What is happening to my algae eaters?

Question

I have a 20 gallon top fin aquarium with 7 community fish in it (zebra danios, etc.). I have had this tank running for around 3 weeks, so it is almost done cycling, and the ammonia has always been low because of my small fish. In an old tank, I had an algae eater that had been happily living with a danio for over a year, and when I moved them into my new tank, the algae eater died within a day. I thought it was just the course of nature, so I decided to get another one, but he died within a day also. I let the tank run for a while but eventually algae began to grow on the decorations, and I thought it was time for another shot (maybe they were dying from lack of food?). An hour after I got this algae eater, I found him dead. I have no clue what is happening to them.
-The water temp. is 78-80 degrees.
-The pH is 6.9-7.1
-The Ammonia is 0
-The Nitrite is 0
-The Nitrate is just above 0

I floated the bag in the water for 20 minutes before introducing him in all cases except the first, when I was simply moving the fish 3 feet across the room.

The problem can't be in the tank, since I am just using the tank for new fish, and I had a catfish in there for two years previously.

I can't get algae eaters from anywhere else in the area other than petsmart. After all, they supplied my with one that lasted a good year in perfect health.

MY LAST ALGAE EATER ISN'T QUITE DEAD!!!
I was trying to fish him out, but all of a sudden he started breathing again, so is there any way to increase his chances of survival (I put him in the small quarantine tank with a live plant)

Answer 1

are u floating the fish in the bag to allow for temp.differences&is your tank warm enoughthe shock of temp. change can kill

Answer 2

It sounds like you are doing the right thing, but I think maybe you need to check the tank that its in when you buy the fish, Because I read that if there's any dead fish in that tank most like there bacteria and the fish might already be sick before you even take it home. Algae fish last a long time I think there life span is three to four years.

Answer 3

he might not be used to your chemicals that you put in your water to dechlorinate it.... try this the next time around

float the bag for 30 minutes. (yes, i know you floated it before, but keep reading)
after 30 minutes, pour a 1/4 cup of the tank water into the bag water, and float for another 30 minutes.
keep adding tank water every 30 minutes until almost 2 hours have gone by. (he'll be okay without the bubbler or food for that long).
fish him out with clean wet hands or clean gloved hands (nets on algea eaters especially if theyre very big will hurt them more than help them), and gently put him in the tank.

this seems to work for me, because i use different chemicals than most of the pet stores do, and i tend to get dead goldfish if i don't do it this way.

good luck, and if he's still breathing, try putting 1 tablespoon of aqauarium salt in a half cup of warm water, till it disolves, then pour the salt water into the quarantine tank. it usually shocks them a little and helps them recover from any problems that they may be having.

i hope your baby is okay...
good luck!

Answer 4

I think that you should try buying your pleco (algae eater) from another petstore. And also dont rush to ut your fish in the tank you should wait about 15 minutes before putting the fish in the tank.
This has happened to me my fish have died or gotten ick from getting stressed because of the quik temperature change.

Answer 5

it could be a chemical from the manufacture of your new tank seeping into the water. change the water, give it a good rinse and clean, because the algae will ingest chemicals in the water and concentrate them in their cells, leading to a process called biomagnification where chemicals become so concentrated in the algae that the algae become poisonous to the fish. it prob won't kill your other fish because the chemicals have to become concentrated to deadly leavels through the algae first.