Oh no. My beloved 2 year old pleco died today. I wonder if someone can help me figure out why.
- Lightly planted, 2 LED lit, 55 gallon tank, set up several months ago
- 1 largish piece of drift wood, 1 small piece
- 12 hrs of light per day
- Light flake feeding every 2-3 days
- Water parameters: 0 Amonina, 0 Nitrites, 5-10ppm nitrates
- Weekly water changes, 30-40%
- 6 giant danios, 6 platys, 4 lemon tetras, 6 neon tetras, 4 cory cats
A few things changed over the past few weeks. I started feeding them brine shrimp, a 3.5 oz cube of frozen shrimp melted in a cup of aquarium water. I did this maybe twice a week. It seemed a bit excessive, but it's what the LFS said to do.
I cleaned the filter (aquaclear) a few days ago. I just squeezed out the medium in the tank, and cleaned it of debris. I wiped down the filter housing and cleaned the impeller.
No other fish have died or appear sick, though the cory cats seems less lively than they used to.
I neglected to feed the pleco veggies, and haven't given him wafers for a while.
So I suspect a feeding issue. Either too little, not enough of the right food or too much brine.
Ideas?