pleco help/advice...

[HopefulHobbiest]

i'm almost ashamed to say this but i'd rather have the right answer then wonder what went wrong...

i've had to different plecos in my tank(55G) since i set it up and i lost both.
first one i lost(i know why) because i was an idiot and added him mid cycle thinking he'd be ok(i knew next to nothing at this point). and the second one i added about 2-3 weeks ago(way, way after cycle completed) and he "passed" just the other day.

the first one i get, but i can't for the life of me explain the passing of the second pleco... common pleco was the first and clown pleco was the most recent for those who would like to know upfront.

my water conditions are stable at:

7.4 pH
0 ammo
0 trite
20 trate

(using the API FW Master Kit)

and i do right around a 50% water change 2 days a week.

my plants do ok and i have algae growing in some places but i need some help because i'm in the process of adding a 125g and a 40g to my collection and i would like to have at least 1 BNP in each tank but i will only do this if i can solve the mystery cause i'm really against unneeded(sp) suffering and death of fish

can any help?

 

[Tetra1990]

i'm almost ashamed to say this but i'd rather have the right answer then wonder what went wrong...

i've had to different plecos in my tank(55G) since i set it up and i lost both.
first one i lost(i know why) because i was an idiot and added him mid cycle thinking he'd be ok(i knew next to nothing at this point). and the second one i added about 2-3 weeks ago(way, way after cycle completed) and he "passed" just the other day.

the first one i get, but i can't for the life of me explain the passing of the second pleco... common pleco was the first and clown pleco was the most recent for those who would like to know upfront.

my water conditions are stable at:

7.4 pH
0 ammo
0 trite
20 trate

(using the API FW Master Kit)

and i do right around a 50% water change 2 days a week.

my plants do ok and i have algae growing in some places but i need some help because i'm in the process of adding a 125g and a 40g to my collection and i would like to have at least 1 BNP in each tank but i will only do this if i can solve the mystery cause i'm really against unneeded(sp) suffering and death of fish

can any help?

IMO, your trates seem a bit high.

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

most people here have said 20 and below should be ok...

do you think this is part of the problem??

 

[Cichlid Kid]

If your doing 50% pwc twice a week in a planted tank and your trates are steady at 20 this tells me you may be overfeeding just a tad maybe? Some fish do not do well with large frequent pwc's. I'm not that knowledgeable with clown plecos to tell if they are such a fish.
Maybe someone else can help further.

 

[Cichlid Kid]

What is your current stock?

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

8 sunburst platy
1 eclipse catfish
3 clown loaches
1 rainbow shark
3 bamboo shrimp
7 cory cats (2 albino, 2 spotted & 3 green)
2 "Assorted" angels (which i may post pictures of later in a seperate thread to see if anyone can truly ID them and possibly sex them)

 

[Christopherlh84]

I have four plecos in my tank and my nitrates stay a 40ppm. They are healthy. Also nitrates are ok as long as they don't get over 40 not 20. I have two rams, four plecos, three platy, three emperor tetras, one angel 40 trumpet snails, three assassin snails and one African dwarf frog they are all happy in 40 ppm. Are you giving them a algae wafer? I usually give them one every other day. They need them for extra nutrients.

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Well when I had them yes I gave algae wafers, fresh produce ranging from zucchini to cucumber s and lettuce. I also have frozen "veggie" cubes but I use those only 1-2 a week

 

[Rivercats]

Are you dosing any ferts? 20ppm in a planted tank is right it's not too high. If your not dosing ferts and your getting a 20ppm nitrates doing 50% WC's a week then you could be overfeeding or your filter/s are in need of a good cleaning. Possibly even some gravel cleaning if you have alot of open unplanted substrate showing.

Are the BNP's healthy when you get them... as in do they have sunken bellies like they have not been getting enough to eat. Do you offer veggies a couple times a week after the lights are turned off? Do you have any DW in the tank, pleco's need to rasp on them as the DW aids in digestion. Have you had any trouble with other species dying or is it just BNP's?

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Are the BNP's healthy when you get them... as in do they have sunken bellies like they have not been getting enough to eat. Do you offer veggies a couple times a week after the lights are turned off? Do you have any DW in the tank, pleco's need to rasp on them as the DW aids in digestion. Have you had any trouble with other species dying or is it just BNP's?

Never tried BNP, I've had a common and a clown... I would like to try the BNP once I figure this out. Yes there is DW in my tank as well so that's covered and all feelings for the pleco took place after lights out

 

[Cichlid Kid]

It wasn't a bnp. He lost a common and lastly a clown. I believe for a 55gal it's overstocked.

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

I'd be inclined to agree with you on being overstocked if my fish were full grown but they are all still very young and the biggest fish(one of the clown loaches) is just about 2.5". The three loaches along with the 2 angels will be going into the 125 once it's cleaned, setup and running so I'm not really worried about that part

 

[Rivercats]

I put a BNP in my tank on day 10, the little guy/girl is doing great. I've got other kinds of pleco's and have found they are pretty darn hardy. I'm not sure why yours are living, it's very odd.

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Yes very odd indeed... Only thing I can't think of is problems between supplier and petsmart maybe

 

[Wiggles24]

I have found that BNP seem to be the hardiest

 

[Rivercats]

I actually have a longfin albino BNP. From what I had read the albino's tend to be more active during the day and have to say after having this one for several months that seems to be true. I've never had any Pleco's that were delicate. My newest Pleco was a Rio Negro Pleco and it was really small when I got it, but it was a hardy as the rest of them.

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Hmmm I'll have to see if I can track down an albino BN then lol