Have some algae in your tank? It might be unsightly but it has utility for your fish among other benefits. Besides the fact that some cichlid species graze on it, it can serve other uses for your fry and juveniles.
In my 75g Tanganyikan community tank, I have some brush algae growing on my travertine tiles that serve as cover for my Julidochromis regani breeders. The algae also does a great job of trapping little food bits. This is especially true for tanks with moderate water flow that would otherwise sweep food past the fry. Baby fish aren’t powerful swimmers, so anything that can trap food particles benefits them by making it easier to grab a morsel.
In the photo above, you can see the algae and how the clumped filaments can trap smaller particles. Some of what you see in the algae in the photo is sand. I added some sand to the tank during maintenance today and some of it got onto the tiles. Nonetheless, you can see where small fry could easily get lost in the algae and how those fine filaments can trap very small particles of food.
So next time you have some algae growing and you have some fry, you might consider keeping the algae and utilizing it for feeding and cover purposes.