What I want to know is if Goldfish will eat algae eaters?

Question

I went away for the weekend and asked my mom to feed my goldfish. I have four, plus an algae eater. My mom did feed them and she said that they were all alive and well. Today, Tuesday, I pulled out the skeleton of my algae eater. Just the skeleton with skin left only on the tail. I want to know if my goldfish ate my algae eater either pre or post death and if I should buy another one. I bought all of them at the same time, and feed them three times a day, so they weren't starving. I don't know exactly how long he had been dead because I didn't actually see him on Sunday or monday when I returned. Is three days long enough for his skin to dissapear? BTW, the skeleton was at the BOTTOM of the tank, in a corner not floating at the top.Help!

Answer 1

As you can see goldfish are always busy looking for food. They are always busy, busy busy!!!!  Sometimes when they are doing their usual routine they accidentally eat another fish especially if the fish is smaller then themselves. They DO NOT do this on purpose. I just had this happen in my tank. I have three huge goldfish. They ate my algae eater on accident. He was smaller then the goldfish. And yes that is enough time for it's skin to disappear. and the skeleton will stay at the bottom. That's why sometimes you may not see a fish that is gone. They disappear and the skeleton floats here and there at the bottom of the tank. And I must add that you shouldn't feed your fish three times a day. I know that it probably says that on the jar of fish food. But they are only saying that so they can get more money from us the fish keeper. Your goldfish need to be only fed one time a day. Overfeeding can kill your fish. Produce a lot of ammonia in your tank which can be very harmful to your goldfish. I hope  that I've answered at least some of your question. Good luck!!!!

Answer 2

gold fish are not that aggressive of fish and it will probably not kill them

Answer 3

I've never had a goldfish that ate any of my algae eaters.  I highly doubt they ate him before he died. Goldfish aren't agressive at all.  They probably ate him after he died, as any other fish would as well.

Answer 4

i doubt they killed it, but once it's dead they will eat it.

Answer 5

A goldfish is a part of the carp family, and will scavange off anything dead.Do you have any snails in the tank? They are voracious eaters and I have seen a large snail  catch a small fish.

Answer 6

They would definitely eat it if it was dead and mine will pick at anything that is laying on the bottom.  If the algae eater was even ill they would have nibbled at it.  

It's not a good idea to keep an algae eater with goldfish anyway.  The goldfish like to rest on the bottom when it is dark and the algae eater will eat the slime coat off the fish.  They are also pretty sensitive to ammonia in the tank which can be a problem with goldfish.  4 goldfish should be in at least a 50 gallon tank to maintain decent water quality and allow for proper growth.

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Answer 7

i dont think goldfish are very aggressive fish torwards an algae eater unless they were really starving, and if its a pleco they have strong plates in there body, that sometimes theyl even live for a while in a piranha tank and if a piranha cant kill them i doubt a goldfish could

if you want other algae eatuing animals i love ghost shrimp and theyr only like 30 cents

Answer 8

it must have died of some reason..but yeah once its dead..the goldfish will eat him..by algae eater do you mean pleco..Plecos really are tropical fish..and dont do well in cold water and temperatures goldfish should be in...so I would say NO..dont get any more...I really dont think they go well together...

Answer 9

goldfish do best alone, cause they give off lotsss of ammonia...........

and mabey you wernt feeding the algae eaters the right kinda food? and the goldfish ate it after it died? whoo knows

Answer 10

The algae eater probably died and the goldfish will eat dead fish, but I doubt that the goldfish killed the algae eater...