Strange Pleco activity...

[The Zigman]

I have a common pleco, its about 10-12 inches.

Lately he has been coming to the surface and gulping air.. obout every 15 minutes he does this.

Not sure what his problem is, but he just started doing this about a week ago...

 

[pinkertd]

Sounds like he's having trouble breathing in the water Zig. Is anything different with the water in the tank? Adding anything new?

 

[The Zigman]

got some crazy out of control duckweed...

it covers the whole top of the tank.
Maybe its preventing proper gassing off...

IDK. I'll skim it off, again...

 

[pinkertd]

Check your ph, ammonia and nitrite real recently? And if you haven't done a water change recently, I'd do one. Plecos have been known to jump out of tank when conditions go awry and it becomes intolerable for them.

They gulp air to maintain their bouyancy, but doing it frequently isn't normal. Could be on the verge of a tank water issue.

 

[The Zigman]

Hmm, I do water changes all the time...

Nothing new really.
I'll do some tests.