Gold Nugget pleco Jumping out of tank!

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JamisonBWolsh

I am what I am. Defender of truth!
Nov 1, 2002
967
1
18
Hawaii
Something Strange happened to me. Well, actually my Gold nugget pleco. I was feeding brine shrimp and been noticing the last few days he has not been coming out to eat (he usually does). So I searched the tank with not finding him/her. I checked the filter (emperor 400) and he was not in there. Unfortanlty, I found him dried up on the floor on the side of the tank! Since he was about a year old, I was upset my this.
Question: Does Gold nugget Plecos JUMP out of tanks? There is an opening for the outlet of the emperor 400 filter, which is the escape point I think.

I never heard of such a thing ever happening with a PLECO.

Thoughts:

1.) He was being chased by another fish/pleco= This cant be it. No fish has ever chased him before. The only other pleco would be a slightly bigger Starlight bristlenose pleco. I dont think he was chasing the gold nugget because in all the searches I did about the Gold nugget shows that they can handle themselves extremely well with anyone picking on them.

2.) Swimming on the output of the filter and "swam up" the flow and landed on the tank top. This must be the reason.. BUT WHY? he never leaves the bottom of the tank and is normally hiding.

Can anyone help me find a reason? Thanks!
 
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Doublette90

AC Members
Dec 19, 2002
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Edmonton,Alberta, Canada
Sorry about your Pleco. I can't help you with how or why though. I have never heard of plecos jumping like that. Our common pleco will quite often dart to the surface , like to grab some air , and then quickly he is back down. He doesn't really jump out of the water though....
 
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JamisonBWolsh

I am what I am. Defender of truth!
Nov 1, 2002
967
1
18
Hawaii
Nothing different.....water changes every week....the tank has high nitrates..but that would not be the cause,,... I just thought it was strange for a PLECO to jump out of a tank...
 
MonoSebaelover

MonoSebaelover

Anableps
Apr 20, 2001
1,410
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Phoenix, AZ
www.shiredalefarm.com
What other fish were in the tank? It is possible for plecs to jump, have seen a few dried commons on the floor of the lfs I work at. They were all aggression related. The plec would not have climbed up the tube and flopped out. Once he was slightly out of water it would have wiggled its way back to the water. High nitrates could be the answer since most plecs don't really like bad water quality.
 
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JamisonBWolsh

I am what I am. Defender of truth!
Nov 1, 2002
967
1
18
Hawaii
The gold nugget pleco has been living in the tank for about a year. here is his fish mates in a 60 gallon:
3 Albino Tinfoils
1 GOLDEN NUGGET PLECO- jumped out!
1 starlight bristlnose pleco
1 orange spot pleco (L001)
6 white cloud mountain minnows (from startup)
2 boesemans Rainbows
1 Red tail shark
3 skunk cories
2 Yoyo loaches
3 syd. Petricolas
1 Elephant nose
3 Angelicus Botia

So, you said if he tried to swim out, he would turn around once he hits the air. If it was aggression (being chased) which fish did it?
 
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JackDonkey

AC Members
Aug 29, 2000
38
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Plymouth, Minnesota
www.cloudnet.com
at one time I had two gold nuggets and they would munch on the outlet of the emporer 400 about a half hour after lights out, the tank was in my bedroom. Their noses were usually 1/2 above the water line (but covered in water from the outlet). So I'm guessing that if there was even a small gap they could "crawl" up the outlet and swish their tail around to lever themselves over the lid of the tank and then probably flop around on to the floor. Neither of mine ever escaped. And I don't think they are jumpers because they also lived about 6 months in an open top planted tank and 6 months in a 30 long without a top, the 30 long also had the emporer 400 as the filter.
 
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inxs

AC Members
Mar 25, 2002
197
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Litchfield, CT
www.picturetrail.com
That's a lot of fish.

I'm sorry about your loss as gold nuggets are pretty tender and if you can get them to acclimate , eat and live for over a month it is a victory.

I have not had luck with them however I have a friend who tells me that his gold nugget is the first fish to indicate trouble with the water parameters by swimming up and down the tank walls any time the NO3, PH, temp , etc. gets out of whack.
So my guess would be that the nitrates may have stressed him into looking for an escape.
 
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