Pleco Died

[FishKeeper-16]

Hey I found my pleco dead yesterday and my water quality is fine. I don't have very much algae in my tank and could that be the problem? I fed algae tablets and I think my other fish ate them before the pleco could get his fair share. I keep fairly peacful fish in my tank.

[SomethingFishy]

Was his belly sunken in at all? If you get another one try feeding the algae wafers at night after the lights are out. That's when the pleco is more active & the other fish aren't. I had one die on me with no apparent explanation. Sometimes that happens. The one I had was really cool too because he had learned to swim upside down and eat the flakes from the surface when I woudl feed the other fish. It was really funny to watch. I never had another pleco do that.

[Civicman86]

What does it mean if the fish's stomachs are "caved" in?

[Harlock]

Hey, Fishkeeper 16, sorry for your loss. Can you describe the setup for us, so maybe we can do some thinking on that?

[Maj0rFiSh]

What does it mean if the fish's stomachs are "caved" in?

That they are starving and havent eaten in days...

[FishKeeper-16]

It is a 29g tank with and the pleco was very small and probably no bigger than 3 inches and I have a 150 watt heater, dormant aponogeton plants which I movod out of the tank, 2 peguin 125 bio wheel filters, feed a variety of commercial prepared foods, and I have flourescent lighting. I usually dropped 3 algae tablets in the tank before going to bed when the lights were out and the tablets were all gone by next morning but my fish do eat some of the tablets. I do think his stomach was sunken in. I was going to trade him for a bristlenose pleco. I usually put the algae tabs in around 12:00 o'clock.

[Harlock]

It is a 29g tank with and the pleco was very small and probably no bigger than 3 inches and I have a 150 watt heater, dormant aponogeton plants which I movod out of the tank, 2 peguin 125 bio wheel filters, feed a variety of commercial prepared foods, and I have flourescent lighting. I usually dropped 3 algae tablets in the tank before going to bed when the lights were out and the tablets were all gone by next morning but my fish do eat some of the tablets. I do think his stomach was sunken in. I was going to trade him for a bristlenose pleco. I usually put the algae tabs in around 12:00 o'clock.
Did you have driftwood or plants by chance? Plecos seem to do better with those around for a little extra munching. Not much algae in the tank at all? May have been starvation or some sort of internal parasite since he had a caved stomach.

[powrslave]

I drop a large spoonful of black worms every once in a while in the same spot.
My pleco comes out and turns into a Hoover vaccum cleaner.

you wouldn't believe how many the corys can eat as well...
not to mention the antics of ghost shrimp pulling the worms out of the substrate....

highly reccomended treat...

also throw in a nice 1/2 slice of cucumber at night...



plecos needs meat and veges

[FishKeeper-16]

I have no driftwood because I am afraid that natural wood will leach tannins and the wood at my lfs in expensive.

[FishKeeper-16]

Would this driftwood work in my tank? Would it change the pH or water quality?


http://www.thatpetplace.com/Products/KW/F14/Class/Fish+Supplies+Driftwood/T1/F14+0081+0165/EDP/18571/Itemdy00.aspx

[beachbuum04]

What does it mean if the fish's stomachs are "caved" in?

Or it has internal parasites (which basically leads to starvation)

[Raskolnikov]

I've got a bunch of that very same sinking driftwood in my tank w/ an L075 pleco, and the pleco munches on the driftwood all day and searches for food pellets at night.

Almost any wood is going to leach tannins into your water, but discoloration is usually minimal and most fish come from habitats with tannin rich water.

[FishKeeper-16]

Well I have a book called "Aquariums for Dummies" and it says that I can seal wood with varnish but then it may release stuff in the water and also the pl*co could not munch on the wood if it is sealed.

[Harlock]

I have driftwood in my tank. I have never noticed too much of a tint to it. I did boil it before I put it in the tank.

[Angrybeerguy69]

Here is a site with cheap driftwood. Driftwood (http://www.aquariumdriftwood.com/driftwoo.htm)

[Raskolnikov]

I've got 6 "large" and 2 "medium" pieces of driftwood in that tank. The only time that I really notice the tint is if I look down the length of the tank, or when I fill one of my white barrels with waste water from the tank.

[FishKeeper-16]

Here is a site with cheap driftwood. Driftwood (http://www.aquariumdriftwood.com/driftwoo.htm)

I think that website has high shipping charges, well i'll have to shop around a bit for price quotes.

[Harlock]

I bought my driftwood at Big Al's online. It seems I am always ordering from them and so adding one or two extra things is never expensive when it comes to shipping. Mine was the Driftwood Arts brand "Branchy" style and I ordered 8-10 inches but received a 12-14 inch peice at no extra charge. You can see it in my sig, if you wish.