multiple fish in a small tank means multiple problems

[klarien]

I have a tiny plecostomus. Petsmart told me it was some species name (can't remember) but i haven't been able to find anything on it online. What I do know is that it is supposed to be a common plecostomus so I think I've got a hypostomus plecostomus on my hands. If anyone could identify it I would appreciate it. Another issue I have is I think it might be starving itself. The conditions right now are not all too good for the little guy. He used to be really active and sucking on the side of the tank until he started just sliding down the glass like he was losing suction and just laying on the ground not sucking at all. Now I have him quarantined him in a bucket with a lionhead goldfish and he seems to be ok but i don't think he's eating? I checked his tummy today and it looks maybe sunk in? Another thing is I'm wondering if his gills are supposed to be pinkish red like they have been?

The tests for the quarantine tank as far as I can tell are fine.

ph: 7
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 0
ammonia: 0

I always set the water out over night if not for a day in special bucket and I only just vacuumed the bottom of the bucket. The bucket itself is a 5 gallon with an air pump and two tubes attached. There is also a heater set to 75degrees inside. I feed him algae wafers and normally heat up cucumbers in the microwave with some water and cool the slice down before i set it in the water. Together I am giving both fish in the bucket foram-2 because there was a spike in the main tank before and the goldfish was the only one having an issue. It's symptoms are going away. Meanwhile I'm also giving them both a liquid calmer called stress coat by API


Any help would be appreciated and sorry for the long post. The blurriest picture is there because of the gills. I couldn't get a good up close on those but the color is there. Also sorry if I offend anyone. Loop is really smart and was really hard to catch. My lighting couldn't be improved either so against the aquarium signs I used flash and set him on a glass pane on the floor. Hopefully he'll still be ok later.- I won't.

 

[OrionGirl]

Timeline for the change in behavior? Are you feeding tabs/wafers? Slices of blanched zucchini would be good to tempt him with as well.

 

[rockhoe14er]

i'm not a pleco expert but it seems like a common pleco to me. Also taking him out of the tank like that to take pictures if pretty stressful so i'd just stick to snapping photos in the tank.

In my experience pleco's will either live 15+ years or die quickly after getting them. You could have gotten a sick one.

What are you parameters in your tank? is it cycled? Also does he have algae or driftwood to eat? have you fed him cucumber or zucchini?

 

[digitalphrage]

First, let's get this out of the way, because it's going to be asked and it's information you need to know. What are your water parameters in the tank(s), as in temperature, pH, nitrites/nitrites/ammonia levels, filtration type, tank size, etc?

Second thing. There's a good chance the fish is sick or very stressed. Taking him out of the tank to photograph him was not good for him. I know it's too late now, but for future reference, avoid doing that.

Third thing, goldfish are "cold" water fish (or temperate) and plecos are tropical. I assume you only planned to place the fish together as a temporary thing, but either way, one of them is not getting ideal temperatures. If it's warm enough for the pleco, it's uncomfortable at best for the goldfish, and if it's cool enough for the goldfish, it's going to be counterproductive towards your goal of reviving the sick pleco.

Now on to the matter at hand. Without knowing your water parameters (as discussed in item one) that might give us some more clues as to what's going on, it sounds like the fact that the pleco is not eating is the biggest problem. So, let me ask this. What are you feeding it or are you feeding it at all? Even if every surface of your tank is coated in algae, with the type of pleco you've got, you'll almost certainly need to provide supplemental food. But, you also need to make extra sure that it is eating that food. Some plecos will clean up leftover bits of fish food, others need an all vegetarian diet (pleco tabs and blanched veggies). In most instances, the algae on the glass alone isn't going to be enough.

So, the real question is....is the fish not eating because it is sick or stressed, or is it not eating because you're not feeding it? If we can figure that one out, we might be able to save him.

 

[klarien]

.

 

[klarien]

woah that was fast

Timeline for the change in behavior? Are you feeding tabs/wafers? Slices of blanched zucchini would be good to tempt him with as well.

What are you parameters in your tank? is it cycled? Also does he have algae or driftwood to eat? have you fed him cucumber or zucchini?

Sorry just updated the information on my post. I've had Loop for since the beginning of January and am feeding him both. The problem is that I can't tell if he's eating either because I think the goldfish still gets the the wafer at night and of course it's gone in the morning. The zucchini/ cucumber is also a mystery because it's not like he chews or anything. He's always just sucked and so I've always got a whole cucumber in the morning. It's also sunk to the bottom every time and before I have seen him suck at it. And yes, he does have driftwood in there.

i'm not a pleco expert but it seems like a common pleco to me. Also taking him out of the tank like that to take pictures if pretty stressful so i'd just stick to snapping photos in the tank.

In my experience pleco's will either live 15+ years or die quickly after getting them. You could have gotten a sick one.

The question is more like which type of common really. There seems to be a variety and it's quite confusing. And yes, I tried to just snap photos in the well, quarantine bucket but it was really far down and the zoom wasn't working. As for grabbing a sickly one. Loop once had a buddy named Fetch and Fetch was the sickly one. Of course it didn't help that the goldfish headed him off with their massive amounts of Ammonia. I don't own the tank alone. There are some goldfish in there and part of the reason why I moved him out was because I wanted to give him some heat, didn't want to put salt on him (ergo the stress coat), and he seemed sickly. That and it's as 10 gallon. Eventually he will have the ten gallon on his own away from the lionheads... everyone is like two inches big and so they'll be moving into a 40 gallon until they get bigger.

thank you everyone for replying so fast.

 

[klarien]

First, let's get this out of the way, because it's going to be asked and it's information you need to know. What are your water parameters in the tank(s), as in temperature, pH, nitrites/nitrites/ammonia levels, filtration type, tank size, etc?

Second thing. There's a good chance the fish is sick or very stressed. Taking him out of the tank to photograph him was not good for him. I know it's too late now, but for future reference, avoid doing that.

Third thing, goldfish are "cold" water fish (or temperate) and plecos are tropical. I assume you only planned to place the fish together as a temporary thing, but either way, one of them is not getting ideal temperatures. If it's warm enough for the pleco, it's uncomfortable at best for the goldfish, and if it's cool enough for the goldfish, it's going to be counterproductive towards your goal of reviving the sick pleco.

Now on to the matter at hand. Without knowing your water parameters (as discussed in item one) that might give us some more clues as to what's going on, it sounds like the fact that the pleco is not eating is the biggest problem. So, let me ask this. What are you feeding it or are you feeding it at all? Even if every surface of your tank is coated in algae, with the type of pleco you've got, you'll almost certainly need to provide supplemental food. But, you also need to make extra sure that it is eating that food. Some plecos will clean up leftover bits of fish food, others need an all vegetarian diet (pleco tabs and blanched veggies). In most instances, the algae on the glass alone isn't going to be enough.

So, the real question is....is the fish not eating because it is sick or stressed, or is it not eating because you're not feeding it? If we can figure that one out, we might be able to save him.

Sorry, I was in the middle of fixing the missing information when you typed. I have posted all of the info on the thread intro but all levels in summary are normal as in zero and the little guy is currently in the quarantine bucket because i also agree that 70 degree water is not good for him and that 75 would be better. Finally, yes I am feeding him. The tank got a med treatment a month ago and so that should have wiped everything out including algae and I never rely on just what 'might' be in the tank. He gets a cucumber slice and i generally rotate between that and an algae wafer. He also has some driftwood in the tank too.

thank you for helping me with this.

 

[klarien]

also, gahhh so much to say >.<

Loops sluggishness and everything else mentioned have only occured within the last three weeks. For the last 5 days I have had him quarantined in the tank with the lionhead goldfish and I have been having to change the water daily by like 75% because i didn't want him to suffocate in goldfish.

 

[OrionGirl]

Do you blanch the cucumber?

 

[klarien]

Do you blanch the cucumber?

yes and if i don't i still send it through the microwave with some water for a minute and nuke it. The cucumber then gets set through the tap until it cools and then it is put into the bucket/tank. To make sure it doesn't float away or as has happened before the goldfish get psyched and start playing an archaic form of goldfish soccer i still weigh it down with a fishing weight and keep it around the area the little guy roams.