Heidi125

This question is for my neighbour. He has a 7g tank, with 2 guppies, 1 glowlight tetra, 1 cloud mountain minnow, 2 otto cats, 1 albino pleco.
I think he has to many fish!
I have been testing the water for him, I make him do water changes every few days, due to the fact that the nitrates are always high.
The problem is everyday, fish stop eating. Now today all the fish do not eat.
There is a lot of algae in the tank, that I keep trying to clean, but it just comes back the next day or so.
Any suggestions?

Shawnie

That tanks is way overstocked so daily water changes should be done...treat the tap water with prime and maybe get some vita-chem for them...if he could take some back to the store or get another tank, that would be my suggestion...otherwise keep up with the changes daily, and maybe try some bloodworms or baby shrimp...they must be pretty uncomfy in there because guppies are usually lil piggies!!!goodluck !!

COBettaCouple

The pleco is his biggest problem. That tank is just way too small for a fish that grows so large and puts out so much waste.

Parasite clear tablets might be in order if they have a parasite outbreak, which sounds likely if they don't eat and are lethargic. The Pleco may have to be moved first, but check the package directions.

For the algae, less light and live plants can help fight it but it may be an ongoing problem. If the tank were less stocked, some bamboo shrimp might be a good answer to that.

Isabella

Well, as far as I see it, the tank will have algae problems for as long as it will continue to be overstocked. Overstocking leads to more fish wastes, and more fish wastes create more nutrients in the water column available for algae to feed on, and therefore to grow. As others have said, this tank is way too overstocked, especially for the pleco. My best suggestion would be to get a bigger tank, cycle it properly, and move all the fish there, if your neighbor could do that. Otherwise, he/she needs very frequent water changes to keep the water free of high nitrates (and of ammonia). But even clean water won't help stunted growth in fish. Larger fish need larger tanks, or else they'll develop stunded and will be unhealthy in the long run. Also ... who'd want to live in a small closet all their lives anyway? You know what I mean ... .

P.S. The most likely reason why the fish are not eating is that the high nitrate content is making them sick.