Greetings!

[Tschwartz1007]

Hello, everyone. I have enjoyed my own aquaria of various sizes on and off for 30 years. Currently I have a 35-gallon with two filters (bottom and back). In fact, what prompted me to join the group is that I am experiencing some white algae in the tank. It comes from overfeeding (a friend kept my aquarium while I was out of town). It has caused me great problems as my pH is off (extremely alkaline) and I am seeing high levels of nitrates and nitrites. In fact, I just lost my plecostomus that was about 7 years old. I'm sure it is due to the trash he was having to consume at the bottom of the tank.

Soooo - I have just completed an aggressive water change. I also introduced some shrimp to the tank in the hopes that they will help to clean up the sludge. And I planted some live plants.

I hate the thought that my fish are certainly not very happy right now due to the condition of the tank.

[Cactuspixie]

Hello and welcome!

Why can't friends and family just do what is asked of them- nothing more, nothing less!
How frustrating for you!

I imagine if the conditions are bad enough to kill a pleco, your shrimp will fare worse. You'd be better of doing an aggressive gravel vac and manually removing the slime or fungus or whatever it is.
What are your numbers for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate?
My best guess is that your friend over fed and didn't do any pwc so the ammonia spiked.
Lots of large water changes using prime or an equivalent quality conditioner will lower the toxicity of the water and help balance the ph again. It's strange that the ph went UP instead of DOWN. Unless it was raised purposely to correct a drop in ph.
I hope the rest of the inhabitants pull through. Keep us posted

[Cactuspixie]

Update?