Tiny Pleco tail bit off

[beefstrudel]

I have a 10 gallon with a koi, about 6 inches (only during winter), a common pleco about 4 inches, a dwarf gourami and a few snails.
I have 3 filters on the tank and the ammonia is 0.

I recently purchased a little pleco.. not even an inch long. and something took a bite out of his tail... I'm just wondering if he will recover. I've isolated him but I don't have another tank to put him in so right now hes in a plastic container with tank water in it.

heres a pic... will he recover?.. he keeps floating up to the top but he swims back and attaches his self to the side or bottom



should i keep him isolated or should i put him back in the main tank? he was hiding in a good spot.. just worried the other fish will finish him off

 

[Scottyhorse]

Your tank is WAY overstocked....

 

[beefstrudel]

How is that? There's 3 filters on it and I've had this setup for over a year with no problems, no fish deaths.. I'm moving soon and I'm waiting until after I move to buy a bigger tank instead of having to move it. I'm just asking about my injured fish. ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite are all 0. so i guess my question is will this little guy heal?

 

[Scottyhorse]

Not enough space for them to grow, you will stunt their growth. Koi need 100 gallons each. Common plecos 75-100 gallons. Dwarf gouramis 15-20 gallons. Not to mention the different temps they each need.
For the little guys tail, I am not sure. Sometimes they heal, sometimes they don't.

 

[beefstrudel]

I'm in the process of building an outdoor pond for the koi out of a 500gallon stock tank. the other fish will be moved to a 100 gallon when i move. unfortunately i wasnt told when i got the koi how big they get, but it was my mistake not researching and thats why im building her a pond. anyway thanks for the help

the pleco is still kicking.. should i try and take him out and put some sort of ointment on it like neosporin? ive seen online where people applied it to their fish without any adverse effects. or would picking him up and all that just cause unneeded stress?

 

[absolutangel04]

There is not oxygenation going on there, and nothing to keep your water parameters in check. Keeping him in a container of stagnant water is not likely to help him recover. Any chance you can switch over a filter to a 5g bucket for quarantine or something?
Fish often do a good job of healing on their own when they have clean water. Honestly, with the stock you have in there, I am doubtful that your test kit is accurate about your water parameters. At the very least, you should have nitrates. Any cycled tank should have nitrates (unless it is very heavily planted). But, you have said that you are working on the stocking situation and building a pond, so that is good.
I do not recommend neosporin or anything like that. Keep the water clean, and watch for signs of infection or fungus. If he can recover depends on how good his immune system is, how clean his environment is, and deep the trauma from the injury is. So, it is hard to say. Do you have any sort of fish antibiotics laying around in case you need them?

 

[Cactuspixie]

I have a 10 gallon with a koi, about 6 inches (only during winter), a common pleco about 4 inches, a dwarf gourami and a few snails.
I have 3 filters on the tank and the ammonia is 0.

I recently purchased a little pleco.. not even an inch long. and something took a bite out of his tail... I'm just wondering if he will recover. I've isolated him but I don't have another tank to put him in so right now hes in a plastic container with tank water in it.

heres a pic... will he recover?.. he keeps floating up to the top but he swims back and attaches his self to the side or bottom

should i keep him isolated or should i put him back in the main tank? he was hiding in a good spot.. just worried the other fish will finish him off

The koi was probably the culprit. That looks really bad, and I'd be surprised if he survives it. If you can put him in a bucket with an aerator, heater and some stress guard, antibiotics, and change the water at least once a day he'll have a chance. Also give him a piece of driftwood, but no food for a couple of days. Good luck

 

[beefstrudel]

The plastic container was only temporary to get a picture. But unfortunately he was not breathing this morning i touched him and he just flipped over on his back. I didn't think he would make it either i got that pleco for free too because when i bought a snail they accidently netted him up. i shoulda said put him back because hes so small. i thought he'd be okay my koi dosnt usually pick on other fish but shes the only one big enough to do so.

Anyway thanks for the help. I'll be on this forum more often. Nice, straightforward answers, and not telling me i should go to hell for having my koi in a 10 for now.

 

[Cactuspixie]

The plastic container was only temporary to get a picture. But unfortunately he was not breathing this morning i touched him and he just flipped over on his back.

:-( sorry to hear that. Sad as it is, the koi was only doing what most big fish do (eat smaller fish).
Welcome to the forum. I'm only new to the forum myself, and learning lots

 

[Scottyhorse]

Sorry about the pleco