Recently (2 days ago) I had a fairly new algee eater die. All my water conditions look fine except for a little bit high nitrate level. The other fish arent affected. Any ideas on why he died?
Dead algee eater
- Thread starter MollyBreeder
- Start date
Could have been sick already from the pet store, who knows.
Hopefully you got it from a store with a "stay alive garantee".
mostlycichlids
Cichlid Specialist
need more info?
was it eating?
water temp?
Ph?
What kind of algae eater?
size of tank and tank mates.....
was it eating?
water temp?
Ph?
What kind of algae eater?
size of tank and tank mates.....
without more info it makes it really hard to even guess why. i know ottos it isnt uncommon for them to die really fast.
without more info, the most likely scenario is that it starved to death. plecostomus cannot survive by just 'eating algae' in your tank .... there isn't enough. thus, their diet must be supplemented with a high quality algae food and some additional protein. too, depending on the species of 'algae eater' you had, many require driftwood in the tank to rasp on.
undoubtedly, this fish didn't get proper care at the fish store, and may not gotten proper care in your tank. either way, by the time you purchased it, it was probably just too late.
undoubtedly, this fish didn't get proper care at the fish store, and may not gotten proper care in your tank. either way, by the time you purchased it, it was probably just too late.
did I miss something? Is it an Otto? A Pleco? A Saimese Algae Eater? I've seen all kinds of fish labled "Algae Eater" in stores.
I never have algae problems but any of my 'algae eaters', be it plecos, SAEs or Ottos don't need any supplemental food. These fish can digest anything.. my pleco is the fastest growing fish in my tank living off of nothing but fish waste and/or food that is left over from the noon feeding (i don't feed them at night).
they will eat anything.. flaked food, fish waste, leftover food that got stuck in your gravel. Unless you have an extremely clean tank I doubt that they starved.. these are my fish, I've kept a dozen different kinds of plecos, have even succesfully bred common plecos (not as easy as you would think)
Sometimes fish just die, it happens. They can get injured in a way you would not have noticed.. some disease.. hell, maybe another fish scared it to death? It could even have been a genetic defect, especially with the overbred (inbred) common plecos. The move from a petstore doesn't always go right, even for the most experienced. Young plecos are especially hard to move around.
If you have no cover for them they will be under constant stress and will not be very healthy at all. Even the slightest change in water conditions might kill them. You can also wear them out by 'scaring' them at night when they're out and about. These fish are not meant to be out in the open, they're nocturnal, VERY seclusive fish.. and if you have multiple mature plecos in a single tank one might have very well killed the other (indirectly, they're very territorial).
I never have algae problems but any of my 'algae eaters', be it plecos, SAEs or Ottos don't need any supplemental food. These fish can digest anything.. my pleco is the fastest growing fish in my tank living off of nothing but fish waste and/or food that is left over from the noon feeding (i don't feed them at night).
they will eat anything.. flaked food, fish waste, leftover food that got stuck in your gravel. Unless you have an extremely clean tank I doubt that they starved.. these are my fish, I've kept a dozen different kinds of plecos, have even succesfully bred common plecos (not as easy as you would think)
Sometimes fish just die, it happens. They can get injured in a way you would not have noticed.. some disease.. hell, maybe another fish scared it to death? It could even have been a genetic defect, especially with the overbred (inbred) common plecos. The move from a petstore doesn't always go right, even for the most experienced. Young plecos are especially hard to move around.
If you have no cover for them they will be under constant stress and will not be very healthy at all. Even the slightest change in water conditions might kill them. You can also wear them out by 'scaring' them at night when they're out and about. These fish are not meant to be out in the open, they're nocturnal, VERY seclusive fish.. and if you have multiple mature plecos in a single tank one might have very well killed the other (indirectly, they're very territorial).
seriously? fish scaring each other to death? absolute nonsense.
plecos, esp, common plecos, can certainly *live* if you never feed them and force them to eat the crap of other fish, but here at Aquaria Central we try to give advice that will help you allow your fish to thrive, not just survive. The poop of other fish is never a recommended dietary item.
you've bred common plecos? and you didn't even feed them? wow. what size tank? what kind of substrate? how big were these fish? links? pics? unless you have a different definition of common pleco, i sincerely doubt it.
i doubt you have the experience you say you do - the question the OP asked very much depends upon what kind of fish s/he has. Ottos need algae, and many don't like to eat waste food. Plecos, on the other hand, might eat algae, or meat, or wood. Without knowing what kind of fish it's quite irresponsible to say that they all eat the same thing and you don't even have to feed them. Anyone who has kept "dozens of plecos" should know that they don't all have the same dietary requirements. If a fish is starving, it will eventually eat anything it can get, including algae that is normally not on the menu, poop, and other fish.
As far as plecos hiding all the time - again, not true. My boyfriend has three common plecos, along with several other kinds, and the commons are always out and about, get handfed, and come up to the surface for treats and other interaction. I can handfeed my bristlenoses, and all of my plecos come out when they know it is almost feeding time. Only plecos that feel threatened will hide constantly. Healthy ones will feel secure enough to leave their caves during the day.
But I guess if your fish are starved of food and attention, expected to keep their own tank clean without any help from you, and stuck with inappropriate tankmates, you could come to all those conclusions. . . .
plecos, esp, common plecos, can certainly *live* if you never feed them and force them to eat the crap of other fish, but here at Aquaria Central we try to give advice that will help you allow your fish to thrive, not just survive. The poop of other fish is never a recommended dietary item.
you've bred common plecos? and you didn't even feed them? wow. what size tank? what kind of substrate? how big were these fish? links? pics? unless you have a different definition of common pleco, i sincerely doubt it.
i doubt you have the experience you say you do - the question the OP asked very much depends upon what kind of fish s/he has. Ottos need algae, and many don't like to eat waste food. Plecos, on the other hand, might eat algae, or meat, or wood. Without knowing what kind of fish it's quite irresponsible to say that they all eat the same thing and you don't even have to feed them. Anyone who has kept "dozens of plecos" should know that they don't all have the same dietary requirements. If a fish is starving, it will eventually eat anything it can get, including algae that is normally not on the menu, poop, and other fish.
As far as plecos hiding all the time - again, not true. My boyfriend has three common plecos, along with several other kinds, and the commons are always out and about, get handfed, and come up to the surface for treats and other interaction. I can handfeed my bristlenoses, and all of my plecos come out when they know it is almost feeding time. Only plecos that feel threatened will hide constantly. Healthy ones will feel secure enough to leave their caves during the day.
But I guess if your fish are starved of food and attention, expected to keep their own tank clean without any help from you, and stuck with inappropriate tankmates, you could come to all those conclusions. . . .