Chinese algae eaters not doing well

V

veganskater

Registered Member
Mar 10, 2003
3
0
0
Los Angeles, CA
Visit site
Hi,

I have a 20 gallon freshwater tank, with a Biowheel filter. I use a combination of reverse osmosis and tap water, although my tap water is also filtered by a general house water filter. I don't know exact pH, etc. Temp is about 78 degrees. I have too much algae. I didn't want to get a pleco in case it went after my three African dwarf frogs. All the species in the tank are very peaceful--red eyed tetras, cherry barbs, African dwarf frogs, and two old tiger danios. The tank isn't quite full.

I picked up a small gold algae eater the other day. It never adjusted, died rapidly. I returned to my local fish store and picked up two, larger Chinese algae eaters.

They are not adjusting either. They are pale, look distressed, are sitting down near the bottom of the tank. They are not attaching to the glass or eating algae. :sad

I don't know why these species aren't making it. It saddens me to see them die. I want them to thrive. And I want them to eat the algae out of my tank. The cherry barbs are recent transplants and they are doing great. Any thoughts?

Also--do you know if a pleco would harm African dwarf frogs?

All best,
Andrea
 
You should let the bags sit in the water for 10-15 min. Than open the bag up and put a cup full of your tank water in the bag and let it sit there for 20 min. Than it should be ok to let them out. With more hardier fish you can just let the bag float in the tank for 20 min. than let them out.
 
I did acclimate them...(More)

I had them in the bags for at least 15 minutes (maybe 20) before I scooped in the first cup of water from my tank. I did this twice--that is, on two occasions total scooped in a cup of water and let them sit 10-15 minutes each. Only then did I let them out of the bag. I also made sure they had oxygen in their water by opening the bag, and by scooping in the water from the tank which has a good air pump. I had two tiny little cherry barbs in the same bag and they are doing great.

Would a pleco bother my African frogs??

THANKS for your help & thoughts!!
Andrea
 
Its funny because from my experience the CAE is one of the hardiest fish that ive come across, they just wont die and there almost always the last fish that i catch when im moving fish for cleaning or rearanging... I recently got another CAE eater thats a little less than an inch to acompany my 3 incher since he survived when all of my other fish didnt he deserves a freind he has some scraps now which are healing tuff little guy .... I cant begin to think why yours arent making it very strange though definatly not the usual for these guys ... I believe mine has maxed out at around 3 inches im not sure how big they can get but he hasnt grown much lately ... They can be boustrous and a bit territorial but for the most part a good fish. I somehow have a distain for them but they always end up making it into my tanks somehow guess its destiny..
 
I have had CAE die on me within 6 hours of acclimating them to my tank. It happened to me twice so I decided to go to another lfs, and that worked. The one lfs must of had a bad batch but there was around 30-50 CAE's in one 5 gallon tank. That lfs was the one where they kept dying. I would try another lfs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom