pleco problem

montanaxvi

montanaxvi

AC Members
Oct 1, 2004
96
0
0
Columbus, OH
I have a small little common in the tank with my oscar amd I have noticed, that while the Oscar has NEVER picked on the little guy or even cared so much as to sniff at him, the tail on the pleco is lokking a bit messed up. It seems like it is splitting along the fin itself. My digital camera is broken, and I have no way of taking any pitcures of it for show. The water params all seem fine and not having any kind of issue with the oscar in there and both seem lively and very active.
 
When fish don't get enough to eat, their fins sometimes thin and eventuially split. Are you feeding your pleco? Is there enough algae for him to eat? Many aquarists often overlook feeding their algae eaters.

If your not feeding him anything, I would try a cucumber, zuchini, or algae wafers. If you go with a vegtable, get something you like too. Only a small peice goes in the tank at a time so the rest would go to waste.
 
drop in a wafer or two each night before I go to bed, along with whatever algae he is picking off the tanks wallas decorations etc. Unless the oscar who does not react at night is eating the disks he should be eating plenty.
 
mine's a wee guy, maybe 3-5 inches long, he is not the only one in the tank as noted above there is an oscar and a rhino pleco who is maybe 6-8 inches long. They all get along great while the little guy is the most active of the two plec's so I assume he is getting whatever food is in the tank first. Like I said above, the Oscar does not bother anyone that is not a guppy or a cichlid pellet :)

I am just going to drop in a couple more pellets each night to compensate just in case he is missing out.
 
Then maybe you should try another food. I don't think algae wafers are the most balanced food in the world. Maybe he is just missing some kind of vitamin? It could defineatly be a certain vitamin or nutirent instead of the quantity.

The only other possiblilty I can think of is a mild case of fin rot. Does he have any white on his fins where they are split?
 
I usually drop the wafers in about half an hour after I turn the lights out for the night. Also I do not see any harm in dropping in some cukes or something for them to munch on now that I think about it.

Thanks everyone as always.
 
He could be getting nipped when your not looking. After 2.5 years in the tank together, My Oscar started picking on my Pleco constantly. The Oscar was about 10 inches long and the Pleco is 12 inches long. It got so bad the Pleco couldn't even come out and clean the glass. He just stayed in the corner, out of site and under cover. I got rid of the Oscar and Jack Dempsey and switched over to smaller, peacful, community fish and the Pleco has never been happier - he's my most active fish. By the way, everytime mine had the membrane between spines on his fin torn, it would heal. Over the years, he has taken quite a few nips and his fins all healed. In some places, however, it never grew back....but he still looks good to me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom