what kinda alage eater do i need?

Question

i have a 75 gallon tank with an oscar in it i have had many alage eaters and they all die

no my oscars are not harassing them becuse he is only 3in and the pleco was about 4in

Answer 1

You don't really need an algae eater. Oscars are aggressive, territorial fish, and it's quite possible that he killed the algae eaters.
It's also possible that they starved - people get the impression that all a pleco needs to eat in "algae"; but actually, most of their diet will be made up of driftwood, pellets, or algae wafers, depending on the species of algae eater you get.

Do know that algae eaters aren't really all-purpose janitors. They may munch on some algae, but they need to be fed, and if you have algae problems, you need to either scrape the algae or address the root cause of the issue, or you'll keep having algae issues.

Reduce your light period - 8-10 hours per day is ample. Do not overfeed, only give your oscar what he can eat in a minute or two, twice a day.

Answer 2

Algae eaters are never a necessity. Algae eaters are very messy fish, eating algae and digesting only a small amount of what they eat, and often not doing a great job on aquarium algae in the first place. Get one only if you like them, not as aquarium equipment.

As for why they die - do you feed them? Algae in the tank is not nearly enough to keep these guys going for long - they must be fed. They also need some wood in their diet for digestion.

You must also make sure you buy one big enough not to be eaten by the Oscar - this can be dangerous to both the Pleco and the Oscar, who will have much difficulty in swallowing that thick, spikey hide.

Answer 3

Well for a tank that big and assuming that you have algae. I would say a plecostomus. If they keep dying on you, you might need to keep better tabs on your water conditions. Pleco's are really sensitive to high ammonia levels.

If you don't really have an algae problem and you want a scavenger to eat the left over food then you are getting the wrong fish. I would go for something like the striped raphael(also called the talking catfish) as they can live just as long as your oscar and defend themselves. They come out mostly at night and would feed on any leftovers from your oscar.(This could also help you algae because if there isn't as much leftover food there will be less phosphates and decaying matter for algae to feed on. So in turn, you'd have less algae)

Answer 4

Technically speaking you don't need an algae eater in your tank.

As long as you're maintenance is adequate, and you have a good glass scraper your tank will be fine. You can get a magnetic glass cleaner at any pet shop.

Since you didn't mention that I have to ask is your Oscar harassing them to death? If this is the case you're probably better off not trying to introduce another fish to the tank.

Answer 5

use a plecostomus, but beware, don't use a chinese algae eater, they get big + when they do, they dont eat algae, they are also territorial

Answer 6

You don't need one but if you are to get one you should get a medium size one