I have a 55 gallon with six 2"-4" Afircan Cichlids and one 4" Pleco. Last week i noticed my plecos eyes were injured, I suspect he was being attacked by the Cichlids, and last night I noticed his eyes were completly gone. The pleco seems to be actting normal. The pleco has been in the tank since I started it last feburary. Is this mormal? Will the pleocs eye grow back? What can I do to keep this from happening? Can I get a more durable pleco?
Cichlids attacking pleco missing eyes!
- Thread starter wietgr
- Start date
Seriously though, very sorry to hear about the plec and welcome to the forum! Can you relocate the plec to a different tank? The cichlids will likely not stop now until he's dead or stressed to the point of death. Maybe to a QT tank, a friends, or the local fish store? The eyes will sadly not grow back but he/she can still life a long life if you take steps to stop the aggression against it. Providing VERY clean water is the best medicine you can give now to help in its recovery.
he/she can still life a long life if you take steps to stop the aggression against it.
What are those steps? Should I feed them more often? Would they attack a larger pleco?
DrVader told you what those steps are...You have to remove the pleco immediately, and there is no such thing as a durable pleco when put in a tank full of aggressive african cichlids. Plecos cannot fight off aggressive fish like that (to my knowledge, but I'm pretty positive). Do you have to have a pleco in that tank?
I have a 90 gallon mixed mbuna tank, where I keep my odds and ends from my breeding groups. There are about 30+ mainly mbuna in there, and several synodontis catfish. Those are my bottom feeders of choice for an african tank. I am assuming you have mbuna in your 55. That is far too few. Their aggression is not diffused enough, and they hit the slow moving weakest link first - your small plec. My guess is they will now go after each other. I would not keep anything less than 20 mixed mbuna in a 55. This requires lots of rock work, very heavy filtration and lots of large water changes. If this is not the way you want to go, I would suggest taking the fish you have back to the petshop, and reassessing what your goals are for your tank. Read up on fish you like, and set up and stock the tank accordingly. You will save a lot of frustration and be happier.
are you saying i should have more fish, and that would help calm thier aggression? 20 or more seems like i am overcrowding them?
It would help to disperse their aggression to more fish. As far as plecos go, any you put in there will be subject to attack.
Overcrowding would help them not establish their territories but I don't know if it would necessarily fix your plec problem. Best bet would be to remove/rehome either the pleco or the cichlids...
