Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I thought my algae eater's eyes had turned white but when I looked closer it seems that they are gone and he just has the sockets (sunken and white) I have had him for over a year in an 80 gallon aquarium with 12 cichlids. The cichlids have gotten quite big. Could they have done this? I have never seen them chase after him. I did see him chase one of the fish when he tried to get his algae wafer from him. Has anyone experienced anything like this before?? Don't know if I should be concermed or what I should do about this. Please help.

I wouldn't put it past your cichlids. The algae eaters are typically nocturnal so when they are active you were probably sleeping, and the cichlids could have gotten in a fight with him. I would put some melafix in your tank to prevent any bacterial infections for your algae eater. I have also promoted your post to see if anyone else has had this experience you are experiencing. Just keep an eye on your algae eater's behavior, if you notice that it's being picked on in any way shape or form, I would remove him from the tank to prevent him from being killed.
I would usually ask my go to cichlid girl, but she's out for a surgery. If you haven't heard anything from someone about this in about a week, post back and I will ask my cichlid girl what's up. The only way your algae eater could have lost eyes is by other aggressive fish (which would be your cichlids).
-----
Phishie

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Thanks for responding. I was watching him last night when I fed them and he is acting very normal. If it is his eyes that are gone it doesn't seem to bother him at all. He even darted to the top for some food! Should I have two in an aquarium that large?
Would it be ok to add a log or something to give them more hiding spaces? I have some decent size pieces in there but they are digging in the gravel for more hiding spots so thought I should just add another for them. Let me know, and again thanks.

I'm actually not sure about the compatibility of algae eaters and cichlids. I've never had cichlids before, and I've been swamped in research for my other volunteer job as well as job hunting info. I will try to remember to ask my cichlid guru when she gets back from surgery. Or if you want you can ask yourself on our fish chats tuesday nights at 10 p.m. EST. She's the host. She should be back on the 26th.

Your tank isn't overstocked, so that's a good thing. Do you have a lot of hiding places? That's what makes a great cichlid tank with little fighting. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to add some more hiding places.

Once you are for sure that your algae eater's eyes are gone, I would definitely add some melafix so no infections come along. It is a really good sign that he is just as happy as can be.
-----
Phishie

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

I had that exact expierence with my pleco. I had an 80 gal tank and my cichlids got to be about 6 inchs long and sucked his eye off. I was able to remove him before he lost his other one thankfully. One thing to remember about cichlids is that they are very territorial. You need a lot of hiddy holes, and to break up the lines of sight in the tank, so that they forget that there not alone in there. They will be a lot happier and less agresive. Also once another fish moves out of sight they will be less likly to follow, but don't forget these are cichlids there still pretty smart for a fish. Good luck.

Thanks so much for your response. I appreciate it. My pleco seems to be doing fine in spite of having no eyes. They must have a good sense about them. He gets around fine and eats well. We have recently changed our tank around to give them more places to hide. It seems to be working well. Should I leave my pleco in there? I do not have another tank to switch him to. What are the best types of algae eaters to have with cichlids? The problem is I only see small ones and don't want the same thing to happen. Any suggestions?

I just found my pleco dead !! Not sure how, as he was fine yesterday. I didn't notice any marks on him where the cichlids might have gotten him. If you could please advise what I should get for an algae eater. As I stated before, my cichlids are getting large so I don't want to get another small Pleco for fear they may do the same thing to another one. I have not seem any large ones for sale. Any advise would be appreciated. Poor guy. I feel really bad.

I'm sorry for your loss.

I emailed my cichlid guru to find out for you, but I haven't heard anything back yet. She is the host on the fish chat tonight. Do you have time to stop by the chat tonight at 10 EST? I think she should be back (she's recovering from surgery).

I would hold off on getting a pleco or other bottom feeder until I can get you an answer. I'm sorry, I wish I knew more about cichlids.

Again, I'm really sorry about your loss.
-----
Phishie

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Thanks so much. Appreciate it. I will be on the chat tonight ! Thanks for reminding me.

No problem. I'll be on there too (I'm pretty sure - I try to be every week), but I will not be on as PHishie. I'll be fishiefriend. See you tonight. Oh yeah, the cichlid guru is PHPanzer.
-----
Phishie

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Hi. I missed the chat last night, but I did talk to the host, and she said you didn't come. So I asked her for you. She said that the cichlids did kill your pleco. She's bought 6-7 plecos and they all got killed. So now she just had snails for bottom clean up. The snails have to be big or the cichlids will eat them whole. Hope this helps.
-----
Phishie

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Darn. We were out last night so I was unable to get on chat. I appreciate you thinking of me. Hopefully next week. Snails huh?
I will have to give that a try. Will let you know how it works out.

Yes most likly it was the Cichlids that did it. I have a 90 gl with 14 African Cichlids 3 of them being 5 inches in size and I cant seem to keep Plecos alive. Some Cichlids like the ones I have can only be with their own kind cuz of how mean they can get so I use big snails to keep the algae down and the ACs dont mess with them. If you have any more questions you can aways find me in my fish chat on Tuesday at 9 pm est chat.pethobbyist.com/login.php?room_name=Fish+%26+Marine+Life+Chat