Feeding??
- Thread starter Jwoody
- Start date
The algae eater generally won't eat normal food unless there is no algae. Kind of a last resort kind of thing. The shrimp most widely available are called ghost or glass shrimp. Very cheap. Have 5 myself and they are little scavengers and do pretty well with uneaten food. You can also cut down on how much you feed them. The red tail shark is a territorial bottom feeder and he may harass and chase away any other fish you put in that will feed off the bottom. Another good fish for bottom feeding are loaches. Clown loach being most popular, but again, the shark may harass him. Try the shrimp first or lower the amount of food before getting any new fish.
Ditch the CAE, unless you are attached to it. It will get big, up to a foot long, and mean. Without the CAE you could get a few corydoras catfish, a bristlenose pleco, or a group of Kuhli Loaches. Ghost shrimp work well to clean detrius and eat old food, but unfortunately the shark and CAE would eat them eventually.
thanks, the only thing is that the fish are still very small so when i feed them most of it just sinks and they never see it. so thats why i was wondering, but my RTS is not acting agressing in any way right now, i have given him multiple places to hide and there are lots of plants so i think hes fine for the moment. I never really liked the CAE anyways i just got him to eat the algae, but my gravel is a little bit larger than the kind that you get at pet stores so that may be why the algae eater cant get to it.
Sorry - I'm sure you don't want to hear this, but your red tail shark is not okay in the size tank that you have. You really should rehome it immediately. They need at least 55g. And your CAE will only cause you problems - they will start to attack your other fish by sucking on their slimecoats and eventually killing them. Plus they really don't do a good job at eating algae. Do yourself a favour and rehome the CAE too. Trust me - I had a couple that I bought by mistake, and they turned into absolute nightmare fish.
Side Comment (more me complaining than anything): With the amount of issues that CAE's cause you would think that pet stores could do fish keepers a favor and stop selling them to everyone who is looking for an algae eater. I think that almost every new fish keeper has bought a CAE and had to re-home it because of size and aggression issues (myself included!). Not to say that CAE's wouldn't be a lovely fish for a fish keeper who can meant their needs!!
From what I understand about red tailed sharks is that they shouldn't be kept in anything smaller than a 55 gallon and generally the more space the better.
From what I understand about red tailed sharks is that they shouldn't be kept in anything smaller than a 55 gallon and generally the more space the better.
I agree achase. The CAE is a great fish for a scavenger (not too good for algae when they get large) for an aggressive tank. A buddy of mine has 5 in a 200gallon cichlid tank. They swim together as a group exploring/eating as they go.
I have a similar complaint when the pet stores misguide the new aquarist and sell them a common pleco for a 10gallon tank.
Or the Irridescent shark, sheesh! My LFS has a sign that they can get over 5". Only 5inches???!!!
I have a similar complaint when the pet stores misguide the new aquarist and sell them a common pleco for a 10gallon tank.
Or the Irridescent shark, sheesh! My LFS has a sign that they can get over 5". Only 5inches???!!!
as wise of pet stores taking your fish you would need to call around to all your local lfs's. get rid of the rts asap so you dont get attached. all sharks require a min of 50g tank. balas require 100g min. your cae i would get rid of asap. its unfortunate you have to start over but sometimes that could be good.
for bottom feeders, get oto's (5 can count as 1 in stocking/bioload) or tons of shrimp (which also put off a minimal bioload) or any type of smaller pleco. bristlenoses from what ive researched tend to not get lazy as they age and do great.
for bottom feeders, get oto's (5 can count as 1 in stocking/bioload) or tons of shrimp (which also put off a minimal bioload) or any type of smaller pleco. bristlenoses from what ive researched tend to not get lazy as they age and do great.