Awww, sorry about Jeff! You could call them all Jeff if you want. DH says all of 'our' house plants are named Steve. (Yes, if I can say 'our' dog, he can say 'our' plants. Sharing is hard! Luckily doesn't apply to cars unless I need to move something big or icky, or we want to go somewhere unpaved. I have the most trouble with 'our' TV, or at least the remote.) Is Jeff-the-plant fuzzy? I realized yesterday they had 2 kinds. I'd already gotten the smooth one last time. Had a larger pot of this fuzzy guy in my tray but noticed one in company with the Begonia. I always go for a 2-fer, even if smaller. No plans to kill either, right? Hmm.. now I remember the fuzzy one I'd picked out had some pink on it though. See - I *need* to go back. I'm sure you're doing what you can for Jeff!

Blakekr: Late so maybe I am misreading. What size tank. Pleco is pretty large (or gets to be) That said, what is the ph of the tank... most not all tetras prefer lower ph... below 7... (what was in the bag your brought them home in) I do many hours slow dribble to move the ph from store (5) to mine 7.6. Now note I said tetres like lower ph. The ones I got and put into already cycled tank.. are pristella tetras and from my research are hardier and can handle higher ph and even brakish water then most tetras. Should be no ammonia which means all is off in tank ie not best water. Tetras tend to be very sensitive to water conditions in my experience and research (again prestellas are often used to cycle - something I think no fish should be used strictly for) much hardier. That said, not fish will do well with not best water conditions. I would not put any pleco large or otherwise with any small fish. In spite of what you may or may not have read, mine (gone now gave away) would eat my smaller fish including cat fish (pregnant and really upset me, one of pair I was going to breed) you say large, so again what size tank... they could be getting stressed. They also get stressed when not in proper sized school. Please write again or email me sherryazure@yaoo.com (not getting emails anymore and can't seem to correct) for info on tank size. Are you over zeolous in cleaning vacumming thereby causing ammonia (bacteria has to start recylce all over again)... Please mentions size of tank so one can determine amount of water changes.... don't do all of gravel all at once. Unless you have live plants you don't need deep gravel.. I would wait to add anything until this is figured out. Need tank size. Temperature PH Type of filtrations and actualy size of pleco for tank size.. they grow up to 12 inches and you need a huge tank eventually. Live plants, any plants, wood for pleco... algae waefers fed to pleco... The more informatin the better. Any symptoms with re to fish prior to dying? Again, though you mention ammonia. zero. Fish have gills that have delicate little arches. This is the area where oxygen transportation occurs. when this is damages (ie fish jumps, they collaspe) or ammnoia or other neg water (ammonia burns this area like acid to them) they then can't breathe and blood gets damaged so on.. breathing hard and lying on side is an indication of this. Please post more info. Best Sherry

Plecostomus Hypostomus plecostomus (known colloquially as a sucker fish) is the scientific name for a type of freshwater tropical Central and South American fish belonging to the family Loricariidae. They are large algae eaters, and to differentiate them from small algae eaters, they are often referred to as plecostomus, often abbreviated as plecos or plecs. They are extremely popular in aquaria for their ability to clean tanks by eating algae growth and dead fish.

Ok, phosphates enter the aquariums in three ways: 1.- Fertilzers 2.- From tap water 3.- As a byproduct of the final decomposition of organic matter. Those are the main three sources of phospates, other source could be phosphate leached from activated charcoal, but the ammount is infimal just beacuse you have to rinse the charcoal before adding it to your filter. Tap water can be important if you don´t bother to check the tap water before adding it to the aquarium, normally the levels are not representative. Fertilizers, oh well, in a well balanced well kept planted aquarium fertilizers are not a problem because superior plants use the phosphorus faster than algae so there´s not much phospahte left after all. Now the real situation is that normally the one to blame is the fishkeeper, why ? because normally the fishkeeper does not have a regular maintenance schedule, the tank should be siphoned at least every two weeks to avoid the accumulation of detritus between the gravel granules, detritus accumulation-------> high phosphate levels-------->brown algae bloom, filter inserts have to be rinsed every week and the charcoal has to be changed every 4-6 weeks. Phosphate binding earths and resins ARE NOT A SOLUTION in long term use, they are good for removing phosphates from tap water and as a quick fix but they can´t replace good aquarium maintenance practices. Proper filtration, not overfeeding, regular partial water changes, siphoning the gravel, cleaning the filters on a regular basis ARE THE SOLUTION.