More pleco problems and medication advice

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fishfairy

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Jul 23, 2005
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Nashville, TN
For background info visit my prevoius thread here:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=85178

I got a new pleco a few days after the first one died. This one is from the same store (Petsmart) in the same tank, but not from the same batch. It is also a slightly different strain because the spots are smaller. It has been in the tank for about 5 days now and I am starting to see the same kind of spots appear on this one except these are starting on its head. I really don't think this is coming from my own tank because there is nothing on the rest of my fish and it only took 1 day for it to appear on the first pleco. I really don't want to lose another one though. Does anyone know what this could be? Even if you don't, do you know of any medications I could try that maybe treat both bacterial and fungal diseases since I'm not sure which one it is? The biggest problem is that I would need something that is safe to treat the whole tank with since I don't have a hospital tank.

I am thinking there must be something in that particular tank at Petsmart so if this one does die, I will not buy another one from there even though I asked them and they said that mine is the only one that has been returned due to death. The only thing I can imagine if this is coming from my tank is that somehow the white fuzz is transferring from my new driftwood to the pleco since he attaches to it a lot? Is this possible? I know white fuzz is normal on driftwood when it is new and the stuff on the pleco is not fuzzy though. Plus my cories eat the fuzz off the driftwood and they are fine.

I would really appreciate some help with this. Thanks.
 
I would be very suspicious of the tank at Petsmart. I would not buy any more fish from their tanks until you are sure. I don't believe the white fuzz in your tank is killing your pleco. Do the spots look like small grains of salt? If so then their tank has ich. Raising the temps to 87F will cure the ich.
 
No they don't look like salt. It looks exactly like the picture in my above thread. There is a better picture a few posts down. Except this time it is on a few small spots on the pleco's head. It kind of looks like it creeps in between the scales.
 
Can you test your water and post the parameters again?

It looks bacterial to me. I would do daily water changes and gravel cleans on that tank, and remove the driftwood and scrub it down with something tank-safe (a wad of filter floss will do) to get the fuzz off. It could be an overgrowth of bacteria on the wood, it could be harmless, but if you're trying to get your water as pristine as possible I'd do it. Your current fish might be more resistant to whatever is in the tank, and introducing a fish that spends a lot of time on the bottom/driftwood might make that fish ill, when your other fish are fine.

If your filter needs maintenance, now is the time; rinse out sponges/biomedia, change out floss etc.

Does this fish also hide behind the heater? They make heater guards to prevent this, or you could DIY something to keep the fish away from the heater. That plastic mesh they use for embroidery (you can get it at the craft store) and a few rubber bands should do the trick. The first fishes' initial photo looked just like a heater burn; it could be unrelated, but probably a good idea to be safe.

I would clean the driftwood, service the filter(s), guard the heater and do 30-50% water changes, cleaning the gravel each time. Perhaps add Melafix and/or Pimafix to the water. If no improvement over 2 days, change the water again and start treating with Maracyn I and Maracyn II together.

I hope your fish pulls through, and I agree; don't buy another pl*co from PetsMart. Good luck--keep us posted.
 
I would say that it is more than likely that it is from the lfs. Do you know if al their tanks run on the same water supply? Here the PetsMart has one large filter that feeds all the tanks. If one tank has an illness, they all are at risk.
 
Zagz said:
I would say that it is more than likely that it is from the lfs. Do you know if al their tanks run on the same water supply? Here the PetsMart has one large filter that feeds all the tanks. If one tank has an illness, they all are at risk.
Click to expand...

I'm fairly sure that they are all on the same water supply. And this is the only fish I've bought from this particular store except for a betta. The betta is fine though because I bought him a few months ago even though his tank did share water with the rest of the tanks (he wasn't in a cup.) I am going to check the water params again when I get home to make sure they are ok and I will try and do daily water changes for now, but I would really like to try some medication soon because I only have a 2 week return policy on this fish and he was kind of expensive. If he dies, I certainly won't buy another fish from this store even though it is the only store I've seen with gold nuggets. Maybe my actual LFS which is much better quality can order me one.
 
Well I started Melafix/Pimafix treatment tonight. I am treating the whole tank since I don't have a hospital tank and also in case there is some weird disease that could spread throughout the tank. I almost lost my apple snail. A couple hours after I medicated the tank, he was swollen up and floating around at the top of the water. I got him out just in time though and moved him to my 20g tank. He still looks kind of weird, but is doing a lot better.

I also moved over a couple of my favorite fish that seemed to be acting a little off after adding the meds. They are doing better now too. Good thing my 20g was understocked before this. It should be fine for a week or so. Unfortunately, I think my Blood Parrot will eat my ghost shrimp that are in my 20g, but it is better than losing the fish. Oh and he is still tiny, so he is fine in a 20g for now.

I do have a question about the meds though. I know it says to dose the tank each day for 7 days, but do I need to be doing water changes too or do I need to leave it alone until the treatment is done?

Thanks for the advice and wish me luck!

Oh btw, water params are perfect: Ammonia and Nitrites: 0, Nitrates: 5
 
If all the gook is out of your gravel (pretty much) then don't change water as you treat. If the fish doesn't look better or looks worse in a day or two, then I would do a water change and start the Maracyn I and II.
 
Well he certainly isn't looking any worse at this point which is good. I haven't been able to get a real good look to see if it is a lot better, but I think it may be. My husband said he thinks it looks better, but he doesn't pay as much attention to the fish as I do anyway. The pleco is acting better though. He has come out of hiding and is pretty much on the front of the glass every night which he didn't do before. If I don't see any real definite results by Sunday, I will start the Maracyn.

BTW, Is a blue looking stomach normal? I ask because my rubber lip in my other tank does not have this so I can't tell if I'm just seeing his internal organs showing through or if this is an indication of the parasite. I know that when my last one died, his stomach was bright purple when I pulled him out of the tank.
 
I hope your fish is still with us and improving! As to the belly color, I don't know. I wish I could help with that--

I look forward (I hope) to an update--
 
Yes he is still with us! I think I am seeing some improvement in him and the blue color on his stomach is gone so maybe that was caused by the disease afterall? I am going to continute the Pimafix/Melafix because it seems to be working although I need to buy some more tomorrow because I miscalculated and bought the small bottles so I'm almost out.

Good thing is that so far he has lived a few days longer than the last pleco. I think this one may pull through. *crosses fingers*
 
Glad to hear the Pleco is pulling through. FWIW, I've heard that purple/dark stomachs on plecos are not a good sign. As in...death is imminent. So, I'm glad you're experience has not been with the norm!

Looks loosely like a columnaris infection on your fish, but perhaps a mild one (if melafix/pimfix are fixing it, it's mild). Treating your whole tank will kill it, more than likely. But if you see it start to crop up again, I'd treat with antibiotics (Maracyn 2) asap.

HTH
 
Hm, I guess columnaris is a possibility but it really isn't fuzzy at all. It's just like a weird white coloration.. or discoloration actually.
 
Columnaris also affects fish different. Plecos are scaleless, so it won't shed off massive amounts of yuck like on a normal fish. Columnaris is usually only a white coloration, not fuzzy. Fuzz says that a fungal infection has set in. Definitley not what your Pleco has.
 
Oh ok. Well it probably is columnaris then.

Some bad news though. The blue stomach is back. It isn't dark, just blue. I am going to start Maracyn treatment today. (Hopefully if my husband can pick some up on his way home from work since my cart won't start - just what I need.. But anyway..)

Do I need to do a water change before starting the Maracyn to get rid of as much of the other meds as I can?
 
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