help me help my friend please.

[djtypykuhl]

my friednd's girlfriend has a little 14g freshwater tank.
she currently has one GloFish, 2 neon tetras, and one of the needle-thin algae eaters that wal-mart sells.

now, im pretty sure danios should be in at least a 25g and i know for sure that neons should be in at least groups of 5. the algae eater is about 3.5inches long, and wal-mart even has a warning that they will bully slow moving fish. one of the tetras has no fins left and the other is starting to look scrappy.

also, there is a bit of algae build-up, so i don't think the algae eater is doing it's job.

I'm am trying to convince her and her mom to buy some mollies from me and get rid of/re-home the danio and tetras, considering mollies are a good starter fish and are very sturdy.

they have had these fish for about 2 years, so i think the danio should be fine, considering it's been there so long. it's probably adapted by now. but they used to have 6 tetras, and the four have died about 2 weeks ago, so the 2 that are left are most likely very stressed because of that, and because of the algae eater bullying them. i dont think they'll live much longer.

if you have any advice that i should give her, please share your wisdom

 

[JesseMessykinn]

Honestly If you algea eater is a Bully, That sould be the one to be removed. I have 2 Pelcos in my 29, ones say 5 inches and the other 3, and try just hide all day! I do remember I got one of those Chinese Alega Eats from walmart and it did the same to my Fish, So we got rid of em and never got another. For you alega Problem Just get a Tiny Pleco, Ive always got mine when they are less then a inch or so, and they Always dont Well for me.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Chinese Algae Eater is what you got. Notorious for sucking on fish slime coats, not eating algae, and growing 11+ inches long.

I would not recommend a Molly for a ten gallon. Not enough swim room, not to mention they have a huge bioload that would easily overwhelm any filter.

 

[librarygirl]

Personally I'd try to convince her to return/rehome the algae eater ASAP. Then increase the Glofish and Neon numbers to about 7 each and she could even get some small Corys for the bottom, like Pygmy Corys, a small group of 5 would be nice.

 

[djtypykuhl]

thank you for all advice!
and please give more ideas/suggustions
she wants to buy some fish from me, and all i have are mollies and "pollies" (molly+platy hybrids)
how many should i limit her on buying?