tankFish for a 55 gallon tankFish for a 75 gallon tankFish for a 100 gallon tankFish for a 125 gallon tankBest fish for beginnersBetta tank matesGoldfish tank matesAngelfish tank matesShrimp-safe fishCold-water fishSchooling fishBottom-dwelling fishTop-dwelling fishNano fishCenterpiece fishFish for hard waterFish for soft waterDither fishColorful freshwater fishAll fish
Names, and adult sizes where the article gives one, are checked against Wikipedia; care ranges are common hobby guidance, and each species page says which is which. 18 of these 28 are fish. Photos are real photographs from Wikimedia Commons, credited below; the lineup is our own drawing at one scale.
Photo credits
Real photographs from Wikimedia Commons, resized and cropped to fit; each is used under the license named.
- Otocinclus CHUCAO, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Bristlenose pleco André Karwath aka Aka, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
- American flagfish nat_t (iNaturalist), CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Butterfly goodeid Przemysław Malkowski, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Butterfly pleco Alberto Alcalá (iNaturalist), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Candy-striped pleco Gabriel Lelis Togni, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Chinese algae eater Pseudogastromyzon, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Common pleco Richwales, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Flying fox Mirko Hartig, CC BY-SA 2.0 de, via Wikimedia Commons
- Gold nugget pleco Anne Blindheim, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Green phantom pleco 5snake5, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Pitbull pleco Haplochromis, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Reticulated hillstream loach Spiketooth, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Rubbernose pleco Frank Alvarez, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Sailfin pleco AnatolyPm, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Siamese algae eater aleander2137, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Twig catfish Francesco Loda (CONTERALLY), CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Cherry shrimp TheJammingYam, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Amano shrimp Stefanie Leuker, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Zebra nerite snail TheJammingYam, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Mystery snail Gabriel Resende Veiga, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Bladder snail Dat doris, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Crystal red shrimp DirkBlankenhaus, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Horned nerite snail Obsidian Soul, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Japanese trapdoor snail Judy Gallagher, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Ramshorn snail Dat doris, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
.JPG){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpeg){kind=link}
