Sudden Unexplained Death of Pleco in Cichlid Tank

[Cecil2010]

Ok so on Friday I feed my fish and everything is fine. I stay the night at my girlfriends house last night and I just got home tonight to feed them and I found this...



Can anyone help me as to why this happened!?

My stock is 4 labs, 2 auratus, 1acei (I think), 1 bumblebee, and (used to be) 1common pleco

Was it because they were hungry? I'm just at a loss it's not like he was too big and got stuck somewhere or anything like that he was just a baby only like 3-4".

 

[needmorecowbell]

He might have been too small. Those cichlids are nasty fish, they start at the eyes and work down.. Sorry for the loss. It was most likely aggression and not so much hunger, but I would definitely feed more often, maybe 2 weekly. Just make sure everything is fed.

 

[Km84]

Your pic won't load so I can't see what happens but I'm assuming your Pleco died. First I'm sorry for that. Second one day of not feeding won't harm your fish. In fact it's good to have them fast now and again. But if your Pleco wasn't eating the algae pellets you were putting in or any veggies for a while that might cause an issue. Otherwise there might be a bigger issue. And your fish will always pick at the dead.

 

[Km84]

Just loaded the pic. Really sorry you had to find that. It's hard to say whether your fish killed him then Ate him or he died of some illness then they ate him. With my fish I need to make sure my Pleco is large enough that my fish don't bother him.

 

[Cecil2010]

The think is that he has been with the same fish for about 8 months now and I've never seen them pick on him or him get sick or act funny or anything that's why I'm just so lost

 

[needmorecowbell]

When was the last time you saw him? It could have been that he died some other way, and was eaten.

 

[ashleynicole]

How is your tank and how old are the fish? As african cichlids reach maturity and mating age they can start getting really territorial and aggressive. My guess is everything was "fine" for the last however long and now some of the fish are becoming more territorial as they age.

my second guess is for some reason the pleco died and then the fish ate him.

 

[Cecil2010]

When was the last time you saw him? It could have been that he died some other way, and was eaten.

I saw him Friday night and he was like the picture by Sunday

 

[Cecil2010]

How is your tank and how old are the fish? As african cichlids reach maturity and mating age they can start getting really territorial and aggressive. My guess is everything was "fine" for the last however long and now some of the fish are becoming more territorial as they age.

my second guess is for some reason the pleco died and then the fish ate him.

My tank is about 3years old and 3 of my fish are over 2 years (bumblebee and both auratus) and the labs are not sexually mature yet.

I'm just at a loss as to why (it seems like) they all teamed up and attacked my pleco in one night.

They always nipped at each other but I've never seen them mess with him

 

[needmorecowbell]

I'm almost sure this is what happened by what your telling us. The pleco died, somehow, and the fish ate him.

 

[LyndaB]

I agree. Don't assume the other fish attacked him and killed him. All fish will consume a dead or dying fish. Part of it is because it's their way of keeping the bacteria level safe in their environment.

 

[Cecil2010]

Yea I guess you guys are right that makes since.

Thanks for all the replies it is much appreciated.

Now I just need to figure out how he died.

 

[Pton46]

10 bucks it was your 2 auratus, then the rest joined in. keep an eye on them. \You might have them going after the Labs next. (Had it happen to me)

I had one a Juvy (which is surprising, since they don't get really aggressive until breeding Maturity) He/She killed a Chinese algae eater larger that it and then started chasing my labs relentlessly. Re homed it immediately. What would give you a reason your pleco just "died" while your other fish are ok if that is the case.

 

[akagochi]

Thanks for the comments. I just posted a thread exactly like this one and then spotted this conversation. I was not dropping algae pellets and my fish were all relatively new. From what I'm haring it sounds like the pleco died first then the fish ate him, but my pleco's carcas was not nearly as bad, so this leads me to believe it could have been something else. I have New world's in my 125.