the algee eater?

Question

well when i feed my algee eater at night along with my goldfishes and my snail then i turn on the night light [inside of the tank] my algee eater start to mess with the goldfishes do anyone know why this happens and what should i do

Answer 1

What type of algae eater do you have? If yours is a Chinese algae eater, this is typical behavior. CAEs only eat algae when they're young, but eat the slime coat of other fish in the tank as they mature. It annoys the other fish at the very least, plus it removes their slime coat which leaves them more prone to developing infections. CAEs can even kill small fish by doing this.

If yours is a pleco, he is probably being a little territorial and trying to keep the goldfish away from "his" food (especially if they have enough light to see and they're trying to eat it as well!)

Answer 2

Watch that the algae eater is not trying to attach itself to the fish...they can really damage the fish's slime coat. If it's a chinese algae eater they are known to be aggressive as they age and should not be kept with goldfish. If it's a pleco, I have no idea why it would do this.

Answer 3

If what you have is the "Chinese Algae Eater" then you are witnessing the normal behavior of a fish which enjoys eating the fins, scales and other parts of fish. Despite their suckermouth these guys are not really evolved to eat algae, this is an adaptation for holding on to rocks in their natural environment of swift moving streams.

Answer 4

You should not have an algae eater with goldfishes for various reasons, including a vast difference in water conditions, temperature, feeding etc that are required for both.

:-)

Answer 5

there might be algee on ur goldfish

Answer 6

your tank needs to be cleaned.....algae eaters dont usually bother with the other fish.