Could my goldfish get sick from a dead algae eater?

Question

I have had an algae eating fish for about two years now and he recently died of some kind of infection that caused the fish to occasionally get a white film on him. I took the algae eater out of my 30 gallon aquarium tank and buried him. But in the tank I also have a rather large goldfish, and what I'm wondering is, is there any type of infection or disease that my goldfish could catch from being in the same tank with a dead algae eater, and if so, what kinds of medicine could I put into the water? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!!

Answer 1

Avoid medications unless you have signs of a specific illness. The first thing you need to do is get a master test kit. They are around $20 but well worth it. Test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. I would recommend these tests any time you have a mysterious death in your fish tank. If they all come back at or near zero, then you shouldn't have much to worry about. Closely observe for signs of illness, but you should be fine.

Answer 2

If your algae eater died with no outward signs of disease, chances are your goldie is not at risk, however if you know for sure it was a type of infection or ich your goldfish may be at risk. Keep an eye on your goldie for signs of a white slime coating or white spots. This could be the signs of an ich infestation. Infections are a little harder to detect since there is such a wide range, so just watch to see if he is swimming and eating normally.

I would advise not adding any medicines to the water at this time. Just dumping medicine in the tank without knowing for sure if there is a problem does more harm than good.

Test your water to be sure the ammonia and nitrites are within safe limits. A water change is always a good idea when any fish in a tank passes away.

Answer 3

Yep anytime a fish dies if they are eaten by other tank mates they can catch it. BTW goldfish only go with goldfish. You do not need a pleco, it doesn't belong in the tank anyway. Goldfish will eat on the green algae, and grow large on it. Pleco's are ugly and get nasty. They are omnivours that have a nasty habit of sucking the slime coat and scales off of sleeping goldfish at night. You want to keep you pretty goldfish skip the ugly pleco.

Answer 4

I think you should wait tilll their is a sign of disease, but melofix, or malafax, is a good treatment for mysterious illnesses, and it really quite safe cause its made of natural stuff, it smells good too