Someone please help me

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the loach

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Aug 6, 2018
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First off, you can't keep a common pleco healthy in a 30 gallon. They grow to 2 feet in length... he is stunted now and having issues. Please don't use salt, that is bad advice, it's not going to help his condition. You need to test the water, get that in order, but then this is a condition that possibly can't be treated, and you can't keep him in the 30 gallon either. You need like a veterinarian specialized in fish, have him picked up by the Ohio Fish Rescue or possibly have him euthanized.
 

Lauriepoo

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Aug 17, 2020
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I didn't know what I was doing. I live in the middle of nowhere. No pet stores, the vet has nothing to do with fish. I bought him when Walmart still sold fish and he was so cute and tiny. I had him with no problems whatsoever for almost 9 years. There is a very large pond a mile away, I will let him go into it after treating him with the antibacterial.
 
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Juice Box52

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Oct 9, 2019
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I didn't know what I was doing. I live in the middle of nowhere. No pet stores, the vet has nothing to do with fish. I bought him when Walmart still sold fish and he was so cute and tiny. I had him with no problems whatsoever for almost 9 years. There is a very large pond a mile away, I will let him go into it after treating him with the antibacterial.
Please dont release him. Plecos have become invasive in many places from people releasing them
 

Lauriepoo

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Ok, so some of you seem ok, some of you are borderline troll-ish maybe? Maybe just bored and wnna screw around with people? Maybe nerds with the attitude of, "How stupid of you", for not knowing exactly what to do? I don't know, I don't care. All I care about is helping my fish. I thank whoever helped me genuinely, but to everyone else, you really need to get a life. This'll be the last time I ever go on this site, so comment back all you want, I will never care to see it. Thank you again to the nice people, see ya to the loser incels
 
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the loach

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Nobody is trolling. It's a difficult situation and there is no easy answer or cure.
You can't release your pleco in to the wild (next of it being illegal) in the south they become invasive, and otherwise you're sentencing him to death it is a tropical fish that will die when temperatures drop.

 

FJB

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Jun 7, 2019
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There are two different things going on-
1- the cloudy water despite water changes- algal/bacterial?
2- The exploded "tumor on the pleco"- the op stated the pleco had a tumor for a while, then recently exploded.- The cause of the tumor and the explosion are also separate issues. Fish had some prior issue, either tumor, infection, or parasite. Looks pretty bad exploded.
I suspect euthanize is best, although saving it is possible, but not in the cloudy water.
Sadly, but nothing to do. Put fish in a jar in small volume of water, put in the freezer. Humane, relatively painless and quick method.
 

Sprinkle

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Mar 21, 2020
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First off, you can't keep a common pleco healthy in a 30 gallon. They grow to 2 feet in length... he is stunted now and having issues. Please don't use salt, that is bad advice, it's not going to help his condition. You need to test the water, get that in order, but then this is a condition that possibly can't be treated, and you can't keep him in the 30 gallon either. You need like a veterinarian specialized in fish, have him picked up by the Ohio Fish Rescue or possibly have him euthanized.
Salt is very good advice and it won't hurt a pleco, shrimp, snails or plants.
To cure the fungus I'd really go with salt, though I agree with you it won't cure stunted growth :)
 

NoodleCats

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Plecos are sensitive to salt, do NOT dose salt for him.

I would do daily 90% water changes to keep the wound clean. If it is a tumor there isn't much you can do for it, but with it ruptured there's a high risk of infection. So you must keep the water clean to keep the wound clean. Changing out the water daily will be best.

You know, you could do one of those 200 gallon stock tanks in your basement it would offer enough filtration and space to keep the water healthy and space for him to stay healthy. It doesn't have to look pretty but he would be so much happier. 30 gallons is way too small for this handsome guy, but you could opt for a cheaper alternative to a huge tank and get a large Rubbermaid stock tank :)

150 gallons would be the absolute smallest for these guys, but larger is better. They have a high bioload and can overwhelm smaller spaces with their waste
 
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