My pleco is adting weird

[DAVER]

I started with a 10 gallon tank a few years ago. I started with Goldfish but they kept dying so i changed my focus to Tetras and a small pleco. they were in the tank for a couple of years and they thrived. The pleco grew very big. He began to spend more time out of his log and every so often he would swim up to the top of the tank and break the surface. i figured that he needed more room so i upgraded to a 55 gallon tank about 3 months ago. At first he resumed his usual behaviour of hiding out but recently he has started to jump again. Is this normal behaviour or is something disturbing him. Besides him there are 6 tetras and 5 Mollys.

PS: He is growing again now that he has more room

 

[Zagz]

None of my plecos do that at all. What are your water parameters and how often do you change the water?

 

[papa_bear_21]

I have had several plec's do this, as do all my other fish, My perameters are perfect. What kind of plec is it?

 

[DAVER]

My last test came up with these parameters;

ammonia - .25
Nitrite - 0
nitrate - 40
Hardness - 150
Alalinity - 80
PH - 6.8

I do a 25% water change every week or two as the Pleco makes a large amount of waste. I have not as yet cleaned the filter canister as the instruction book I got with it does not really say when to do it. i read from other posts on this site that that I should wait till the tank cycled before doing this. I am pretty sure that has happened since my test results seem to be pretty stable at the above parameters.

i have a few pictures of my Pleco in my photo album in my profile. I do not know what kind he is but i think he is one of the kind that grows fairly large.

 

[papa_bear_21]

Your ammonia is up a little, you want to get that number down, and no your tank is not cycled. Ammonia will read zero when the tank is fully cycled, you do not want to go above where you are with your ammonia. What kind of test do you use?

*EDIT* How big of a tank is he in? From the pictures you have, my best guess is a common pleco, where did you get him from? The reason I asked about the tank size is, he looks to be a good size, and will need quite a bit of room to swim around. What do you feed him?

*EDIT 2* I've been searching on one of my info sites, and from the pictures you've shown, I have narrowed it down to 2 species. The first being a Pterygoplichthys pardalis, the other being Hypostomus punctatus. I am leaning toward the P. Pardalis, as he seems to have a longer dorsal fin than the H. Punctatus. If you can get some better pictures, maybe some with his dorsal flared and some other angles, I can get you a better ID of him. With a better ID, you would be able to provide better care, as they all have different needs.

 

[DAVER]

I am using Jungle Labs test strips tests. I know they are not as accurate as the chemical ones. I have been reluctant to use one of those chemical ammonia reducers as I think this will alter the tanks cycling.

My tank is a 55 gallon tank and it is 48"L x 13"w x 30"H so I think he has enough room for now. I will try to get some better pics of him and post them in my album.
It may also be that he has outgrown his usual hiding spot in the log as he has started to hid in the large plastic tree much more often. I have been shopping for a larger hollow log for him but they are hard to come by.

I pretty well do all my aquarium shopping at a nearby Big Als Aquarium shop as I don't like to buy from a "WALMART" since they do not put trained people in pets department. I know this well since my wife works at WALMART and she won't buy our fish there even though we would get a discount. All our fish are from there including the Pleco. When we got him he was only about 1" - 1 1/2" long.

 

[papa_bear_21]

I would definitely try to get a chemical test kit, as they are much more accurate, and your tank may be cycled and the strips wrong. The tank size is a good start, but he will eventually need a tank in the ballpark of 7 feet long fully grown. My plec's hide out in some caves I made with those orange terracotta plant potters, rainbow rock, and other freshwater safe rock, you dont need anything special. I would recommend some driftwood though, as some enjoy hanging out on it, and others eat it. I agree with the walmart thing, I have helped a few walmart employees sell fish, and I dont work there. The ammonia removing chemicals, in my opinion, should not be used. I have tried them, and it's more of a pain than anything else. The best cure is water changes, to keep the numbers in check, during the cycle you may be changing the water everyday. I feed my plec's about 2 times a day, a mix between sinking pellets (veggie and algae), and fresh veggies.

This is our big guy, he's hiding in one of the potter halves.