Sailfin Plec a bit poorly?

[catfish1102]

I've got a sailfin plec in a tank with 2 angels, 6 cardinal tetras, 2 black phantoms and a guppy. Tank is 96 litres (about 23 US gallons I think).
Plec has grown a lot in the 9 mos I've had him, and he saw off the albino catfish I got at the same time.

I think he's sick or depressed or something. His fins are clamped a lot of the time, he hides at the back of the tank. Had whitespot/ick in the tank a couple of months ago but successfully treated with protozin and raising tank temperature.

Am I misreading the signs - is he sick or is this normal behaviour? :?

 

[Guest]

Not normal. what do you feed him? Plecos need to be fed algae wafers or pieces of cucumber or squash, wheighted down so they sink. Some plecos need driftwood in the tank, they slowly chew on it for their digestion.

 

[catfish1102]

I put a flake food in the tank once a day. The other fish love it and the plec takes it too. I've got catfish pellets, algae based, which sink to the bottom and he goes for them. Occasional bloodworm and cucumber (yep, weighted down so it doesn't float). I knew he was sick when he wasn't too interested in the cucumber, usually he would latch on straightaway and suck it to bits.

The driftwood thing is interesting, I've seen that mentioned somewhere else on this site. I'll get to the fish shop asap and see if I can get some.

Thanks

 

[catfish1102]

I'm a dope, I've just realised there is already a piece of wood in the tank. He does sit on it a bit, I'll have to watch him more closely. Hope this isn't a stupid question but is 'driftwood' something specific? The wood is dark brown, I got it from the shop. I had to soak it in hot water for a few days to get the red colour out.

His downturn in health seems to have coincided with him producing huge amounts of waste. He really is prolific. Maybe should do more water changes - presently do 20% fortnightly, with weekly top filter change and various other filter changes/cleans.

What do you think?

 

[i3k]

Actually to me your pleco sounds fine...that is their normal behavior, they like to hide and spend time in dark shaded places or hide behind plants or driftwood...they do keep their fins down when they are not active. When they come out to eat and are active they spread their fins wide open and will usually suck under the driftwood or on the sides of the aquarium. If your tank doesn't yet have any algae then you should drop a few algae wafers like "corvuscorax" mentioned. So really I dont think you have anything to worry about.

 

[littlelouie]

Does he look spiky? My bristlenose was fine for 18 mnths then started behaving like this without any known reason. She stopped eating and died I believe from starvation, her belly was sunken in. I didn't have a place like this to ask and the aquarium/pet shop I used (not anymore) said she was acting normal so I didn't do anythimg. She eventually died and I was p***ed off and sad that I didn't know what to do.

I think you should ask around more on this and then post it here 'cause I know there would be a lot of people who can use the info.

Good luck and let us know how you go

 

[catfish1102]

Not sure what you mean by spiky. Sometimes I've though he looks a bit shrunken or tensed up. His belly's not sunk in in fact I think he's eating quite well now.

Thanks for the input everyone. I'm paying close attention to feeding and tank cleaning/water and filter changes so we'll see how it goes.

 

[littlelouie]

In my exp I would be careful when you do a gravel vac not ot stir up the substrate too much. I lost a fish with ick/whitespot and the rest of the fish were fine....until I did a gravel vac and stirred up some white thread-like worms. I didn't notice them until I was checking the temp of the water and saw these little 1cm(1/4inch) threads floating around. (I had also added a heater when I did the water change and I think that the combo of warmth and stirring up the worms I got the rest of the fish infected).

Just go easy and be on the lookout immediately after the wc. The worms settle into the gravel after a while but if they find a "host" you'll know by the fishes breathing pattern....very fast flapping gills.

Spiky was from her body being skinny and sunken making her look this way.

Hope all is going well for you and your fish
Louise

 

[loganj]

Signs to look for on a pleco that you think might be starving.
Hollowed out area in abdomen.
Eyes starting to sink back into head.
If you've been feeding the algae wafers, blodworms, and cucumbers, I doubt that's the problem. They also like parboiled zuchini squash. I used to boil a bunch of it and freeze it in ziploc bags.

 

[littlelouie]

Can you feed frozen food to the fish ie not thawed. i always thaw their food first but have read some archived posts and some people feed them with food straight from the freezer so it sinks. Doesn't it harm the fish to eat it cold when they are warm?

Louise

 

[loganj]

No, don't put frozen food in the tank. The reason for parboiling the zuchini is so it will sink. You can also attach it to a rock with a rubber band.

 

[catfish1102]

I get frozen bloodworm, in little cubes, and just drop one into the tank. It thaws out really quickly and the current carries it around the tank. The fish go mad for it and I've never noticed any ill effects - only that some of them get swollen red bellies from gorging themselves.

 

[littlelouie]

Thanks Guy's, Yeh I have frozen bloodworms in the little spuares too but thaw it before feeding them to the fish. I only have 5 cardinal tetras and 1 clown loach so only give 1/4 to 1/2 of the square to them. Is this qty correct? I bet if I fed the entire pc the fish would eat it all.

Louise

 

[catfish1102]

Its a bit tricky knowing how much food to put in. One guideline which I read and try to stick to is you put some food in and watch the fish for a couple of minutes. If it all goes then put in a little more. When they've had enough they ignore it, so after a few feeds like this you get to know how much they need.

 

[littlelouie]

Thanks catfish1102

This is how I go about it at the moment but find i throw away 1/2 to 3/4 of the square and hate wasting it this way.

Does the frozen bloodworm pack only last 3 mths ie. shelf life? I have had mine for a while now and although it is kept frozen I don't know if it is still nutritious for the fish. Pls. advise