Algae eaters

S

SaraHall

Seashanty
Sep 26, 2005
38
0
0
Hello,
Do pleco's eat algae? Mine juts kinda hangs at the bottom, sometimes on the side, in his little sheltered space, he eats the wafers. SHould I stop giving him wafers so he eats the algae? Will the algae make him sick? Some of the algae is starting to look red. :(
The tank is a 70 gallon and has 1 red bellied Pacu(9"), 4 Tin foil Barbs (6"),3 plecos (9") and two god knows what fish. Suffice to say a fish with a stripe down the center, slender about 3" long.
Does scraping the algae bug the fish?
Thx
Sara
 
SaraHall said:
Hello,
Do pleco's eat algae? Mine juts kinda hangs at the bottom, sometimes on the side, in his little sheltered space, he eats the wafers. SHould I stop giving him wafers so he eats the algae? Will the algae make him sick? Some of the algae is starting to look red. :(
The tank is a 70 gallon and has 1 red bellied Pacu(9"), 4 Tin foil Barbs (6"),3 plecos (9") and two god knows what fish. Suffice to say a fish with a stripe down the center, slender about 3" long.
Does scraping the algae bug the fish?
Thx
Sara
Click to expand...
yes plecos eat algea, but your tank has far to amny to support one, and you should be supplementing their diet already.

as for your stocking, you tank is so overstocked it is not even funny. your red bellied pacu is going to get to be 2 feet long and over 20 lbs, and it will break through the glass of its spooked.
the tinfiol barbs get pretty big too, and the plecos are going to get even bigger (around 2 feet).
unless you are planning on getting a tank that is over 500 gallons withing the next month or so (christmas maybe??) then you should return all of your fish and get some that are more suited for your tank size.
 
Thanks for the Info however...

I can't get rid of them because they were my brother's and he passed away. I am holding onto them because they remind me of how much he loved to watch his fish and how he used to smile when they'd come up to the glass to greet him in the mornings..
Call me nostalgic... I am slowly learning about all the fish he has through the help of the wonderful people in this forum. I have currently inherited 9 aquariums ranging from 100 gallons to 5 gallons all with fish. I had OTC and killed many of them (sadly) when I did a water change. The Pacu has become my friend and if he gets too big I can always put him outside in the pond with the KOI (Thats what my brother did summer and winter. He has a bubbler and heater system out there too. He was an avid Fish guy. Wish he was still around. But I think he's either laughing his tail off or smiling down on me when I do the 101 water changes. Hopefully the latter :)
Thanks for your info
Best
Sara
 
"I had OTC and killed many of them "

Sara what is OTC??

I'm sorry about your brother :(
 
Hi,

First off, I'm very sorry to hear about your brother. I know how hard it would be for me to lose my sister. What you said made me tear up :sad:.

Plecos do eat algae. For a week stop giving him the wafers and then after a bit he should start to go for the algae. Scraping the algae off wont stress the fish that much.

Maybe the fish with the stripe on it might be a Giant or Bengal Danio. Type either of those names on google and see if the pics that come up looks like the fish you have.

Happy fish keeping and good luck!!!

Cory Lover
 
do NOT starve the fish so he will clean your tank! clean it yourself. how cruel.

i understand the problems you've had and the loss of your brother, but none of that changes the fact that you are, in the long run, causing the fish to suffer. that pacu is not going to stay small. those plecos need food. protein, vegetables, not just wafers.

also, do a search on the net for types of algae, there are several kinds that plecos will not eat, some can only be prevented or removed manually. red, or brush, algae is one of those kinds.
 
wataugachicken said:
do NOT starve the fish so he will clean your tank! clean it yourself. how cruel.
Click to expand...
That statement is somewhat over the top. Not feeding the fish for a week is nothing to talk home about. Perhaps, the pleco is overfed and lazy.

When I put a zucchini slice into the tank every day, one of my otos practically lives on them. He hardly ever moves away. If there's no veggies for two days, he still has a full belly. It's just that he looks around for something else to eat than zucchini.
 
I remember the thread too. So sorry about your brother. As far as the plecos go, you are not going to starve them if you do not feed them algae wafers for a week. I have gone on vacation for a week and I did not feed the fish while I was gone and they were fine. I figured it was better for them to have clean water then food every day. The same holds true about the plecos.

I know how much you loved your brother and you are doing the best you can to take care of the tanks and the fish in them that you inherited. However, many of the fish in them will in time get way to big for the tank. Plecos can grow eighteen inches to two feet and the pacu needa a bigger aquarium such as a minimum of 200 gallons with bigger than that a better option. Keep doing what you are doing to care for them but you will have to consider better accomodations for most of those fish in the very near future.

Marinemom
 
wataugachicken said:
do NOT starve the fish so he will clean your tank! clean it yourself. how cruel.
Click to expand...

Hi,

I don't get it how it's cruel. In my opinion not giving a pleco wafers for a week is not cruel. In the wild they don't just get wafers right outside their home, they have to work for their food.

Cory Lover
 
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