Algae eater

Question
Hi there my boyfriend and I have a 55 gallon fish tank and we have had the algae eater for about 1 years and he's a pretty good side. Well today my boyfriend found are algae eater somewhat floating at the top and he started to move and when he did he notice these few spots there's one on it stomach and one on his back were they look like he was attack but wasn't his skin is peeling away pretty much and we can't figure out what we need to do. We have given the tank a clean and added stuff to remove any fungi or parisies. But he not eating and hasn't for a couple of days what percussion should we take???

Answer
If he is a pleco, then the main problem is the size of his tank. They get very large, 18 inches I have seen, and need to be in a very large tanks. If the tank is too small, the body of the fish will stop growing, but the internal organs do not stop growing. This will cause a very painful death. Give the medication a week or so to work through the fish. If you have the carbon in your filter, make sure to remove it or it will remove all the medication from the water. Let me know how he is doing in about 7 days or if he gets worse before then.