Albino bottom feeder?

[Eli2Shockey]

Hey All,
I got my first fish this past weekend (5 tetras, 1 angel, algae eater and this albino bottom feeder). I'm not sure if that was the exact name but it was suppose to eat the waste of the bottom of the ground. Anyway, 24 hrs after having them it appears one of the other fish attacked and killed this poor guy. He appeared to get bit and then I saw the algae eater go and bite that spot.

Anyway, my question as a newbie would be is it worth getting another one or will this happen again?

thanks!

 

[CAPSLOCK]

What kind of algae eater? Also, what size tank is this?

The only 2 types of bottom feeders that I can think of that are commonly sold as albinos are albino cories and albino plecos. Is it either of those?

 

[homebunnyj]

First of all, welcome to the tank!
Secondly, I wouldn't replace it just yet. Something you can do that will help you be successful in this hobby is to read this: http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/showthread.php?t=31669
This sticky has a whole bunch of really important info that will help you understand how to get your tank a good start, how to handle problems that you may come up against in the first weeks of your tank.
Read that, then come back and tell us what size tank you have and anything else that occurs to you after you read the stickies. You're in a very good place. The people here are very knowledgeable, and very friendly (except possibly for a couple of kids who haven't quite learned to be tactful... so if you do happen to get a rude reply to something, please remember that that isn't the norm here.) Most of us just want to help newbies out because we remember how frustrating it can sometimes be getting started in this hobby.

 

[Eli2Shockey]

hey HBJ,
I've actually read through those stickies a few times, definitely some helpful tips and tricks. My fish seem to be doing fine health wise so far, about 40 hours in. ( besides the albino ) The tank is 10 gallons.


After looking up the pictures, it WAS an albino corie . I didn't know that becuase the store didnt have it listed as that.
thanks for the replies.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Since the tank is just set up, I wouldn't add anything to it for a while yet. Let it get a little established. Even then, cories need to be in groups of at least 3, and I'm not sure you've got room for a group in a 10g with the other fish.

Did you cycle the tank? If you didn't, you want to be doing water changes daily or every other day, since angels are pretty sensitive.

Unless it's a Chinese algae eater or you actually see the attack, I doubt the algae eater actually attacked and killed the cory. He might have just died and then the algae eater was nibbling on him.

 

[Eli2Shockey]

I used biosphere bacteria (the packet? ) to cycle the tank. I dont really have much knowledge on this, but I was going to change 20% of the water 1 week from when I put the fish in, is that ok?

 

[CAPSLOCK]

That should have cycled it, so the weekly changes should be fine. If you notice the fish look distressed, you might have to do a change sooner.