Algea issues and houdini Plecos

[Alyxandra]

Okay... I can't seem to keep a pleco alive for some reason. I have a 29 gallon tank with minnows, zebra danios, mollies, cory cats, and clown loaches. Yes, my tank is overcrowded but I keep it very clean. Water parameters have been pretty much perfect since it cycled a year ago. I've tried buying a pleco twice now, and both times the fish was very active and seemed healthy. All over the tank, and neither was at all shy. But in both cases, they completely vanished after about two weeks. I pulled all decor out of the tank to look for them, and found nothing. It was just weird. There's plenty of algea in my tank (a little too much of it) and I was also giving algea wafers as all the other fish like them anyway. So I really don't know what happened.

Any other suggestions for algea control since I seem doomed to failure with plecos?

[CAF]

Okay... I can't seem to keep a pleco alive for some reason. I have a 29 gallon tank with minnows, zebra danios, mollies, cory cats, and clown loaches. Yes, my tank is overcrowded but I keep it very clean. Water parameters have been pretty much perfect since it cycled a year ago. I've tried buying a pleco twice now, and both times the fish was very active and seemed healthy. All over the tank, and neither was at all shy. But in both cases, they completely vanished after about two weeks. I pulled all decor out of the tank to look for them, and found nothing. It was just weird. There's plenty of algea in my tank (a little too much of it) and I was also giving algea wafers as all the other fish like them anyway. So I really don't know what happened.

Any other suggestions for algea control since I seem doomed to failure with plecos?


What are your water parameters? Plecos can be pretty sensitive to Nitrate spikes or quick changes. They may jump out, and might be found near your tank if not in it. Your other scavengers may have cleaned them up, but you would have found the skull. Which species of pleco are you trying to keep? Not all plecos are herbivores...

[Alyxandra]

Water always tests clean. Probably because I do small water changes every single day. Usually 5 gallons. The temp is kept at 80F. I never even found a skull. And nothing on the floor around the tank either, but there's no hole anywhere in the lid for them to get out.

[CAF]

::shrugs:: hmm...

Try an oto, do not feed algae pellets until the tank is clean.

[Dave66]

Otocinclus should be kept in troups of at least six; less and they seem to fade away . . .they live far better and longer in groups, long as they have sufficiant algae and veggies to eat.

Dave

[CAF]

Otocinclus should be kept in troups of at least six; less and they seem to fade away . . .they live far better and longer in groups, long as they have sufficiant algae and veggies to eat.

Dave

I hadn't heard that Dave... Thanks for the info. I have been keeping mine a 3some and they SEEM to be doing fine, but I can always use more otos...