How in the heck....

[pondmom]

Did my Pleco end up on my kitchen floor?
I got up this morning and checked on my tanks like I always do, looking for my week old pleco. He likes to hide under my driftwood. But wasn't there.
I looked everywhere in the tank. notta!!
Here he had somehow gotton out of the tank and was lying on my rug infront of my patio door....I think dead.
This happened sometime between 10pm and 6am.
Has this happened to anyone else?
I know there's the open back on the tank for the filter and heater but I never would have guessed it would climb all the way out.
weird....

[Bearfan]

How big are the openings behind your tank? Plecos would have to get spooked to gather the momentum to jump out (not that my fat boy could muster it if he wanted).

Sorry to hear about that, let's see what we can do to prevent it in the future.

[pondmom]

There's no way he could have "jumped out". It appears that he "sucked" himself out.
On the back of the aquarium is a "lip" for the HOB filter to sit. The opening is only about an inch or so.
I think he climbed right on out...poor little fella (did a great job at cleaning too)
Well you all know where I'm headed today after work...to buy another

[LondonGman]

Originally Posted by pondmom

he had somehow gotton out of the tank and was lying on my rug infront of my patio door..

Have you got a cat or young kids? I have a very active brstlenose pleco and it rarely goes to the top of the tank, let alone above the water line.

For your pleco to go above the water line regardless of its pace, then drop to the floor and then crawl to the front of your patio door suggests external factors. Or you had a Superpleco in my opinion

[pondmom]

London,

My kids are 14 & 15 and only a golden retreiver dog that likes to observe the fish.
I was "stunned" when I found it on the floor.
How...is beyond me.

[Allivymar]

Oh bummer. Another unsuccessful attempt at accelerated evolution. My bamboo shrimp made the attempt a few weeks ago; found him 4 feet away from the tank carpet surfing. Have to admit my plec never went that route, but at 8 inches he wouldn't fit thru the space from the HOB anyway.

[LondonGman]

Originally Posted by Allivymar

Oh bummer. Another unsuccessful attempt at accelerated evolution.

[Allivymar]

Hehehe.

I was devastated when I found my lil bamboo dying on the carpet. I posted on the shrimp forum on yahoo to see if there was anything I could do to save him (unfortunately nothing). The head honcho over there, Frank, used that line as the description of what happened LOL and ever since I have the giggles when I talk about my poor lil shrimp.

[pondmom]

Got my new pleco today and someone had to help me acclimate him to the water in the aquarium.
This is Dalilah, my 1 YO Golden Retreiver.

[Allivymar]

LOL Its always good to have assistance. Tell me, does Dalilah do water changes too?

[pondmom]

Question about these pleco's.

Do I need to feed them anything besides the algae thats in my tank?
Like Algae waffers?

[madasafish]

If algae seems to be low, yes. Supplement their diet with 1/2-1 algae wafer a day. I find they often don't eat the wafer if it is allowed to get really wet. They tend to like it most if it's still fairly firm. Don't overfeed them, though. I usually put one wafer in every couple of days for my 2 plecos.

(After dark, my Queen Arabesque Pleco comes out. She's only about 2 inches with tail, and she is incredibly cute! She shoots along the glass in the tank at break-neck speed. I love this pleco! Recs all around for this plec. Think about it; they're beautiful.)

[pondmom]

But how do I know if they are getting enough natural algae?

[TankGirl]

If you see the fish scooting around with the sucking action, they probably have enough. If you can't see any algae and the fish is inactive (check after lights out, too) then feed a wafer and see if he goes for it. They also benefit from driftwood to munch on, which is an important element to their care.

I had ( ) a rubberlip pleco that vanished from my 12-gal Eclipse, which has a completely enclosed hood. He was in there with tiger barbs and dwarf puffers, and was quite a bit bigger than they. I did not see him for several days. The other fish never paid him a bit of mind, so I do not suspect any foul play, and there was no remnant of him. I dug around in the tank, disturbing everything in there, and never did find him. That was 2 weeks ago. I am bummed because I really liked that fish. Now all anyone has is the common pleco, but no rubberlip or bristlenose, or clowns, or anything that stay small.

[Allivymar]

*nods and agrees*

If there is no algae in the tank, you need to supply it. Younger plecs need lots of algae; it makes up most of their diet. As they get older they'll need more protein and you can supplement it with shrimp pellets amongst other foods (and don't be surprised when they hoover up the food you feed the others too!). They also need driftwood as Tank said; they need the lignin in the wood for digestion. If there is green algae in the tank (not hair algae, green spot or brown; you'll find they sometimes won't touch it) it will be gone soon enough and you'll need to supplement it, so if you don't have algae wafers, pick em up soon

Btw Tank, that sucks. Is it possible he too went for the accelerated evolution route and is somewhere on the floor? And...do you have cats or dogs?

[TankGirl]

Btw Tank, that sucks. Is it possible he too went for the accelerated evolution route and is somewhere on the floor? And...do you have cats or dogs?

I do have a 160-pound bullmastiff, but this tank is up on a kitchen counter and he is rarely up from his comfy bed in the den! He does not notice my tanks whatsoever, except to sling slobber on them.. 8O I have no cats, but the twins just turned 3 and they are like having a couple of chimps - maybe my husband and I should have just gotten a cat... I probably would not have so much grey hair!

It may be that he got spooked when I was stirring up the sand in there during a water change and zoomed out, unbeknownst to me. I kinda dread finding him!! I have lost shrimp this way, though, as they are incredible at flipping themselves long distances. They are almost invisible on beige carpet, too, LOL.

[Allivymar]

LOL I hear ya; I musta walked right over the bamboo when I first walked into the living room that morning. Just happened to glance over at the right spot when I saw him. Think I'm gonna place an order for new shrimp tonight...

I have to admit my plec has never made a run for freedom; then again, each tank hes been in has been fully covered and at 8 inches, its not too hard to see him

Btw....160 lb bull mastiff?? Holy sheet. Thats not a dog thats a horse LOL wouldn't surprise me, if the plec landed on the floor, that he scoffed it up. Friend of mine breed Cane Corsos (an italian mastiff breed); those beasts eat anything that moves...or doesn't LOL

[madasafish]

I had a couple of projectile Yoyo Loaches once. It took me a VERY thorough look around the livingroom to find the guys... dead

One got caught up in the carpet tassles. The other made his way into the wardrobe. If you're still looking, don't expect the rubberlip to look exactly the same out of the tank.... Mine sure looked different.

[PlatyLady]

My blue platy did a little carpet-surfing the other night too. I was getting ready to move him into his new home when I noticed him flip out of the water. 8O My boyfriend threw him into a bucket of water ane he started swimming! Whew!