HELP HELP HELP SICK PLECO!!

[FishyLindsay]

I have a BIG 6" royal pleco in a good size tank. he has plenty of wood and the water quality was just tested and it is PERFECT!! But not all of a sudden, i noticed that he is sitting on the bottom of the tank, hardly moving, and he's definitely NOT breathing much. Occasionally he'll twitch, but he was so incapacitated that he didn't move when i stuck my hand in to pick him up. We also have a Pitcus (sp?) cat fish that is acting very similar in the same tank. Is there some silent killer disease other than bad water quality?

The only thing that has changed was the introduction of some small grass like plants. Other than that, nothing has changed. The other fish in the tank are acting as if there is nothing wrong.

PLEASE HELP. I DONT WANNA LOSE THIS BEAUTIFUL FISH!

:help::confused::help:

[wataugachicken]

one thing that pops out is the new plants - what are they exactly? where did you get them? not all plants labeled for aquariums are actually aquatic, and some can release toxins into the water as they break down. remove those plants asap (put them in a tupperware or big jar for now), do a big water change, and see if things improve.

also, what are your exact readings for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate? what kind of tests do you use?

[FishyLindsay]

we added micro sword and jungle val and money wart plants were added. Not tons, just a few. we added those to other tanks in the house and nothing has happened.

We use API tests and all the readings were
nitrate 5
nitrite 0
ammonia 0 PH 7.4

[FishyLindsay]

oh yea.. we got them mail order from arizona aquatics (i think)

[monkey_toes]

Plants don't sound like a problem, then. What else is living in the tank? How recently did you add the last fish? Have you had any guests recently, or kids that could have put something in the tank?

[kw0me]

my bristlenose started doing that once so i added an airston and made a bit more of a current in the tank. Now hes all good :).

[FishyLindsay]

no kids at all over here in months and we havent added a fish in more than 3 months either.. There are cichlids living in the and some clown loaches, a couple of other plecos and a fire eel. All of which have lived harmoneously since the start of the tank. Its soo strange!! we have NEVER had any problems with this tanks water quality or disease... and this pleco has made it through lots of tank moves in the past.

[FishyLindsay]

also, the current is pretty strong in that tank and theres MORE than enough oxegyn in the tank

[monkey_toes]

When was the last water change? Did you notice this behavior in your pictus before or after you noticed the pleco?

[FishyLindsay]

we noticed the behavior in the pictus first, then the royal pleco HOWEVER we did notice that one of the regular smaller plecos we had we swimming up where the water filter output was. Like he was swimming up stream.

The last water change was a yesterday when it was planted.

[monkey_toes]

OK, so it's not any kind of parasite brought in with new fish, it's not the usual water quality problems, and it's affecting multiple individuals. Unless you've radically changed something in the last few days (fertilizers for the plants? adding (or adding more) CO2? bump the thermostat up/down? etc?), this sounds like some kind of acute poisoning. You say you added these same plants to your other tanks, with no ill effects to the inhabitants. Go double check that real quick. If you see anything funny, I'd pull all the plants right away. If you don't see anything odd, do a BIG water change in the pleco's tank — maybe 75%. I might still pull the plants in the pleco's tank, just to be safe. Then sit back and hope. Do you have a quarantine tank? Perhaps you could put the sick fish in there. I would suggest transferring them to another tank, but I wouldn't want to risk exposing healthy fish just in case. Can you think of ANY substances that might have gotten into the tank (soap, perfume, deodorant, etc)?

[fishcatch22]

have you put any toxic substances near the tank? any detergents, perfumes, ect? how old are the affected fish and how big is the tank? (i'm assuming over 100 gallons since you have a lot of big fish)

[wataugachicken]

Did you rinse the plants before putting them into the tank, or did any of the bag/package water get into the tank? AZ Aquatics is a business that has gotten many complaints and negative reviews, so anything connected with their name gives me a worry. Maybe there was something bad that came in with the water? Are the fish eating?

[Malefic23]

The plants may have been dipped or shipping in something to kill snails. This might have gotten into your tank. Also, since your water params check out, how about water temp?

[FishyMatty]

read thread about this posted by me

[nickmcmechan]

Is there enough algae for the pleco? Are you using dedicated food...algae sticks?