Not eaten for two weeks?!

[Cactuspixie]

I have a lovely gold spot pleco who has always eaten anything and everything, but now will eat nothing. I scoop out uneaten NLS discs, vegetables, pellets etc.
water quality is good 0/0/5 unplanted.
2 things have changed in the last few weeks:
I removed a bunch on small bristlenose to take to the LFS. This process really traumatised my boy :-(
I introduced half a dozen olive perchlets that were half starved and destined to be feeder fish (they have fattened up nicely on a diet of frozen bloodworms and dried black worms)
As well as not eating,my pleco is shooting to the surface to gulp air (my assumption) this is something he used to do very rarely, but seems to be doing quite frequently.

I'm really quite worried- he has no visible signs of illness, but clearly he isn't well. Should I get some medication for internal parasites? I do 25-30% pwc every 3 days. He's only in a 46g tank, but will be moving into a 171g very soon.

 

[Cactuspixie]

He's still not eating. :-(

He hides all the time now so I can't really see what shape he's in.

I have some Paracide tablets, so I think I'll go ahead and treat the tank tonight.

 

[SKB]

He's not sucking on the side at all trying to get algae either? Pleco's can breathe air partially and it might be normal. But it does sound somewhat stressed. Any way the other fish are chasing him or moving quickly making him nervous?

 

[Cactuspixie]

He's not sucking on the side at all trying to get algae either? Pleco's can breathe air partially and it might be normal. But it does sound somewhat stressed. Any way the other fish are chasing him or moving quickly making him nervous?

His only tank mates are small bnp and some very small olive perch- and they pretty much spend their days quietly watching outside of the tank, waiting for their next meal of worms.

I don't ever see him on the glass anymore. His favourite spot in the tank of an evening used to be the front left hand corner, but now he's stopped coming out from under the driftwood except to gulp air. He does that so quickly that I hear him rather than see him doing it most of the time.

 

[Cactuspixie]

This morning he was on the front glass so I got a good look at his belly- I'm REALLY worried about him now- his belly is concave! It's hard to seein the picture, but my pleco seems to be starving to death!! What can I do for him??

 

[SKB]

Try cucumber or zucchini. They love that. Do u try Algea wafers?

 

[Cactuspixie]

Try cucumber or zucchini. They love that. Do u try Algea wafers?

He won't eat anything I give him. I've tried soaking his wafers in garlic guard to make it more appetizing, I've tried all his favourite veggies, dried worms, brine shrimp, pellets etc
He shows no interest in anything. I drop them right beside him and he ignores it. The BN gobble up their fill and the next day I remove what's left because he hasn't touched it.

 

[SKB]

He won't eat anything I give him. I've tried soaking his wafers in garlic guard to make it more appetizing, I've tried all his favourite veggies, dried worms, brine shrimp, pellets etc
He shows no interest in anything. I drop them right beside him and he ignores it. The BN gobble up their fill and the next day I remove what's left because he hasn't touched it.

Do you leave it in overnight? They do a lot of their activity at night.

 

[Cactuspixie]

Do you leave it in overnight? They do a lot of their activity at night.

I've tried leaving food in for over 24hrs. He doesn't touch it.

 

[absolutangel04]

Did you do the parasite treatment? Normally, I don't suggest doing a parasite treatment unless you are sure that parasites exist, but the sunken belly is a classic sign of internal parasites. I would go ahead and do the treatment if you haven't already. My best guess is that something came in with the perch.
Honestly, 2 weeks without eating won't usually make a fish look totally concave. Especially since you don't know that he has eaten nothing. The concave belly is more likely from parasites stealing his nutrients IMO.
It is good that you are keeping the water params good. Hopefully you can help him through this.

 

[Cactuspixie]

Did you do the parasite treatment? Normally, I don't suggest doing a parasite treatment unless you are sure that parasites exist, but the sunken belly is a classic sign of internal parasites. I would go ahead and do the treatment if you haven't already. My best guess is that something came in with the perch.
Honestly, 2 weeks without eating won't usually make a fish look totally concave. Especially since you don't know that he has eaten nothing. The concave belly is more likely from parasites stealing his nutrients IMO.
It is good that you are keeping the water params good. Hopefully you can help him through this.

I hadn't started the treatment yet- I kept putting it off hoping it was something that would require less drastic treatment, but I will start it today and keep you posted. Thanks!

 

[absolutangel04]

No prob. I generally am not a fan of treating unless I am totally certain of what the issue is. So, I understand that. I was not thinking parasites until the concave belly. And now, that is my best guess. Especially when you consider that the issue started happening right when new fish were introduced.
If anything else changes, let us know.
Also, your water tested really well, so that is good. Just make sure to keep it super clean like that while you are treating.

 

[Cactuspixie]

Okay I didn't use paracide as it seems that's for external parasites. I had some seachem metro so I used that. I did a 40% water change and added 5 measures of the metro powder to the new water. Parameters before pwc were 0/0/10-20 (increase in nitrates probably due to leaving food in for extended periods). I'll test it again after a couple of hours. Good news is he was still at the front of the tank when I got home, instead of hiding at the back.

 

[Cactuspixie]

So I've been doing a pwc and dosing with seachem metro every 2 days (tomorrow will be the 4th dose). Although I see him more, he still refuses to eat. I drop the discs on his face and he just shakes or blows them off. I can't tempt him with anything.

If it isn't parasites, what could possibly be causing him to go on a hunger strike?

 

[Cactuspixie]

Omg omg omg!!!!

My big boy is finally eating!!!! It took giving him a vegetable I've never offered before. Tomato!
I'm so happy and relieved! Yay

 

[absolutangel04]

I am really glad to hear that!
Keep in mind that with some of those parasite meds, it takes awhile for them to actually work because they usually only kill parasites at one stage of their life cycle. Therefore, you have to wait a bit sometimes for the parasite to be eradicated.
It sounds like he is doing better though, so I am really happy for you.
Keep us updated if anything else changes.

 

[Cactuspixie]

I am really glad to hear that!
Keep in mind that with some of those parasite meds, it takes awhile for them to actually work because they usually only kill parasites at one stage of their life cycle. Therefore, you have to wait a bit sometimes for the parasite to be eradicated.
It sounds like he is doing better though, so I am really happy for you.
Keep us updated if anything else changes.

Thanks Angel
This morning when I dropped his nls wafer in, he came straight out for it! I have another tube of metro on hand should I need it, but hopefully its all over with now.

 

[absolutangel04]

Fantastic news! It sounds like you got the issue taken care of. I hope he stays good now. If he starts to lose his appetite again or show any more symptoms of parasites, feel free to ask more questions. I am super glad that he is doing well again though.