what would cause the death of algae eater? i have a plecostamus in 10 gallon tank with 2 black moor fish and they seem o.k. the algae eater was behind fake plants curled up in a ball. this is 2nd algae eater that died? i fed him the wafers but confused how often to feed.

shygrneyzs

You only feed the plecos two times a day with the wafers, and generally one wafer at a time or no more than they can eat in two hours. So says my package of wafers I feed to my plecos.

About the death - did you check the water for ammonia, ph, etc? I did have one pleco die, but he or she, was being constantly harassed by the two oscars - they kept nipping at his middle back and there was a yellowish lump that developed. I took everyone out of the tank and cleaned it all, changed rock, installed a filter bed, and quarantined the other fish until I felt it was clear to put them all together again.

Here are some pages on plecos - Robyn's Pleco Page
Plecos - Aquarium Forum
Aquarium Information - Alternative Fishkeeping
Plecostomus, Pleco - Hypostomus plecostomus

This article on freshwater fish diseases: Freshwater Fish Disease

lubu

Ok I might be able to help you:

1. Your tank is way too small to handle 6 fish of that species and size, they aren;t the fish that stay the same size, your plecos and algae eaters will grow to 1 feet (the plecos grow up to 2!). Your black moores may grow up to 1' as well.

2. Plus, your algae eater may have died due to stress and over population. Over population causes your fish to stress out because a mere 10 gallon tank can't hold as many fish that size.