Are you thinking about Ghost Shrimps? Those clear little guys that run along the bottom of the tank. They eat debris but not the algea (from what I was told).
Also, they aren't good with goldfish as goldies tend to pick at everything, and will most likely go after the shrimps. Also what makes them vulnerable is every 6 weeks or so a ghost shrimp sheds it's exoskeleton. While it's waiting for it's new skeleton to grow back, the shrimp is like a little jello shrimp and It's during this time that they are usually eaten buy bigger fish or injured.
If you are looking for something to help with the algea, Shrimps wont be the answer as most likely it will just become a snak for your goldies.. You can however take a look at a Bristlenose or Rubbernose Pleco. (not a common pleco) Or to help eat some debris off the bottom of the tanks a Dojo is a very fun addition to a goldfish tank.
Here are some compatible fish for a goldfish tank. Link will take you there.
http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/comfish.htmledit- fixed a spelling error that changed the meaning to a sentence