babysitting

[snakemann87]

Hey, Im babysitting two large goldfish. The guy cleans the tank out every week and I told him that an algea eater would help to keep it cleaner. What would be the best algea eater for a tank with 2 goldfish.

P.S.- make it cheap I offered to buy it:)

[Darlene]

If your goldfish are larger then 1 inch body length , which I assume they are , then I have bad news. You won't get a cheap algae eater of any kind as they will eat it unless it is as big as they are. I may be able to give you more suggestions on keeping the tank cleaner but I need more info on the set-up. I've been keeping gold fish 'forever' & fancies for many years , too. I currently have gold fish in 3 of my tanks. I clean my tanks twice a year & add evaporated water in between. I'd be glad to help so post back or send me a p.m. or e-mail. Hope this helps. Dar.

[snakemann87]

Ok, thank god i didn't buy one. These goldfish are easily over 1 inch. They are probably 3-4 inches. I'd appreciate the information, well my neighbor. But im getting into this hobby too so Id appreciate it also.

[Shane Tesser]

Im sorry...i dont usually get into arguments here...but the info on the goldfish could not be more off IMO. I have two huge, almost four inch goldfish, fancy ones at that, that are about 9 years old. They are a male and female, and i have sucessfully bred them many times. In with them for all of these years are two very small peppered cory cats. I to have kept goldfish for more years then i can remember, not for theyre looks, but i kept them for genetics for breeding my own forms. I have always kept small algae eaters..and never had a problem with them...none have ever disappeared, none have been killed by goldfish! Goldfish are basically part of the carp family...they are bottom feeders, they stir through gravel etc...not known as meat eaters...sorry...but go ahead and buy and algae eater, they will not get eaten...and furthermore..they will have nothing to do with why the water is not clear. As for tearing a tank down to clean two times a year....this is such old school thinking...i havent heard of it in years. It used to be thought of as a good thing to do. That was well before ppl learned about bacteria, water conditions, and their uses. If anything, partial water changes is the key. Anyway can keep certain fish...but can they keep them properly? Sometimes its better to arm yourself with proper information before you just give it. This is why i read. Even though i have bred and owned so many different types of fish, i still buy beginner guides and i still buy every book i can get my hands on. Im not attacking anyone here...im just saying..let be cafeful on what info we give. Lately ive seen some info given out on this forum that is simply scaring me!

[geckoguy157]

the best type i could think of is pluctoctemos its something like that i cant rember how u spell it they ger farley gig mine is about 6 to 7 inches long now and can get alot bigger and i have it in with an oscar and well there main deit is other fish and so far they have not eaten it yet and i have had them in there for a year

[stretch]

Yeah the goldfish info seemed kind of bad to me too. The pleucaustomis is the best algae eater I ever had. I don't know how to spell it either :)

[Youkai]

One thing I want to mention is that if there is a LOT of algae, there is a problem that should be looked at before adding some kind of algae eater.
It could be high phosphates, too much light, a number of things.
And for the record, I find that otocinclus are MUCH better algae eaters, and they don't outgrow tanks. :D

[corr]

A Chinese algae eater will latch on to a goldfish once it reaches 3 or 4 inches. I've seen it. The goldfish eventually died. Be careful.

I feel that Otos or snails are the best option. With Otos, you'll need to heat the tank slightly and have 3 or 4 of them as company for each other. IMO

[Shane Tesser]

Ditto Corr...i never mention the Chinese algae eater anymore as i would assume no one would be silly enough to keep these other than in a species tanks...aggressive when old, latch onto other fish..dont do anything with algae, and are impossible to catch once introduced...i dont even know why these are in the hobby anymore..im not a big fan..can you tell ;)

[Darlene]

Sorry Shane, guess I didn't give enough info. I,too, do partial water changes & when I do a total clean I keep the water with the good bacteria. What I mean is that that is how often I wash the tank & decor for algae , etc. That is because I like the newer look personally. Now when I said goldfish would eat smaller fish I meant the "plain goldfish" , the comets. I assumed (should have asked) that that is what he meant by "large goldfish". In the past 20 years or so, I have lost a fair number of small fish to them before I learned how aggressive they can be. My comets now reside with no one less then 3/4 of their size. They even made an attempt at eating my African Dwarf Frogs , once upon a time. The only time I ever had a fancy get aggressive was a pompom who ate a pleco & two guppies. There is a larger algae eater in that tank though that he has never bothered.

Shane perhaps you could give me another idea of where my algae eaters & plecos went if goldfish positively won't eat them. I did research this & never found another explanation & that is when I stopped keeping smaller ones in my goldfish tanks. I watch my fish everyday & they disappeared overnight. No body , no nothing & there was only goldfish in the tanks they disapperaed from. I've never had a disappearance from my tropical tanks. All tanks are totally covered so no escapees. I always thought it strange but am lost for another explanation. In total I had 7 algae eaters disappear & 4 plecos. Any suggestions????? Oh , don't know if it makes a diff but all my fancies ars 3 - 5 inches & the comets are between 7 inches & one foot.

[Shane Tesser]

I would say competition to be honest. Goldfish are vicious sifters when it comes to eating food off and right out of the gravel. I am only guessing here..but i would say that perhaps they basically out ate the plecs and various algae eaters. Most algae eaters if you watch their eating behavior will wait, they are not that aggressive with the exception of some of the larger corys, and definately loaches. Lets go out on a limb here and say that perhaps if the goldfish were that aggressive for the food, and you are feeding the proper amounts and not over feeding the tank...which is good practice as we all know how goldfish will eat and eat....then perhaps the goldfish simply beat the algae eaters to meals for extended periods of time..basically starving them to death. When a fish dies...they are basically attacked by any tank mate. I have watched neons eat dead fish. Its a secretion or a smell im guessing that triggers such a response. With goldfish of this size, it would not be a problem for them to eat another tank mate over night. In fact ill say very plausable. The only thing that really baffles me would be the plecs. Just for the simple reason of their skin type, very hard, and lots of sharp armor like little pricklies all over them. I have a two footer that i cant use nets on cause he rips them to pieces when he struggles. Ive had these same fish die in large african cichlid tanks with fish 6" and over and not touched however...so perhaps its one of those great mysteries...or perhaps you have one of those Mongeral Koi's from that movie Deuce Bigalo!!! Lmao! ;)

[Crusty]

Shane dont be silly. me & you both know where those fish went!
Remeber that night, many years ago, a long night of drugs,drugs & DRUGS(YOU KNOW THAT HIT TUNE WE DID).The next morning we wrapped up all those 13 legged ****-roaches, burnt em and as we gracefully stared into yer oversized hot-tub-of-a-carp-tank.........them golden leaches simply spontaneously cumbusted!!!, right in the water..........You know yer self
Love Crust

[Shane Tesser]

Lmfao!!!!! Hahahahah Crusty...glad to see you posted finally!!! Ignore him everyone...just a guy ive known since kindergarden...its all lies!!! Lmao!!! :D

[Darlene]

LOL. Shane I think your friend is quite a hoot ! His theory is MUCH more entertaining !!! Think I'll go with it , if you don't mind ? !! Imagine.....my plecos combusted !!! hehehe........

[Herpkingdom]

Plecos are the best IMO. But a littel known fact about the algea eaters sold in pet stores.....

Only the babies/young will eat algea. ADults will eat the food that has fallen to the bottom and even skim the surface for the flakes.

Most pet stores will not tell you this fact. I wonder why?