it is my favorite fish. i just noticed it right this second, but its skin is turning from the dark brown it used to be, into like having these weird pale spots all over it. =[ i am really worried. please help me. =[
HELP!!! I THINK MY PLECO IS SICK!!!!
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Lupin
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water parameters? all i know is that i got my water checked at petco and it is "stable" i guess u could say. um.....as for food, i give it algae wafers and sometimes it like eats the excess food for my cichlids. i also have a half-dead goldfish that i think it has been sucking on because one of its eyes is gone i just noticed.
all i know is that the water is "stable" as said by the specialist at petco. as for food i give it algae wafers and bloodworms occasionally. um......it also likes to eat the excess cichlid flakes that fall onto the floor. the reason i think it is sick is because it has like pale spots all over its body. i just noticed these today. please help me. =[
Lupin
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Check your ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH. Get API liquid test kit for that and stop listening to your Petco's "advice". I call it "ill-advised". What other foods do you have?
Lupin
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Wow, never heard one go as far as to say they were a "specialist". Must either have a lack of shame or is extremely blind to the fact he knows nothing.
Water paremeters are, in comparison, a toxic gas. NitrAte isn't very toxic and only seriously affects fish at 40ppm+, although the ideal amount is 5-15ppm. Ammonia is the most serious "gas". It burns the gills of fish and can lead to internal damage, and regular esposure almost always ends in death. You should never have any ammonia after cycling, and if you see any (I usually test my 75g every water change, which is every 2 weeks. How big is your tank?), do a WC immediately. NitrItes are similar to Ammonia in affect. Burnt gills usually leading to gasping, internal damage, etc. It should always be stable.
Did you cycle your tank? Or did the "specialist" at Petco say to run it for a day, just add all your fish, or give you a bottle of cycle (AKA junk) to dump in? If you don't cycle your tank, your fish will be suffering high ammonia and nitrItes for at least 2 weeks, for me usually 3 to cycle, until nitrAtes show up. They will continue to suffer if you don't water change after nitrAtes show up. You will have inadvertanly done a "fishy" cycle, which is cycling a tank with fish waste matter to produce ammonia (which produces trItes which then makes trAtes) and doing constant WCs and testing (although it's obvious that part was left out) instead of using a prawn or fish food, which is easier on both aquarist and fish. Basically, the cycle of a tank is a deadly period of time where toxins are leveled. They require something to start on, such as fish food. Then other toxins are produced, and still others. Then you change the water 2-3 times, and add some fish (Not all, or your bacteria will be overwhelmed, AKA won't keep up with the ammonia (toxin)).
Oh, and what sized tank, how many and what kind of africans (hopefully not "assorted"), and goldfish are coldwater, so they cannot be kept with africans. I'm surprised it's still alive with them. The pleco will get 16-20" and make a lot of waste, so a 150g minimum is needed.
Water paremeters are, in comparison, a toxic gas. NitrAte isn't very toxic and only seriously affects fish at 40ppm+, although the ideal amount is 5-15ppm. Ammonia is the most serious "gas". It burns the gills of fish and can lead to internal damage, and regular esposure almost always ends in death. You should never have any ammonia after cycling, and if you see any (I usually test my 75g every water change, which is every 2 weeks. How big is your tank?), do a WC immediately. NitrItes are similar to Ammonia in affect. Burnt gills usually leading to gasping, internal damage, etc. It should always be stable.
Did you cycle your tank? Or did the "specialist" at Petco say to run it for a day, just add all your fish, or give you a bottle of cycle (AKA junk) to dump in? If you don't cycle your tank, your fish will be suffering high ammonia and nitrItes for at least 2 weeks, for me usually 3 to cycle, until nitrAtes show up. They will continue to suffer if you don't water change after nitrAtes show up. You will have inadvertanly done a "fishy" cycle, which is cycling a tank with fish waste matter to produce ammonia (which produces trItes which then makes trAtes) and doing constant WCs and testing (although it's obvious that part was left out) instead of using a prawn or fish food, which is easier on both aquarist and fish. Basically, the cycle of a tank is a deadly period of time where toxins are leveled. They require something to start on, such as fish food. Then other toxins are produced, and still others. Then you change the water 2-3 times, and add some fish (Not all, or your bacteria will be overwhelmed, AKA won't keep up with the ammonia (toxin)).
Oh, and what sized tank, how many and what kind of africans (hopefully not "assorted"), and goldfish are coldwater, so they cannot be kept with africans. I'm surprised it's still alive with them. The pleco will get 16-20" and make a lot of waste, so a 150g minimum is needed.
i am switching out my pleco for a small new one. it is indeed getting too big for my tank, but it seems to be doing much better since i changed out the filter cartridges. unfortunately, my electric blue now looks like it has gill damage because it keeps "extending" its mouth every now and then and hasn't moved at all as much as it used to. it also has this algae-looking substance on it.
Dangerdoll
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sounds to me like your tank isn't cycled. And for what it's worth, "stabled" is not a description a good LFS person would give you about your water parameters unless they were consistently testing your tank for days, weeks and maybe months.