This is how efficient the various algae eaters are according to our test
The upper part of the illustration (A) shows the relative efficiency of the 5 tested species:
The Amano shrimp, Cherry shrimp, zebra snail (Neritina), Odessa barb and the Siamese algae eater. The illustration shows that the Amano shrimp is approx. twice as efficient as the zebra snail and 6 times as efficient as the cherry shrimp.
Part of the difference is however due to the fact that an Amano shrimp is much bigger than a cherry shrimp, which is why we have also illustrated how efficient they are as per gram of the animal (the lowest part of the illustration, B). And here it is really clear to see how efficient the Amano shrimp is! It is still almost twice as efficient as the cherry shrimp and more than 5 times as efficient as the Siamese algae eater.
This is how it was tested
A biofilm consisting of green algae and diatoms were initially cultivated on small ceramic tiles. A tile with algae was subsequently put into an aquarium with a certain number of Amano shrimps, which were then allowed to eat for a certain number of hours. Whatever the shrimps did not manage to eat within the measured time was subsequently measured/weighed, based on how much algae there was on the tile to begin with, and how much was left after the shrimps had been allowed to eat. We were then able to determine how much they had managed to eat.
