Pleco L114 Staying at the top of tank ?

A

Ant

Registered Member
Jan 28, 2018
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Hello All.

Question. My pleco over the months has become more active day and night. Showing the normal qualities etc

However the last 48hours he started staying behind the filter. Concerned as it was unusual for him.

Next day 50% water change, water temp normal between 75-80. ph level stable 7.0-7.5 (All was well).

After the change he will only stay at the surface of the water. Not gulping air just chilling and wont' come down to his lovely wood and hide outs.

Concerned as this is out of character for him and he shows no intention of returning to the tank floor.?

He is a cactus lepoard pleco (Nickname Splinter)

Any advice would be great.
 
Does he have a place to hide?
 
Many places to hide. I have three varied overlapping wood with plenty of knooks and places to get into

However he mostly is happy just being out on top of them.

Checked on him tonight before lights went out and he is in the same postion top left of tank perched on the highest sucker attached to filter stem.

He is not gulping for air just staying there.

I am concerned as it's abnormal for him.

He is 2.1 inches also (Jurvrnille)

Hope that helps
 
Sorry to hear about your issues. What else is in the tank with the pleco? Any new additions? What do you feed the pleco?
 
What are you water parameters for ammonia, nitrite & nitrate? It's good the start with a large water change...how much & how often do you change regularly? What size tank?

Can you post a pic? I wonder that he's only 2.1 inches after "months". Does he look thin along his back or head?
 
I like to do regular water changes. usually at the end of each month I do a 50 -65 -75% water changes depending on tank out look. No new additions to tank.

Actually nothing has changed at all really.

His head is thicker than the rest of his body and his colour is very good.

Food. Blood worms. Protein/Algea pelts. Some tropical granules and flakes generally go into the tank most days ( not overfeeding)

Just odd behavioir only in the last 2 days

All my levels are true. Ammonia?! however just done a large water change.

Nitrates possibly but would that make him sit lazily in the top left ?

Cheers for the responses will look to post pictures also
 
I was concerned he may have internal parasites since he has not grown as much as I would expect.

I also do large water changes every 7-10 days. Fry grow faster with lots of clean water. Often detritus (poo, etc) collect under décor, do you vacuum under/inside his hiding places?

"True" levels are not what we need to see, we want actual numbers. If you don't have a test kit, some shops will test your water for free.

As I asked before, what size tank?
 
Sorry to hear your having some trouble. Things that stand out to me are "normal 75 - 80" "stable 7.0-7.5" "true" "possibly". None of those are clear and definitive. 5 degrees is a fair temp swing and .5 pH change is not stable, it is a .5 swing. So why the temp and pH swings? Sometimes these things are unavoidable, like people who live in tropical climates may do water changes with colder water to keep temp within range so more details please.

Tank size? Other occupants? Test results from a liquid test kit for as many parameters as possible? (yes nitrates can affect behavior, that's why we ask for it). Pictures are always helpful.
 
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