White spot on Pleco, that sometimes bleeds. Is my pleco okay? How can I help it?

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Hail_madde

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jan 29, 2019
Messages
22
My pleco lives alone in a 10 gallon tank. He is about 3 inches long.
I change the water and clean the gravel every two weeks, or every other week, if needed.
Ive noticed this white spot on his chest about a month and a half ago..
and now theres another (not as big), on his back.
The spot on his chest sometimes bleeds...
It doesnt seem to affect him though. (That I can tell)
He still eats, swims around fine, and still holds onto the sides of the tank normally.. But I am still worried.
Does anyone know what these white spots might be? And how can I cure/get rid of them??
Is he in serious danger??
 

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Maybe the gravel is too sharp for him? Are there any sharp ornaments in there he could have hurt himself on?
They don't exactly have scales like other fish so something that safe for a fish might be to sharp for their skin.
 
He has only the gravel, rock/cave(that you can see behind him in one of the pics), and two fake plants(also seen in the pics).
Do you think those could hurt him?? :(
 
I've seen those caves at the petstore before. You might want to run your finger around the inside/by the holes to make sure there are no sharp edges.
 
Possibly Looks like heater burn to me? Do you have covers on your heaters?
 
Hes still exactly the same.
Cant really do too much, since i don't exactly know what the problem is. :(
 
I dont know if my heater is guarded or not, (I think it is)
and I cant figure out how to reply with pictures. lol
 
If it is just a glass tube it's not guarded
If it has a *cage* (usually plastic) around it, it's guarded
 
He's all better and healed now.
So it must have been a burn.
My heater is also guarded now.
Thanks for all the help!
 
Thank you. :)
And no, I do not have any driftwood, but I would like to get some!
Where would one get driftwood??
Would any local pet stores like Petco, Petsmart or Petsbarn have any??
 
Yes, it assists in their digestion is my understanding. It is important for them - fiber I guess.

Any of those stores will have it, and sometimes they also have some in the tanks already soaking. They will produce some tannins, causing the yellowed or brown color. If you don't care for the color using carbon can help.

Tannins are actually good for the tank inhabitants.
 
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