Pleco's keep dying

[WyldFya]

Agreed, for the sake of your other plecos. They need a lot more than you're providing.

Rubberlip plecos stay quite small, and can be kept in a well maintained 10 gallon.


OP, Your feeding setup is not good for plecos, they cannot survive solely on algae.

 

[polish]

I wasn't talking about tank size at all, just the dietary needs.

 

[johnson5585]

I have always let my plecos live off of the tank but have since changed that and am now including wafers into their diet. I removed the pictus cat thinking that may be the issue as one of the golden algae eaters was dead and half eaten. He is now in the 55 with the big boys and doing fine. As for the ten gallon tank I hate the small size as it has seemed to be the most difficult to care for out of the 55, 20 and it. The algae is green for the most part but seems to be darker on the plant decor. It is not flat but hairy looking. Almost like very fine tuffs of grass all over the decor and parts of the tank. I will take a pic of it and post it. Having internet issues though so my posting is spaced out a bit. try to post it tonight though. I even upgraded the filter media to incorporate a scrubby for bio since it only had the small carbon filter before. I am most likely going to get another 20 to cycle with a better filter set p and switch the fish over. Thanks for all of the help.

 

[johnson5585]

Well even after removing the cat I lost another fish today. There must be something else that is causing them to die. I have seen no form of illness in the fish at least that I can detect. One day they seem fine and the next they are dead. The only thing out of the ordinary is the algae. At least that I can tell. All water levels are still good. At least the ones I have tested. No2, No3, ammonia and PH. None of these are out of whack. I am beginning to think this 10 gallon is possessed and enjoys killing my poor little daughter's fish. Maybe I should just upgrade her to a 20 or so and use this as a guppy breeder. LOL. Or maybe a small sump LOL again. I am actually quite sick of this tank. Maybe it should be drained and turned into a frog tank for my son. Sorry for being cynical. I have been doing weekly water changes and even declorifying the water etc. Should I test for something else???? I will post pics of the algae still. Using mty sisters computer so I can't load a pic right now.

 

[uncwnells]

If all the other fish are fine and they dont eat the algae, Id say its either the algae killing them or the small tank size. Save the algae eaters and get some algaefix or soemthing to get rid of the hairy, mold like substance in your tank.

 

[Lupin]

Algae killing chemicals can cause more problems especially for a tank that small. Don't buy any more fish and using them to consume the algae. As much as possible, try to move out all your fish to another tank except the danios and tetras. Add some fast growing plants which can outcompete algae easily for excess nutrients.

 

[johnson5585]

Ok so I took some pics of the algae. I have never done live plants in a tank. I am going to in my bigger tank soon but did not think to do so in my daughters small 10 gallon. I have only had algae problems in this one tank for some reason. Here are some pics. SO far this problem has killed a rubber lipped pleco, a common pleco, a rummy nosed tetra, a golden algae eater, a fancy tailed guppy, and it's last victim one of the long finned zebra danios. And no not all of these were in the tank at once. I have tried to introduce new fish as the old ones have died. If you have a little girl that names all of her fish you will understand. It is not just the new fish that are dying either. Combination of new and old.

Thanks

 

[buck_wildest]

That is hair/beard algae, nothing eats that crap. usually means you light it on way to long. Just shut it off. Yes you have to feed the plecos. And something i think is really important for plecos is the pH. Yours is to high. Remember 99% of plecos you can buy are wild caught. That means they come from low pH. 10 gallons are not good tanks for plecos also, most of them need there own teritory. Also you nitrAtes are high. that means you havent done your water changes right. Start doing them more often. please take the advice you daughter will have fish for many years in that tank, or you will give up completely. I do understand.

 

[buck_wildest]

something id like to add for general advice.

Plecos should not be USED to clean fish tanks. any fish ANY fish will add to your bioload and make the tank worse. If you like plecos then get some. dont use them so you dont have to scrub the tanks, it barely works anyways.

 

[buck_wildest]

sorry i redead the post and saw this

The only thing out of the ordinary is the algae. At least that I can tell.

ALgea is not bad for fish. it is acctually slightly benificial to the tank as it feeds off what you fish poops out. there are other problems i would fix first, i bet you would see dramatic changes in the health of you fish only after a few water changes.