Cory Cats and Algae Eater

[Bandit28804]

I am just curious if anyone else has had this problem of if anyone else knows what to do about this. My Cory Cats have always stayed on the bottom of the tank of my 10 gallon aquarium. Hiding inside of a artificial cave. Well recently I came home and found my Cory Cats in the plants and sitting on top of the cave. They seem to be heading to higher ground so to speak. I can't figure out why they suddenly don't wanna be on the bottom.

As time went by I have noticed that the Algea Eater has suddenly become aggressive. He is chasing the Cory Cats and my other fish around the aquarium. I am not sure what to do to stop this, or if this is even a threat to my fish in general. I am just trying to decide if I need to take the Algea Eater out of the aquarium and get a Oto or some other Algea Eater, but I am not sure if this is necessary. Sorry for the spelling on that I have no idea how to spell Algea. So anyway if anyone can help me with this would be great.

Thanks
Josh

[DavidDoyle]

Algae eater is a very broad generic term. However, very few belong in a 10 gal, If you have a chinese algae eater, get rid of it and your problem is solved.

[Bandit28804]

I'm not sure what kind it is. I mean that's what they called it at the pet store lol. I know it's not a Oto and I know it was really really cheap if that helps, but I am thinking about getting rid of it. So you are saying I dont' need a Algae eater at all?

[DavidDoyle]

No I am saying most fish that would be called algae eaters are ones that are not appropriate for that small a tank.

[wildtiger]

Personally I would get rid of it and get a couple of otos or a bristlenose plec.

[garfieldnfish]

A 10 gal is too small for a bristlenose. Otos prefer to be in groups, while one would fit in a 10 gal, a group will not. What else is in this 10 gal with the algae eater and cory cats and how many cory cats? A couple of applesnails may work for algae control.
I would also suggest you return the Chinese algae eater and I'm pretty sure that's what you got stuck with. I wish they would stop selling them. Grey in color with small dark spots along the side of his entire length and a suckermouth. If that description fits, he will go crazy in a 10 gal tank and take it out on anything he comes into contact with, the corys being bottom dwellers will take the lion share of this aggression. I have one that became aggressive in a 30 gal. I bought a 15 gal for him and added 3 dwarf puffers and I see he is not happy in this tank. While he will not hurt the puffers, I still feel for him and will move him once I have space in a larger tank for him. But it's his own fault he is in the 15 gal. His brother/sister is a 75 gal tank and behaving very well.

[Bandit28804]

I have 2 Cory Cats, 3 Danios, 1 Gourmi, and 2 Fancy Guppies that I inherited from my mom. I also have a Betta that is in a breeder to keep him warm for the winter otherwise he stays in his own bowl. I have had all the fish for almost a year with the exception of the Guppies. They have never had problems before until recently.

[garfieldnfish]

Chinese algae eaters don't normally get aggressive until they reach a certain age/size. That means yours is growing up. At that point some prefer other fish's slime coat over algae and that's when the problems start. That's why I got dwarf puffers for my aggressive, too small to latch onto and poisonous to boot. Even CAEs seem to know this and he will not bother my puffers. I feed my aggressive one shrimp pellets and a piece of fresh shrimp from my meat department every so often. That seems to keep him happy enough. My non-aggressive one will not touch the fresh shrimp, while my aggressive one gets totally wild and tears it apart.

[Bandit28804]

Maybe I should get rid of the fish then. This could explain my recent loss of some Danios that just seem to have vanished off the face of the earth. I never once saw a body and I was never able to find anything to show they were dead other then the fact that they were just gone one day.