chinese alge eater

Question
i just brought chinese alge eaters 2 days ago and they died, my tank has been up for more then a year the ph is right
i just cant get any other alge eaters to grow? what am i doing worng? the tank mates are bumble bee cichlid /convicts also, in a 55 gal tanki had a snail for the longest also and then he died too so plse help thanks  

Answer
Hey Franklyn,

Chinese algae eaters are best suited in mild 70*F water. My guess is your cichlids are kept in low 80's, where they're most comfortable. Generally, Chinese algae eaters like more mild salt content too, where a cichlid prefers a bit higher salt level. for a community creature like that, 1.01 is around the top end for salt. How you acclimate, the age of each, and other factors play a role in their well-being too.

Chinese algae eaters are generally fairly fragile if bred wrong. That there means you just have a pet store with crummy suppliers. If they are bred well, then water quality changes (and acclimation) could be your problem. If nitrites, nitrates, ammonia, chlorine, salt, temperature, water flow, iron, phosphorus, and other water conditions are not similar to that of the store, and it's natural demands, the fish will suffer.

If your water is absolutely perfect, not too warm, good lighting, good flow, good air content, some live plants, hiding places and everything is ideal, then I'd fall back to just a bad fish.

Other things to know: they only eat algae in their younger stages. As adults, they need to be kept alone, pairs or groups will become aggressive and territorial. In general, a common plecostomus does better in a low salt tank then these guys do. If you're looking for a more different, uncommon fish, look up hillstream loaches. I find them quite amazing, and they seem to do well in just about all conditions, except warm water.

If you're unsure about your fish's compatibility, look up corys, catfish, another snail and other sucker-mouthed fish. Each will have tons of information, and many, many different species to choose from.

Best of luck, and hope this helped clear up some confusion.