Too sick to clean aquarium

[Ginny Finny]

I was recently hospitalized two weeks ago and have not felt well enough to tend to my 20 gal FW tank. It’s heavily planted with 16 tetras/albino Corys. The glass is moderately covered with algae, but fish look happy. I feed them once daily and that’s been all I can do. Please someone tell me not to freak pout every time I look at them! The tank is in my bedroom so I can’t not look at them.

[Aiken Drum]

Missing a few water changes isnt to cause too much of an issue. If you get to more than a month i would try and change some water. Could someone help under supervision?

Cut back on feeding, maybe half as much or only feed every 2 days. This will slow down waste build up. Keep an eye on your fishes behaviour as this will the best indication of something being off.

When you do feel up to doing tank maintenance dont try and do much at once. Build up back to your normal water change schedule by doing smaller but more frequent changes to start with.

[Autumnsky]

How are you doing Ginny Finny?

[Autumnsky]

Hello Ginny_Finny,
How are you doing? How is the aquarium situation?

[Jacky12]

Hope you’re feeling better today. Can you advise a friend or neighbor to help out? A kid could do it. Can you post a gig ad on Craigslist & get someone in? Do you have a local Aquarium Facebook group? I’m in two & would gladly help a person in need, gratis.

[Autumnsky]

Saw this thread and wanted to check in with you. How is it going?

[BUGGERLUGZ]

You could throw a few pleco's in there to keep you're glass clean!

[Jacky12]

Bad advice, Bugger, assuming you’re serious. The common pleco reaches 12+. Other plecos, such as the rhino & red fiery, won’t eat algae at all. I have all three species. The commons produce much waste. I have FX6 filtration & do weekly 60%+ water changes

[BUGGERLUGZ]

My experience with pleco's has been totally different, In my experience they never get that big, get along with every fish in my tank (including fry),don't produce much waste and clean my tank sides nightly.

[Aiken Drum]

Depends on the pleco. There are all sorts of plecos, ranging from a couple of inches to a couple of feet. Most small species will eat algae, larger species eat algae when they are young and their diet changes as they get older.

All plecos produce a lot of waste. Any fish that grazes for vegetable matter throughout the day or night is going to produce more waste than a fish that eats fishfood once a day.

Many plecos are just sold as generic plecos. These are often the species that get big. Common plecos might be sold in the store a couple of inches long, but they are babies and will grow to at least a foot long, and possibly 2 feet if kept in a suitable environment. They need big tanks, 100 gallons or more. You just need to be more specific when saying pleco, because it covers a wide spectrum of what the word pleco means.

[Jacky12]

What Aiken says. Have 5 Common, 3 given to me by others with inadequate tank sizes. Two were purchased for purposes of observing their rapid growth. They have not disappointed! Here’s the best pics I can get of the three 12+ Commons, named P-1, P-2 and P-3. Poop machines, except the skinny 3” red one who won’t get bigger.

[BUGGERLUGZ]

Wow, them are some big guys!

[Jacky12]

Yep! I belong to a few local Aquarium Facebook groups. People often give Common Plecos away when they outgrow the space. It’s really a shame stores sell the tiny cute babies & people don’t know what they’re getting into. Mine are in different 125 gallon tanks. Wish I could put them in my 220, but it’s a cold water tank.