Algae eating fish for a 55g planted aquarium?

[Syll]

Hi everyone!

I'm looking to add some algae eating fish to my 55g to help control the algae. It's a well established, heavily planted aquarium with medium-soft, slightly acidic water. I already have a school of ottos in there, but they don't really eat any of the hair algae. I know mollies would love it in there, but I'm afraid the water conditions will cause them problems over time. I know about the siamese algae eater, however, I can not find that fish in my area. I don't really want any sucker fish, so pleco is out, and I know they eventually stop eating algae as they get bigger anyway.

I'm open to ideas on what fish I can *safely* add. Safety first! I do not want to jeopardize the health of any fish in my aquarium, and I will not add any that won't do well under the current conditions. RIght now, the tank contains mainly small tetras. Neons, Silvertips, Bloodfins, Black Neons, and Glowlights.

Water conditions are as follows:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
pH: 6.6
GH: 6 dH
KH: 5 dH
CO2: 30 ppm (less when the light is out)

The aquarium has been running for over a year. Plants were added about 6 months ago. The aquarium is not salted. I do NOT want to use chemicals to kill the algae.

Thanks in advance!
I already have some Ottos in there. They do alright with the glass and plant leaves. Going to add a few more to help out in that area.

What I'm looking for is a fish that eats hair algae. The flowing green strands that pop up all over my tank. It's very soft to the touch.

And yes, 0 Nitrates. It's been like that since I added the plants and upgraded the lighting. I worry about limiting the light because I don't want to kill my beautiful plants! I did do a 5 day blackout on the tank thinking it would help, but no dice.

 

[sharklover8]

It depends on what you want the algae eater for. If you want ones to clean the sides of your tank and the ornaments then go with a pleco. They are however very, very slow fish but they eventually get the work done and it is done fantastically, although they can be known to get aggressive but you shouldn't have a problem with the fish you already have! A cory would be more suited for the bottom of your tank, they are also more active so they will feed up the top with the rest of the fish. They are fast workers and very efficient. another unknown one is the flying fox. They aren't traditionally a algae eater but they do eat your algae very fast! Another is the rainbow shark, they are bottom feeders so they will eat just about anything on the bottom of your tank.
If you want less algae growth then try turning off your lights earlier on in the evening, and if the tank is near a window, close the curtains or put a blanket over the tank to stop the light from shinning in.
You've also mentioned that your nitrate is 0! Wow. That is pretty much unachievable, all tanks have some sort of trace of nitrate in the water. It's not that bad for the fish, only in large amounts. Maybe you've read the reading wrong as it's impossible to get a reading of 0?