Enough good?

[Ketchem]

I have seen my 3 Mollys and my dwarf gourami picking out food between the gravel. I have also 2 Corys, 1 Oto and 1 little Pleco In my 15 gal. How do I know the last mentioned 3 are getting enough food from between the gravel since the other pick it out also?

 

[Burleson]

Well think of it this way a fish’s stomach is about the size of its eye so as long as you are feeding “one eye” per fish then you are probably feeding enough.
Fish as curios and if the see food they will usually eat it and they will sometime overeat so I wouldn’t worry about it that much as long as they aren’t fighting over food and or if you see that some of them aren’t eating or getting a chance to eat either move the ones that aren’t getting to eat to a different tank or feed more

 

[Ketchem]

Well think of it this way a fish’s stomach is about the size of its eye so as long as you are feeding “one eye” per fish then you are probably feeding enough.
Fish as curios and if the see food they will usually eat it and they will sometime overeat so I wouldn’t worry about it that much as long as they aren’t fighting over food and or if you see that some of them aren’t eating or getting a chance to eat either move the ones that aren’t getting to eat to a different tank or feed more

Thank you!

 

[GaryE]

You are going to have to manage this longterm, as you are very overstocked. That will mean more food going in, and that means more water pollution being generated. Your mollies and pleco will grow, and so will the issue.

Gravel large enough for food to fall between is also a little dangerous, as food will be trapped and rot.

You an manage it for a few months if you do weekly water changes of about half the tank. But pleco growth is unstoppable, and they can be almost as large as a 15 gallon. Healthy mollies will also get large for a smaller tank like that.

 

[Ketchem]

You are going to have to manage this longterm, as you are very overstocked. That will mean more food going in, and that means more water pollution being generated. Your mollies and pleco will grow, and so will the issue.

Gravel large enough for food to fall between is also a little dangerous, as food will be trapped and rot.

You an manage it for a few months if you do weekly water changes of about half the tank. But pleco growth is unstoppable, and they can be almost as large as a 15 gallon. Healthy mollies will also get large for a smaller tank like that.

Thank you. I had a lot of algae on my plants and needed the pleco. I was told that he will get big and I can take him back at that time.

 

[sharkweek178]

Thank you. I had a lot of algae on my plants and needed the pleco. I was told that he will get big and I can take him back at that time.

As tempting as it can be, using fish to manage a maintenance problem doesn't usually work out too well. Plecos eat algae but they are a very heavy bioload fish. Which can lead to more algae.
Algae is the result of imbalance in a tank. Excess nutrients in the water and/or excess light. Overfeeding fish can cause excess nutrients in the water. Also being overstocked. One solution for that are fast growing floating plants like salvinia minima, Amazon frogbit. anacharis, hornwort, among others. They suck out a lot of the nutrients that would feed algae. They're great for water quality and fish like the shade and shelter they provide.
You can also manage algae by controlling the duration and/or intensity of your lighting. If your lights don't have a built in timer, you can buy an electrical timer that sets the on and off time for your lights. That's also good for fish. They need a consistent day night cycle. They have circadian rhythms too. Scale back your lighting until the algae is under control.
Live plants will always outcompete algae for nutrients. But any excess will go to algae. It's a matter of finding the balance. Enough nutrients and light for your plants to thrive but not more than that which will feed algae.

One more thing. corys and plecos can be nocturnal. If you're concerned about them getting enough food, try feeding them at night.

 

[Ketchem]

As tempting as it can be, using fish to manage a maintenance problem doesn't usually work out too well. Plecos eat algae but they are a very heavy bioload fish. Which can lead to more algae.
Algae is the result of imbalance in a tank. Excess nutrients in the water and/or excess light. Overfeeding fish can cause excess nutrients in the water. Also being overstocked. One solution for that are fast growing floating plants like salvinia minima, Amazon frogbit. anacharis, hornwort, among others. They suck out a lot of the nutrients that would feed algae. They're great for water quality and fish like the shade and shelter they provide.
You can also manage algae by controlling the duration and/or intensity of your lighting. If your lights don't have a built in timer, you can buy an electrical timer that sets the on and off time for your lights. That's also good for fish. They need a consistent day night cycle. They have circadian rhythms too. Scale back your lighting until the algae is under control.
Live plants will always outcompete algae for nutrients. But any excess will go to algae. It's a matter of finding the balance. Enough nutrients and light for your plants to thrive but not more than that which will feed algae.

One more thing. corys and plecos can be nocturnal. If you're concerned about them getting enough food, try feeding them at night.

Thank you for the response . I do have had a timer on my light and it is set for 6 hrs. But that didn’t help. But this little pleco seemed to have done a good job with removing this algae. Maybe I just got lucky. But I didnt know that they are nocturnal.