Lost my Bristlenose Pleco

[AJ]

So last week I was so excited, I finally found a pet store with a bristlenose pleco. I only wanted a small pleco so I refused to get the common pleco. I got him with two dwarf gouramis who are doing beautifully now. A few days after I introduced the fish I noticed ick spots on two of my neons. I tried salt treatment but it didn't seem to work so now I have a storebought chemical, just started it today so I have no results. Also, my bristlenose pleco died today.

Question is - do I trust this fish store again? I want to try another bristlenose because I do have algal growth but I don't want more disease. Any thoughts? Can I be sure the ick originated at the store?

[William]

Hate to say it, but it sounds like you killed the pleco with the ich meds.

Ich meds work on the principle that the parasites die before the fish, since most ich meds are nothing but toxic compounds.. toxic to fish and parasites alike.



If you want to get another, you should QT it first.

it is quite possible any one of your fish had the ich, as it only takes hold of the fish when their immune system is depressed because of stress, stress being anything.. including that of a new buddy in the tank.



You should do the heat treatment alli describes in the articles, it is wonderful! used it myself twice to great effect

[Allivymar]

*nods and agrees with William*

It really is important to QT all new fish; even if they look great in the fishstore there is no guarantee they are free from disease. 2 weeks in QT is usually enough for domestic fish to show signs if there is a prob (at least 3 for wild caught fish like clown loaches as they usually carry parasites).

Also, scaleless fish like plecs and loaches are very sensitive to ich meds. Ich meds are poisons (the thought being the ich will die before the fish) and scaleless fish absorb too much of the meds since they don't have scales.

I don't think the lfs carries too much blame here; fish don't always show signs of disease in the store and without scientific testing its a gamble (and who does that? LOL). If you need to treat for ich again, do read the article I wrote (its in the articles section up top). It will explain what ich is as well as give you some alternative suggestions for treatment.

[PK Tester]

I have used quick cure on my fish to cure ich...my pleco didn't die lol...I have used it many times. I also just have feeder guppies. I did salt treatment on top of that. I guess quickcure is quite as bad as most of them. I follow aquariumfish.net 's recomdned treatments. My heat is around 79 or 80 degress and I RARELY see diseases

[BrianNY]

I'm learning a bit about bristlenose plecos too. I lost a 5 incher the other night and was heart broken. I had him for 5 weeks and the death was sudden. I sure can't blame the lfs as evidence of his appetite was the massive waste in my tank. I'm starting to feel that they have their own set of requirements that need to be provided.

[TankGirl]

There was a thread recently about losing plecos other than the common, and I think most will agree that they seem to be more sensitive.

This is exactly why, like has already been mentioned, a Q-tank can save you a lot of trouble.

[William]

Originally Posted by PK Tester

I have used quick cure on my fish to cure ich...my pleco didn't die lol...I have used it many times. I also just have feeder guppies. I did salt treatment on top of that. I guess quickcure is quite as bad as most of them. I follow aquariumfish.net 's recomdned treatments. My heat is around 79 or 80 degress and I RARELY see diseases

QuICKCure is what alot of people use, just because it works does not mean its good for the fish.

[AJ]

I think you all misunderstood - I lost the pleco before I used ick meds. I lost the pleco before I realized I had ick. Therefore the ick meds didn't kill it.

[Madame_X]

Originally Posted by TankGirl

There was a thread recently about losing plecos other than the common, and I think most will agree that they seem to be more sensitive.

I must be lucky to have two great sources for plecos here in town--I have a bristlenose, a peppermint, a clown and a new little pitbull pleco. All except the pitbull I've had for several months and have never had any issues with them (except for the fact that I rarely see the clown or the peppermint). They all seem very happy and healthy.

(Knocking on wood, well aware of that whole pleco/pl*co superstition...)

[Mr502go]

When Kirby (my bristlenose) came down with ick, I tried the heat treatment, I also used maracyn, maracyn two and maracide. Fortunately Kirb is still with us today. She seems to be doing well. What were your water params??