Pleco's keep dying...

J

jadducci

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Oct 19, 2006
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Alright this is my first post at this forum, so Ill try to get all the details in.

I have a 20 gal freshwater with 4 2-3 inch african cichlids. My water is pretty decent, nitrates ~20ppm and nitrites are ~.5-1ppm. I have been doing 30-50% water changes every 2 weeks. The tank is about 2.5 months old. I have lost a asian tiger lobster (crayfish) and just lost my 4th pleco. The first few were 2-3 inches while the most recent was about 5 inches. I just found him upsidedown under half of a clay pot twitching and shaking. He died shortly after. My tank does have a brownish alage problem, it only appears in the areas the aquarium light shows. I don't know if that helps or if I am missing anything else. If you guys have any idea what the problem could be. I have been adding salt to my tank when I do water changes but that never was a problem in my old 30 gal. Thanks for the help and sorry about the lack of organization.
 
what kinda plec's your crayfish could be the blame
 
jadducci said:
nitrites are ~.5-1ppm.
Click to expand...

There's the problem IMO. nitrates are very toxic to fish and need to be at or very close to zero. You will need to do water changes whenever your nitrites get above .25. Plecos are big producers of waste so that's why nitrites are so high.

Just curious, what kind of plecos?
 
1) Your tank isn't cycled for the bioload you have. You want your Nitrites at .5 or BELOW. (Preferably even 0.25) Daily water changes may be necessary to do this.
2) What is your ammonia level? If this is anything other than ZERO, that is also bad.
3) Why are you adding salt? Salt is only necessary in a freshwater tank for the treatment of certain parisitic diseases (Ich is the most common). It is not required for normal tank maintenance.
4) What kind of Plecos are these? Most kinds get far too big for that tank.

SirWired
 
They were all common pleco's. I don't have any means of testing amonia, however I brought a sample in to a nice aquarium store in town and they said the only area of concern was slightly high nitrites. I have tried chinese alage eaters, and one was eatten by the cichlids and the other I brougth back because it was getting picked on.

What kind of fish should I get then for cleaning algae etc?

Should I stop adding salt when I do maintance? and should I do it incrementally or can I Just not add salt nextime I do a water change?

My cichlids have all been healthy and fine, I thought pleco's were equally or possibly even more hardy? That is my reasoning for a specific cause that has been only effecting the pleco's.

Thanks
 
First of all you need to do some more water changes as I think this is a lot of your problem. Any nitrite or ammonia in the water jepordizes the well being of your fish. It is poison to them. You want to get these levels to 0 or as close to as possible to it. Next, salt is not necessary in a freshwater set up on a regular basis. I only add it if I need to in case of sickness or disease and not in my planted tanks. O.K. and a 20 gallon tank is way too small for a common pleco. He will grow way to large way to fast in your aquarium and not only will he not be able to move because he will be cramped, his waste will mess with your water quality in no time. He may also become more agressive to your other fish as he grows and matures. I Have a common pleco in my 125 gallon cichlid tank and he is growing fast. As far as what to put in the tank for algae control, may I suggest a bristlenose pleco. They max out in size at 4-5 inches and are very peaceful fish. They will not bother any of the other fish. They are also real workhorses at keeping the algae under control. I would however suggest feeding your pleco algae wafers and some blanched veggies. Your tank is very new and there may not be enough algae for the pleco to eat. I give it to my plecos and my tanks have been up and running for a number of years.

hope this helps.

Marinemom
 
In addition to getting the cycling addressed...

You can get the algae under control by increasing your water changes. I'd suggest 40-50% water changes weekly, and get an algae scraper to scrape down the tank sides just before you gravel vac out the water. This will keep the nitrAte present in your tank under control and limit the algae's food supply.
 
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