algea eater

Question
I have an algea eater who's head had turned a pinkish orange. It also has a few pinkins lines at the base of the dorsal fin and on his tail. We have a 55 gal. tank with about 40 inches  of fish. It is a community tank. Neons, guppies,mollies, pleco and 3 algea eaters.5

Answer
Hi,
It depends very much upon what type of algae eater he is. An Otocinclus, a Chinese Algae Eater... What exactly is he?

I would guess it could be ammonia burns, so the easiest thing to do would be to test the ammonia in the tank water. If it shows any reading at all, even 0.1, do water changes of 30 percent twice a week until it is 0.0.
Feed them a variety of food, bloodworms, brineshrimp and daphnia, as well as cucumber and boiled and shelled peas in addition to their normal flake food.


I would also like to mention that inches of fish provides no information, it is all about waste produced, not the actual size of the fish. For example, 4 two inch fish is not quite the same as 2 four inch fish.
Also, guppies and neons do not get on together very well. They are prone to nipping each other.

Best wishes,
Kathryn