My pleco got his eye ripped out!

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Feb 24, 2007
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Came home today to a pleco with a missing eye! It's just a common black pleco. I've had it for almost 2 years with cichlids and he was with the same cichlids for years before that. He's about 8.5 inches long.
I'm not sure what happened but that sucks and I feel bad for the guy. I guess there's nothing I can do about it but just leave him alone. :mad2:
 
Ick. I'd do some extra WC's to keep the eye socket from getting any infections. How is he doing?
 
I guess he's doing ok. I saw him laying under a rock that he usually never goes under, not sure if that's what got him in trouble in the first place. But other than that he seems totally normal. It looks bad though, he's a decent size so he had a big eye. I changed out 15 gallons last night, thats not much on a 125 though. I have 30 gallons ready to go in tomorrow though.
 
can you do larger water changes? small ones like that (15g, 30g) don't do much to effectively change the water quality of a large tank.
 
Yikes!
I'm sorry :(
 
wataugachicken said:
can you do larger water changes? small ones like that (15g, 30g) don't do much to effectively change the water quality of a large tank.
Click to expand...

To do larger water changes I just need more containers which is do-able. But 30 gallon change is 25%, I thought that was decent. I try to do them weekly.

And for an update. I almost don't even want to post this. I somehow feel like this is my fault or I did something wrong but now his other eye is missing. :eek: I don't understand this. I dont know if its because he is so big, but hes been with a lot of these cichlids for 3-4 years (I've had them a little over a year and a half). I don't know what to do. My girlfriend thinks maybe be got some disease that is responsible for loosing his eyes but I think another fish did it.
 
That's the problem with cichlids, they're unpredictable.

It's not unheard of for cichlids to poke at plecos eyes. As they mature they will become more territorial/aggressive so it's possible that the pleco is suddenly seen as a threat by your cichlids.
 
why do you need containers? are you letting the water sit out overnight? just buy some dechlorinator.
 
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