Algae eater or no algae eater?

[spanky37]

Hi again,
Our Algea eater (Pleco named Choppie) just died. We are in the proces of treating our tank for ick and were wondering if we should just go out and buy some algea eating products instead of introducing a new fish to our tank. W/out the Pleco we are having a horrible Algea problem. Unfortunatly our place is small and gets alot of light so no matter where we put the tank it will get some sun. Can you suggest some products we can purchase that will take care of the algea problem? We were also thinking of introducing live plants to our tank too. Any suggestions on what type? We have a 15 gallon tank w/3 happy gold fish. Please let me know. Thanks again!!

[Leopardess]

Hm...

Firstly, goldfish need 10gallons per fish...and many people say it should be 20g/fish. So, your tank is very overstocked. Also, a pleco will grow to be over a foot long if its a common one - and would have outgrown the tank in due time. I suggest not getting another one and upgrading your tank to accomodate your fish. I believe, too, and someone can correct me, that plecos prefer warmer temperatures than goldfish, which are coldwater fish.

As for algae eating chemicals - I wouldn't add anything to the tank. Excess chemicals are never a good thing - let alone when the fish are stressed from ich and ich meds. If you've got no live plants, the algae won't bother anything...You may just want to leave it or find a way to control it.

PS. I think goldfish eat a lot of live plant sp?

[TKOS]

Well I definatley wouldn't introduce any new fish at the moment. I also wouldn't use any algae destroyer products. First off they might interfere with the ich meds and second they generally can affect water quality.

I would look to the reason you are having algae. Too much light is generally the reason the algae appears but is not the cause. The cause is too much nutrients. There are 2 ways to deal with this. Live plants will compete for the same nutrients and once established do a better job. Or else just feed the fish less food (normally the problem) and do more water changes or else larger water changes.

How often do yuo change the tank water and how much at a time? Also do you know the water params (for example how much nitrates are in the water)? And other than sunlight what kind of light and how much does your tank get?

[~*LuvMyKribs*~]

If you have no live plants and your house is fairly bright i would reccommend not having tank lights on all day. Just turn them on for an hour around feeding. This helps to drastically reduce aglae. And are you sure there is NO place in the house that does no get direct sunlight? A bright room is ok, but direct sunlight is a different story.

I had an algae problem until i *heavily* stocked my tank with live plants. Now i just spounge the glass on every water change and its fine. I had little CAE (or SAE? i can never rememeber which one), but the bratty kind. I got rid of him and the algae hasn't come up since. But i don't know anything about goldfish. :D

[spanky37]

Hi everyone,
We change the tank water every other week - 50% water change. We also test the tank for nitrates, ph etc. The nitrates were low the last time we checked. Since everyone seems to be against the algea chems. then what type of plant should we get? We are also thinking of upgrading the tank to a 40gal. to house our growing gold fish. Should we wait until then to buy the plants? Unfortunatly the tank gets sun all day (we close the blinds but it's there's still light). When we get home the lights go on and we turn the tank light on at 7 till about 11. We can't move the tank because the windows are soooo big that the entire place is well lit. Any suggestions on plants?? Oh - and we knew the Pleco would get big, but we figured we had enough time to buy a bigger tank, unfortunatly he didn't live that long :(.

[Rhys]

yes the best place to have your tank is somewhere shaded so you can have your light on all day and turn it off at night. Maybe you should try relocating you tank so you can have some other fish and not have to worry about algae.

[Dapple2]

Try stocking it full of cheap plants, like anachris or hornwort. Those plants grow fast and might stand a chance if you put enough of them in. They are also good nutrient sponges. See if they will toss in some freebie duckweed too. I'd go ahead and get the plants now, you can always get more for the 40g. Try feeding your goldies algae wafers to distract them from the plants a bit too.

[TKOS]

Try a variety of cheap plants as was mentioned as goldfish do eat plants. Perhaps they won't like all of them.

[LMOUTHBASS]

no one really mentioned that a pleco is a TROPICAL fish goldfish are coldwater - these two DON'T mix - EVER - it isn't a good idea - also pleco's that are kept with goldfish will eventually attempt to suck the slime coating off the goldfish which will lead to stress and possible death - thw water temp for these two are all together different - also the ick meds may have done your pleco in - being that they are a type of catfish they are prob scaleless ( i believe)
which means they are sensitive to many ick meds - another possibility coulve been water temp - was yuor water opn the chilly side? - for now i wouln't get another pleco unless you get a bigger tank n go with tropical fish - try the live plants route as they will compete with the algae - but keep in mind golfish will nibble and sometime eat live plants -
next as mentioned above goldfish do require tons of room they are the most commonly abused fish by accident most of us never knew they coulnt live in a bowl! but they will be stunted n live short lives :( - if you can give them back to the store or a friend you couil do a very nice little planted aquarium 15 gals gives you some option
you coul have a nice platy/ neon tetra tank - nice colors! - with some cories on the bottom and ottos for algae with plants it will thrive! it will look very nice too !
think about a change it will be easy to keep n you'll prob lkike the results!!!
best wishes LMB

[Leopardess]

I did;)

"I believe, too, and someone can correct me, that plecos prefer warmer temperatures than goldfish, which are coldwater fish."

But yes, good to emphasize that point.

[spanky37]

Thanks for the great suggestions about the plants. I'm going to purchase some tonight. In re. to the suggestion about giving the gold fish back to the store - I could never. My boyfriend suggested the same thing (because when I originally purchased them they were tiny and no one ever told me how big they got). Now that I know how big they could get I'm getting them a bigger tank - just for them. I really love them - there soooo cute. I really wish I was an educated consumer before I bought the fish. When I purchase fish at the pet store, more often than not they just let you buy any fish w/out asking too many questions. Now at least I'm learning (unfortunatly from my mistakes) which fish to buy and what questions I need to ask to ensure that I provide the correct type of environment they need to survive. The med thing is also new to me - but I'm learning. This website is excellent. I'm learning more and more every day!! Thanks again for all of your help and advise.