EV> I'm on my second pleco.  The first one died within 
 EV> approx. a week of putting
 EV> him in the tank -- I think it was because the algae 
 EV> hadn't built up enough to
 EV> support him.  I woke up one morning and he was swaying 
 EV> back and forth in the
 EV> filter wake, "attached" to one of the plastic plants.  
 EV> That was a few months
 EV> ago.
 EV> I bought another one, a larger, heartier fish.  He 
 EV> seems to be doing well, and 
 EV> is a lot more active than the last one.  Seems a lot 
 EV> more intelligent too, if
 EV> that's possible.  What I mean is, he's a lot more 
 EV> systematic when he's feeding 
 EV> in the tank.
 EV> In any case, since I introduced him to the tank the 
 EV> other day, the algae level 
 EV> has REALLY dropped, and I'm worried that I may not have 
 EV> enough fish in there to
 EV> keep the algae level up high enough for him to survive.  I've tried 
hose
 EV> Spirulina disks, but he doesn't seem terribly 
 EV> interested in them.  I just want 
 EV> to SEE him eat something solid to ease my fears that 
 EV> he's going to be the next 
 EV> death in the tank.  Is it true that they do most of 
 EV> their feeding at night?
 EV> It's not one of the fancy plecos... all the other ones 
 EV> at the store had species
 EV> names... this one was just a regular, plain Jane 
 EV> "Plecostomus".  Cat Plecos I
 EV> believe they're called?
I don't think the amount of fish has much to do with the algea level. they do 
contribute to the nitrogen cycle which benifits algea.anyway if you don't 
think your pleco is eating enough don't worry he is. he probly just doesn't 
like eating in front of you. he will eat the disks at night though. if you 
want to see him eat put a thin slice of boiled zuccini (2 mins) in the tank 
he should go crazy for that. What other fish do you have? cherry barbs like 
zuccini too same with most live bearers. hope this info helps.
                Later. 
                      Ben H
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