are plecos hard to keep, or is it just me?

thanks for all the info, everyone, it's making me think i should go back to my bigger tank again... my fish...not me personally...

if i was to start my bigger tank again, how long should i get it going before i add my fish? i know this is probably all old-hat and really boring for many of you, but it's been a really long time since i set up my aquarium in the first place. i would really appreciate any advice, but please remember, i'm a novice!
 
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i've always read that plecos were hardy too, but i have had 2 die on me in 1 year. the first one got a horrible case of ich, i am pretty sure he probably came from the store with it, he was my first fish so i didnt know what to look for. heat, salt, rid-ich, and dark treatment all failed. the second one i think got some of those internal parasites, probably because i have to move around a lot (live in a dorm) and he was stressed. it is too bad because i have always though plecos were neat little guys, but after 2 deaths i have sort of soured on them.
 
I went through a stage about 10 years ago where I had several common pleco's die mysteriously as well. in retrospect I'm sure it was internal parasites. Acclimation is also difficult for these fish even the hardy ones. One rule to live by is find a store that will hold fish for you, and give you time to watch them for at least 30 days. IF they don't have a round belly, that's not a good sign. My royal was at the LFS for a solid two months. and stayed heakthy in a tank with no driftwood ( despite my suggestions) He had no trouble with acclimation and eats about 4 times his body weight every day (slight exxageration) every pleco I ever had that died on me would not eat the veggies I put in for them. Also metrodzinal will kill the parasites quite effectively if you can get them to eat. I mix a little powder in tank water and then soak algea wafers in it. once they quit eating there isn't much that is highly effective for internal parasites IMO. there are products that claim to kill them through the water column, but I have had very little success with these products myself. If you have a tank big enough, I'd try again sometime. they are truly awesome fish to watch. especially some of the exotics. internal parasites and acclimation seem to be the big issues with them, and both can be avoided or dealt with up front. once they are in your tank eating vegies clean water and a chunk of wood to hang on is all they need.
dave
 
daveedka said:
acclimate them very slowly to the tank by adding small amounts of tank water to their bag over the period of several hours.
dave
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Based on these two sites http://www.bestfish.com/tips/050798.html and
http://www.aquamaniacs.net/newfishselection.html, I just can't go with keeping a fish in a bag for "several hours," even though some fish require a slower acclimation process. If you feel the need to acclimate slowling, I would suggest a bucket with a heater attached. I currently have 4 bristle nosed and 1 rubber-lipped scattered about in my 3 active tanks. I did not use a long acclimation process with any of them and they have been thriving. I brought them home, netted them and put them in the tank.

I once lost a gold-nugget after only having him for about 10 days. He was quite small and I could not get him to eat. I also had a 12" common suddenly drop dead after about 3 years without any apparent cause.
 
RTR said:
Dave was refering to essentially drip aclimatization, not keeping a fish in a sealed bag for hours - not at all the same thing. Please do not confuse the two.
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Thanks for clearing that up. I just misunderstood when I read, "acclimate them very slowly to the tank by adding small amounts of tank water to their bag over the pperiod of several hours. "
 
we have whole shippments of plecos die within days of arrival at work. many come in starved beyond help. i also have heard a theory that in long periods of little or improper feeding the cells that produce the enzymes that break down algae die off in the gut, therefore starving the fish once they start to eat again....just a thought, welcome to the boards c-at

ryan
 
Ryan, your theory not only has merit, some of it has been proven. the cellulose-digesters (Panaques, etc.) can have their gut flora die off during holding and shipment and it is very hard to re-establish, even under lab conditions. I have suspected such for algae grazers myself (for example Otos, they can eat well in the LFS, but still may not survive or regain the weight lost in transit).
 
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