I have a common alge eater in my 10 gallon tank. theres 3 other fish all tetra. about a week ago the tank started getting alge on the walls. before that the agle eater was getting it clean. and suddenly he stop cleaning the walls and the bottom of the tank. i didnt make any changes at all only water changes. and it never bothered him before. any ideas?
2007-07-23 10:11:25 · 8 answers · asked by andrew k 1 in Pets ➔ Fish
As Algae Eaters mature, they stop eating algae and will move on to attacking fish. If you can, try to get rid of the Algae Eater, they get about 8 inches long (to long for a 10 gallon tank).
Nosoop4u
2007-07-23 10:16:09 · answer #1 · answered by nosoop4u246 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Common algae eaters are one of the most overrated fish, and only popular because they are so cheap and available. The truth about them is that they grow absolutely massive, and in an ideal world wouldn't be sold to anyone with less then a 75 gallon tank. Also, they are not great at eating algae, and the bigger they grow, the worse they get. They do need to be fed additional food for a long and healthy life.
The best algae cleaner in the world is you - because you will not only get rid of it with a bit of elbow grease, but you won't poop it back into the tank. Grab a clean sponge or an algae scraper, and in a 10 gallon tank it would take you all of five minutes to scrape it off the walls. It's best to do this right before your weekly water change.
If you really need to have livestock to help you with this, you really only have two choices - snails, or Oto catfish. Any other algae eating fish gets too big or too aggressive for a 10 gallon tank, and most won't waste their time on it when they grow up.
2007-07-23 10:25:08 · answer #2 · answered by Ghapy 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
That type of fish will die if it isn't given the right kind of food, it needs more then to just suck on the walls. Many times it will live for a little while and then just stop eating the way a person might if they were only given alge to eat as well. Try giving him pellets, they sell pellet food for that kind of fish at the store. He'll also love to eat things like fresh dark green veggies. I have an alge eater in my 175 that is really very big, and I never feed him only alge, he gets fresh veggies along with whatever frozen blood worms or brine shrimp my eel doesnt eat.
Also make sure with your pet store that you're doing water changes correct, if you don't change the water in a tank normally once a week (less times the bigger the tank and less fish) many fish will die very quickly. In a 10 gallon it needs to be cycled and it needs to get a 25 to 50% water change once a week every week. The smaller the tank the more work.
Remember also that most sucker fish like that grow to be very very big, many can get to be about two feet long within just a year or two if well kept and they live for many years. You need to understand that depending on the type of fish he mgiht easily out grow that tank.
You might also try putting in some live plants, they normally like to nibble on those between meals. And try putting in frozen (never live) brine shrimp, or blood worm. Your tetras will live much longer and be more healthy if you feed them blood worms and brine shrimp, and your sucker will get a lot more different kinds of good food in him.
2007-07-23 10:26:03 · answer #3 · answered by Yomi Minamino 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Get yourself a timer and a cheap toothbrush. Make sure that your tank only gets about 8 hours of tank light a day. Scrub when you do your water changes. Watch your algae eater and your fish. If you begin to see circles on the fish remove your algae eater, it is latching onto the fish and removing their slime coating. If this occurs, which it probably will, remove the fish or find it a new home.
2007-07-23 10:26:17 · answer #4 · answered by Alison B 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The tiniest are snails! heavily my aunt became telling me that her tank became thoroughly eco-friendly, she could no longer even see her fish, she had like a 10 gal, somebody she knew had snails and gave her 3, she went to mattress and while she awoke her tank became spotless! different algae eaters could be Otto Catfish, they're great cute and that they develop to a maximum of two inches, they want to stay with communities of three or extra.
2016-10-22 11:17:04 · answer #5 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Algae eaters only eaet the algae if theres no food avaialble there a waste of money. Bette off with an algae magnet.
2007-07-23 10:14:36 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
10 gallons isnt much, but try looking at dwarf oto catifhs, they will eat the algae and will stay small.
The problem is they can be sensitvie to water quality, so keep the water clean.
2007-07-23 10:23:12 · answer #7 · answered by Coral Reef Forum 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Get a snail. NOT THE TINY ONES!!! They self multiply and you'll have about 10- 30.
2007-07-23 10:17:20 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋