Pleco in trouble

[Gulino2]

Hello everyone. "'m alittle new to this site but desperately need help.

I have a Pleco, about 6" long. I have had him for 1 1/2" yrs. He is the only fish that seems to stay alive in my tank. He has been through moving and all and has always been fine. I don't overfeed him. The guy at the local fish store told me to feed him every couple of days so I do and it has worked for all this time. The problem is, he is acting fine, swims around at night and the whole thing, but he hasn't eaten anything in 7 days! We put in the tablet and he wont eat them so we end up taking them out a couple of days later so they don't polute the water and then we try again.

I can't find any info on pleco's behaving this way and I don't want to lose him after all this time. He's such a great fish.

PLEASE HELP?

 

[fisch]

Maybe he is tired of the food. Try putting in a blanched cucumber. They usually make quick work of those.
You don't mention any of your water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH) or you water change schedule. If any of the parameters have suddenly changed that is usually the first culprit to look at for disease and behavior change.
If your parameters are in check and he seems to be behaving normally aside from not eating just give it a few more days. I'm sure he will appreciate a more varied diet.

 

[Gulino2]

I do the partial water changes every 3 weeks and to be honest I don't know how to test my water and the guy at the fish store told me I don't have to tes my water since plecos are pretty hardy and never change my water conditions. Is this wrong? The temp is always between 77-79 degrees. He has been completely normal, just without an appetite.

Thank you for your advice and I will buy some cucumber on my way home tonight and try that. Can I try that right away? or should I wait until later tonight, when I normally feed him?

 

[flip0204]

WEll LFS owner is a liar first off. Ammonia will kill a fish whether or not its hardy. I would check your water first off. Is there any other fish in the tank? I f so he could be eating the left overs from them. if not i would try other foods

 

[Gulino2]

No other fish in the tank, haven't been for atleast 8 months. Do you have any recomendations for test kits for begginers?

When I do the water changes, I use a liquid to treat the water, but i'm at work right now and can't remember the name of it. But I was told it would balance out the new water in the tank for the fish. Does this sound familiar?

 

[fisch]

You should get a test kit that measures ammonia, nitrITE, nitrATE, and pH. Make sure you get a liquid based kit, not test strips. I know the LFS said the water was fine, but since you've lost other fish there could be something wrong.
The water conditioner you add is probably to remove chlorine and/or chloaramine from your water.
I would feed the pleco at the normal time with the cucumber. Most plecos are pretty shy and wont come out if there is too much light.

 

[colematthewmalaka]

That fish guy doesn't know anything. Also plecos NEED a varied diet. Also a piece of bogwood is good as part of their daily nutrition they eat away at it.

 

[Gulino2]

Thank you so much for all of your advice. I will do what you recomend and let you know my outcome.

 

[papa_bear_21]

What kind of pleco is it? some have very specific diets, and others will eat anything. The bogwood is a good idea, though not all plecos will eat it. Cucumber, sweet potato, and even mushrooms are a good variety for plecs to eat. I try not to feed pellets to my plec as a general rule. I would be able to better help if I knew the identity of the plec, if you are unsure, post a picture and we can Id it for you.

 

[Gulino2]

So I tried a blanched Cucumber last night and it looks like he didn't even eat it at all. First I couldn't get the cucumber to sink, it was just floating and I was afraid my Frank wouldn't go after it floating since he has never eatin that way before. So I tried to lodge it under a plant and it seemed to stay. But when I woke up it was floating around the tank again, so I am not sure if he went after it and it dis-lodged or it did it on it's own. I'm really worried. it's going on 8 days now without him eating anything. Although the rest of his behavior seems normal, he was swimming all over the glass last night and around the tank as usual. I also checked and his stomach doesn't appear to be sunkin in, which I have read is a sign of starvation.

I was not able to get to the pet store last night before it closed to get a testing kit. I'm going to go on my lunch today and get one.

Below is a picture of my Frank.

How long should I leave the cucumber in the tank? It doesn't appear to be disolving or comign apart in any way yet.

 

[Gulino2]

oh shoot not sure why the picture isn't coming up? Anyone know how to load pictures on here?

 

[Gulino2]

oh shoot, I don't know why the photo is comign up? Anyone know how to upload photo's on here?

I have a picture of him in an Album in my profile, if that helps.

 

[Roberz00]

Looks like a "common" pleco. I have one and he looks just like mine. I could be wrong tho.

 

[An t-iasg]

How to add photos to posts:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f10/forums-101-posting-accounts-basics-107597.html#post912207

 

[Gulino2]

Got it... I think. Thanks for the link to the advice.

 

[flip0204]

try this.... you can float the cuccumber either make a slit in the cuccumber and insert an algae wafer or lay it on top of the cuccumber. He might not no wha it is yet. I think someone mentioned bogwood maybe id would get some of that as well for him. Ive never had a problem with my pleco eating however hes been fed two wafers a day ( Mollies and platys usually eat it most of it before he gets his share) Another thing you could try is they have a new wafer with a red center. It is suppose to have more nutrients in it maybe a different taste but ive never tried it before. only other thing i could tell you to do is rearrange the tank setup rocks plants etc.... a new environment might stir up something to get him eating again. However if it has been 8 days and he doesnt appear to be starving likely answer is he is eating something else that you dont know

 

[Gulino2]

Well the good news is, I was able to anchor the cucmber to the bottom and it looks like he ate it last night. Not the whole piece but a pretty good whole through the middle.

The bad news is, I tested my water and the PH and ammonia are good but the nitrite and nitrate are to high. Any advice on how to fix that, other than a water change recommended in my test kit? Doesnt that mean their is too much fish waste in the tank? Sorry if my questions are silly, i'm just learning.

Current Levels
Nitrate- 200
Nitrite- 1.0

 

[joy13]

Plecos are poop machines. It is very likely that is why your nitrates and nitrites are high. When I think of inch of fish per gallon I always consider double its size.

Do a couple of partial water changes over the next couple of days.

 

[fisch]

Although Nitrate isn't thought of as being harmful to fish it can be at higher levels. I'd recommend keeping it below 50 ppm. The only way to do this is through partial water changes.
How often are you doing partial water changes? A 6 inch pleco in a 15 gallon will produce a lot of waste.

 

[Gulino2]

I was told to do partial water changes every 3-4 weeks, so thats what I do. I also vacumn the gravel then to get rid of the big waste particles. Should I be doing it more often?

How long do these common pleco's usually live? I found one site saying 2 years and then I found others that say like 10 years.