View Full Version : HELP Gold Nugget in trouble
Lostchemist
10-19-2003, 10:02 PM
My gold nugget is in some pretty bad shape. I have isolated him in a small tank. He has a sunken in belly which i know is caused by him not eatting but also his fins seem to have rot or something. He is breathing very slowly and his color has faded once or twice so far. The last time it did i thought he kicked the bucket and went to retrevie him. I exposed him to the the atmosphere and his color came back and he kicked a bit. He is now with a small piece of zucchini, a small piece of anaracus and an alge waffer. I am going to do water changes useing my tank water to be the water that i change in.
All of the other fish in the tank are doing excellent and the ammonia and nitrite levels are doing extreemly well.
What can i do for my Gold Nugget to get him back to health?:(
Any INFO would be greatly apperciated!!
Lostchemist
10-19-2003, 10:37 PM
ok from time to time he arches his back and at one point he was well......:( It looked like he was haveing a seisure. His color keeps fadeing in and out.....
Lostchemist
10-19-2003, 11:03 PM
Its over....My Gold nugget has put up an awesome fight but he has gone:( ....I will forever miss him.....:( :(
famman
10-19-2003, 11:03 PM
combo maracyn and maracyn 2 might help with a fresh water change, but watch that he doesn't jump out of the tank,
my impression is high nitrates, and/or overcrowding.
sorry, I don't think he'll make it.
good luck
valerie
10-20-2003, 1:52 AM
Goldnugget plecos are wild caught and most likely will come in with internal parasites. It is wise to treat all plecos with metronidazole or levamisol for internal parasites and keep them in a Q tank untill you are sure they are ok and eating.
When buying plecos make sure they look bright and their eyes clear.They should not have sunken stomachs or stomachs that are too swollen.
But goldnuggets seem to be harder to keep alive and most people do have high death rates.It seems they don't take as well as some other plecos to transport. There is a really good thread about goldnugget plecos at planetcatfish.com.It seems a people over there are also having problems with gold nuggets.
I'm sorry about your pleco.
clayt101
10-20-2003, 8:19 PM
I have yet to have one live for me. I've given up on them and instead went with a Goldy. I actually think the goldys look better since their fins are orange.
Its not easy keeping a gold nugget, hope you get over it and who knows the next L177 could be on your way!
Judging by your tank specs I would say a combination of overcrowding and low oxygen content in the water weakened him, along with malnutrition , allowing a bacterial infection to finish him off. A 5 1/2 gallon is ridiculously small for these fish.
Gold nuggets are not easy, but are ok in my experience. Mine have done well when I've kept them in clean warm water, with frequent large water changes and plenty to lots of water movement. They are not easy feeders, and I think they browse the substrate a lot and continually , so they need to have food hanging around on the tank floor for them. I think by many peoples standards I overfeed my tanks to allow stuff to sit on the bottom, but that's what I feel these fish need, including big pieces, or whole shrimp for them to chew on. I've never seen mine show muchinterest in zucchini or other veg.
To have success with these fish I really think you need to stick to biotope - they're not very flexible at all