I think I killed my Pleco :(

[Enki]

He was laid out on his back right in front this morning when I got up. No visible damage. Ammonia and nitrites still rock solid at 0ppm, and nitrates is still way under 20 ppm.

I think he just couldn't adjust to the higher Ph and hardness. I feel bad for the little guy

So it's the algae brush for glass cleaning for a while. I am going to go with MTS if I can find some. My LFS says they haven't been able to get them for a long time due to California paperwork issues. Anyone have extras to spare?

Everybody else seems fine. Still a little skittish though. I picked up some little zebra danios to play decoy, Hopefully help the others relax.

 

[lmw80]

What kind of pleco was this? Also, what were you feeding it? If you were relying on him only eating the algae, you may have been starving him. Plecos have no stomach....so whatever they eat....they absorb the nutrients needed and then it comes out. For this reason, feeding the pleco enough to absorb enough nutrients is critical.

 

[Enki]

He was a bushynose pleco, only in the tank since Tuesday, same as the rest of the fish. There is a pretty fair amount of algae in the tank already, so I was not feeding him yet, although I was going to get him some algae wafers soon. I don't think he starved in less than a week...

 

[tkos]

There is a good chance he was starving when you bought him. Look at their heads and see if they look sunken in at all. If so then don't buy them. They should have fat plump heads.

Also make sure to have a piece of drift wood in the tank as many plecos rely on wood for lignin intake.

I don't know how good MTS are for algae on glass as they tend to stay on the substrate. Ram's horn snails are good at climbing the walls.

 

[cdawson]

Yeah MTS aren't very good at cleaning the glass, you should try getting some ottos or some japonica shrimp. Ramshorn are better at cleaning the glass, but apple snails are REALLY good at cleaning the glass. Only try them if you don't have live plants.

 

[Enki]

I guess it is the algae brush for me then. I have live plants so most snails are out. I have African cichlids so shrimp are out, as well as most snails again. As far as I know only the apple snail and the MTS have the little trapdoor that can allow the snails to survive with cichlids. Eveybody else is pretty much live food.

I can't get apple snails or MTS here anyway it seems, at least not aboveboard. Maybe I'll find a black market snail dealer somewhere, someday.

 

[Capt.Gorilla]

I think that I'm lucky to have a nice lfs across the street from me, they're always giving their plecos and such lots of cucumber.

 

[Sati]

Sometimes I can't find snails, but the one place that always has Apple/Mystery snails around here it Petco. You might check there if you haven't already.

 

[ferret]

I keep the black mystery snails that Petsmart always has a tank of (usually) with my cichlids. No issues, tank is clean between them and the pleco.