Algae Eater

[liz]

Hello I had to take my Algae Eating fish out of the tank as I caught it trying to suck on one of the Discus today.

[Ralph]

You did the right thing.
Some species of bottom feeders are more likely to do this than others but I think it also has to do with the individual fish.

There is a thread in the Show Tanks and Biotopes Section that talks about good and bad tank mates.

[slicksta]

had the same problem a few months ago.....actually gave my fish hickies...
the marks cleared up after a day or two with no ill affects.
algae eaters are out....now I keep a few corys with my discus....so far no problamas'

[chirohorn]

I've never had a problem w/my algae eater. Of course, I've only had the tank up for a month or so. If anything, he avoids the other fish (discus, cardinals, corys).

I love the thing...never stops working in the discus 'show' tank. It makes me tired just to watch the thing swim everywhere picking up every last morsel of food.

[Don_Lee]

I have had no problem with the bristlenose type plecs that I have, my understanding is that as long as you do not get too large of a plec they are usually ok. Things like Chinese Algae Eaters are a different story tho, they can be quite aggressive.


Don ;D

[liz]

Hello Don It was a Chinese A/A.it was just over an inch.I have not had it in the tank for long.Maybe just been unlucky with this one.Later I might try something else.

[Don_Lee]

Hi Liz,

Good for you for recognizing the problem so fast! Most here recommend bristlenose plecs for cleanup, and there are some beautiful plecs that stay small and should not cause a problem.

Don ;D

[RAWesolowski]

Liz,

If you would like to go with an algae eater, do try the bristle nose plecostomus as recommended by Don. The Chinese Algae Eater is much too aggressive for the discus tank. I've been experimenting with Amano Shrimp. They seem to do a great job in the planted aquaria and supplement the bristle nose.

[liz]

Hello Thought I would give you an update on the Chinese A/A. after removing it from the Discus tank I put it in my tank I keep my small fish in.Three fish have died no remains left of one also it had gone into the fry net at the top of the tank thankfully the little fry was ok.I have kept many A/A over the years I have a 10inch Pleco in my community tank that never bothers any of the fish.But I must admit I have never known one as aggresive as this one.

[Ralph]

Liz, what a fish. I think you should put it in a tank by itself and give it a feeder goldfish every day or so. Where did you find this killer? Maybe you could breed it and call it the Piranha strain of algae eater.

[liz]

I have named it JAWS :)

[liz]

Hello Again I got the chance of a Gold Spot Pleco.Its supposed to be a dwarf variety but cant be sure.Has anyone ever had one of them in their Discus tank.If it was not going to be suitable I could take it back or use in another tank.

Liz, IME, The designer Gold Spot Pleco will not do much to combat algae. The Rhino and Bristlenose are better selections. Actually the Chinese algae eater can get quite large and are very aggressive in a discus tank. Joe ;)

[liz]

Hello Joe I think you are right about it not eating much algae.I got it because its got lovely markings and I thought it would look nice in the Discus tank.Its just over a inch just now.But if I want to get rid of algae I may need to add another A/Efish maybe some little OTOS.The CAE (Jaws) has calmed down a lot he is now in the company of some large Cichlids with large mouths in the community tank ;)