Possible Sick Pleco - Advise?

[CouponDiva]

OOPs sorry for the type! Advice not Advise!

First of all I am new here & glad to find such a busy fish forum to join!
And I apologize now for the lengthy post.

Back story..About 2 weeks ago my neighbor and her family were making a quick move and had 2 30g fish tanks they were needing to get rid of. She tried selling it on craigslist with no luck and had to get rid of them asap so I let her know that I would take it for her if needed. So here I am with 2 30g fish tank and fishies.

Now I am not a "smart/educated" fish keeper. I understand that people get a little defensive when you get into animals without knowing anything about them or how to care for them. Trust me I've been there done that and used to take in snakes, geckos & great danes because people get them and have no clue about them. Anyways what I am saying is I am here with a tank and fishes (how are darling) trying to do my best. That is why I came here to educate myself & ask for some advice.

The one I am talking about is a 30g tank that is cycled, has a pleco (not sure what kind), peppered cory, 3 cherry barbs, 4 neon's, 2 black shirt, and 1 bleeding heart. I have several fake plants, a big rock type cave thing and another decoration.

The pleco pretty much keeps to him self and stays back in the corner. I feed him about every other day or every 2-3 days. I have given him zucchini once, and then algae wafers any other time. I am really not sure if he eats them or if it's the other fish that eat it for him.

Today and glanced over at the tank and noticed him upside down on the cave so I stuck the net in their to startle him a bit but he slowly turned over and went up on the tank. Usually he is startled very easily and will dash through the tank at any big movement. Today he seems pretty lethargic. I was going to clean out the tank anyways so I figured I would do it now. I did a 50% water change, and surprisingly through the whole cleaning process he didn't move much and wasn't not startled at all. Usually he is very startled so I know something is not right. I did notice on his little area where he poops it has a reddish ring around it. I have attached a picture of him & that area if anyone wants to look. Is this normal, is he sick, anyone have any advice?

Now looking at the forums and everywhere else everyone has asked for water temps, and numbers. The old owner had these fish for about 3yrs and said they have never had a heater (not for 8yrs or so). Water has not been tested, Before I came here I had no clue you had to test it and for that I feel horrible. I did run out this morning and grab a heater for them. I will run out tomorrow morning and get a water test kit also.

Again I apologize for the lengthy post
Thanks in advance

​

 

[fort384]

moved to Freshwater & Brackish - Unhealthy Fish. There are a lot of folks here with years of experience in keeping Plecos. I am sure they will get you some help shortly

 

[Starka]

I am glad that you are at least noticing that something is wrong. That is the first step.
I don't know much about commons, but I hope everything turns out alright.

 

[boadams87]

OOPs sorry for the type! Advice not Advise!

First of all I am new here & glad to find such a busy fish forum to join!
And I apologize now for the lengthy post.

Back story..About 2 weeks ago my neighbor and her family were making a quick move and had 2 30g fish tanks they were needing to get rid of. She tried selling it on craigslist with no luck and had to get rid of them asap so I let her know that I would take it for her if needed. So here I am with 2 30g fish tank and fishies.

Now I am not a "smart/educated" fish keeper. I understand that people get a little defensive when you get into animals without knowing anything about them or how to care for them. Trust me I've been there done that and used to take in snakes, geckos & great danes because people get them and have no clue about them. Anyways what I am saying is I am here with a tank and fishes (how are darling) trying to do my best. That is why I came here to educate myself & ask for some advice.

The one I am talking about is a 30g tank that is cycled, has a pleco (not sure what kind), peppered cory, 3 cherry barbs, 4 neon's, 2 black shirt, and 1 bleeding heart. I have several fake plants, a big rock type cave thing and another decoration.

The pleco pretty much keeps to him self and stays back in the corner. I feed him about every other day or every 2-3 days. I have given him zucchini once, and then algae wafers any other time. I am really not sure if he eats them or if it's the other fish that eat it for him.

Today and glanced over at the tank and noticed him upside down on the cave so I stuck the net in their to startle him a bit but he slowly turned over and went up on the tank. Usually he is startled very easily and will dash through the tank at any big movement. Today he seems pretty lethargic. I was going to clean out the tank anyways so I figured I would do it now. I did a 50% water change, and surprisingly through the whole cleaning process he didn't move much and wasn't not startled at all. Usually he is very startled so I know something is not right. I did notice on his little area where he poops it has a reddish ring around it. I have attached a picture of him & that area if anyone wants to look. Is this normal, is he sick, anyone have any advice?

Now looking at the forums and everywhere else everyone has asked for water temps, and numbers. The old owner had these fish for about 3yrs and said they have never had a heater (not for 8yrs or so) Before I came here I had no clue you had to test it and for that I feel horrible. I did run out this morning and grab a heater for them. I will run out tomorrow morning and get a water test kit also.

Again I apologize for the lengthy post
Thanks in advance

This may help some.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...g-but-I-already-have-fish-What-now/Page2.html

 

[Mumma.of.two]

And this
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/guide-to-starting-a-freshwater-aquarium-186089.html

 

[CouponDiva]

Thanks for the advice. I will read through everything.

Does anyone have advice for what is going on with my pleco though?
Tonight he is doing a lot of upside down swimming. Some times acting like he cannot get to the bottom of the tank. Struggling a bit. He is about 8yrs old is what he is estimated

 

[CouponDiva]

Yikes over 100 views but no one can help?

This morning I noticed the water is cloudy and a couple of tetra's are swimming close to the top which they never do. Should I pull them all out of that water? I am headed now to the pet store to grab the test kit.

 

[fort384]

I think they are trying to help -- the articles linked refer you to cycling - which appears to be the problem.. Especially in light of the new info about cloudy water and your tetras.

 

[LyndaB]

How often do you do water changes/gravel vacs in this tank? Plecos are huge waste producers.

The cloudiness is most likely a bacterial bloom.

You added the heater? Fish are sensitive to more than a few degrees change in temp at a time. What are the settings on the heater and what is the temp in the tank?

 

[skywhitney]

Are you running an airstone or bubble wand in the tank?

 

[CouponDiva]

Alrighty so I just got back from the pet store and grab some testing strips. Every thing is coming back okay the only one that I am alarmed about is the "hardness" of the water. What do I do about that? I did chemically treat it since it came from the tap just like the bottle said.
The fish lady said the cloudiness is probably from water change yesterday. She told me to get some fungal medicine for the pleco.
I thought my tetra's were dead but nope they are not. Most of the fish are swimming towards the top more then I have ever seen though.
I am cleaning the gravel about once a week or more if really bad.
Yes I am using a bubble wand.

 

[LyndaB]

Test strips are really inaccurate. Can you pick up an API master kit? This is so much more reliable.

When you say you chemically treated, what did you use?

 

[CouponDiva]

Test strips are really inaccurate. Can you pick up an API master kit? This is so much more reliable.

When you say you chemically treated, what did you use?

Good to know! I guess I will head back out and grab that.
I used the tetra aqua-safe plus which is what the old owner has always used just fine.

 

[Starka]

I would recomend Prime water conditioner its really good, very concentrated and will last forever.

 

[Guinness]

I would say judging by the markings on your plec he is a sailfin plec. Thats my guess anyway. Hope it helps.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Have you done a large water change yet? That's the first thing you need to do when fish are gasping or hanging around the top of the tank. 'Something is wrong!' they are telling you.
Have you read the articles? They contain important information.
Has anything in the filters been changed? The gravel been washed?

 

[CouponDiva]

Alrighty so I ran back to the pet store and grabbed that API master kit. Checked all the levels and everything came back just perfect.
p.h 7.0
Nh 0
no2 0
no3 0

I did do a big water change last night and yes the gravel has been washed.
I did a filter change about 2wks ago but nothing other then that.

The fish lady told me to add salt. I didn't feel safe with that so I didn't. She did says to add a bacteria supplement saying that I changed to much of the water yesterday taking all the bacteria.

Should I do a water change? I am so lost on what to do at this point with levels coming back fine

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Alrighty so I ran back to the pet store and grabbed that API master kit. Checked all the levels and everything came back just perfect.
p.h 7.0
Nh 0
no2 0
no3 0

I did do a big water change last night and yes the gravel has been washed.
I did a filter change about 2wks ago but nothing other then that.

The fish lady told me to add salt. I didn't feel safe with that so I didn't. She did says to add a bacteria supplement saying that I changed to much of the water yesterday taking all the bacteria.

Should I do a water change? I am so lost on what to do at this point with levels coming back fine

Gravel vacuuming is a good thing BUT washing gravel is not. A good amount of nitrifying bacteria live in the gravel. Changing the filter pads is also a big no no. They contain IME the majority of the bacteria. It is very odd you got zeros all round. In a cycled tank you should be getting at least some nitrates. Did you follow the directions exactly? Wait exactly 5 minutes to read results? The #2 bottle of the nitrate test solution has a powder that settles in the bottom. You have to give it a really good bang on the counter and shake the stuffing out of it or you could get false readings.
Salt is not needed in a healthy tank. It is only needed for treatments. You would not have damaged to cycle because the nitrifying bacteria fixes itself to surfaces in the tank. A minuscule amount is free floating in the water so a water change won't have an effect.

 

[CouponDiva]

Yup I waited the 5min like it said and it all came back like that.

Everything I see is that they are gasping for air because there is not enough oxygen in the water. The ammonia levels are fine so not sure what is going on. Do you think I should run and get a bigger bubbler then that little bubble wand?

Btw---I appreciate your help!

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Yup I waited the 5min like it said and it all came back like that.

Everything I see is that they are gasping for air because there is not enough oxygen in the water. The ammonia levels are fine so not sure what is going on. Do you think I should run and get a bigger bubbler then that little bubble wand?

Btw---I appreciate your help!

No problem. Glad to help.

Can you double check the tests?
You can drop the water level of the tank a couple of inches to allow the filter outtake to splash a bit more. That will increase surface agitation and promote oxygen exchange.
I would do a water change just in case. You are using a dechlorinator right?