Please help me! I have a very, very sick common pleco. He is very dear to me. He lives alone in 36 gallon tank and is about 10 inches long and 7 years old. I use 2 filters and aeration. To make a long story short, about 2 months ago, my pleco developed white stuff and bug eyes and I took a pic of him to my LFS and they gave me Jungle Fungus Eliminator. I did 3 treatments (they told me do 1 treatment every 24 hours for 3 days w/ a 25% water change before each treatment), waited 10 days, did another 3 treatments (it hadn't went away-but he was acting better) and waited 10 days and now I did two more treatments and he got worse... I was then advised to put the carbon back in and do water changes to get the meds out as it was making him worse. This was about a month ago. I don't know he's any better or worse. Some days I think he's getting better and others he's extremely lethargic.
I am now doing a 30-40% water change/vacuum every 2-3 days (have been doing this for about a month now) because he seems to do a little better when I keep the water changed. I am using Amquel+ and Novaqua+. He isn't really eating -some days I think he does, but very little -the problem is I don't see poop! His belly looks like it always did. He stays at the bottom of the tank and moves every now and then. He rarely attaches himself to the sides of the tank or anything else for that matter and doesn't swim (this is his "normal" behavior). Some days he is in the same place for 24 hours straight! I just don't know what else to do to help him! He does swim away and attach himself to the back when I vacuum, but only then.
Even though I'm doing frequent water changes, I still am getting white cottony stuff floating in his tank sometimes. (Seems like when he doesn't eat-but I am vacuuming every 2-3 days!!!) He still has the white around his eyes and they still seem to bulge a bit. Could it be bacterial instead of fungal...or both? How can I get rid of this? Can I give any other meds to him? Melafix or something like that? I know Plecos can be sensitive. Should I raise the temp? Please help me! I'm so desperate! And thank you!
Again, he is by himself- no other fish or live aquatic plants in the tank w/ him. He is fed Hikari sinking algae tabs and every now and then he gets a nice slice of zucchini- but the last time I offered it he wouldn't eat it and that's when I knew he was sick and then the following day I noticed the eyes and white stuff.
36 gallon with 1 aquaclear 50g filter and one whisper 20 gallon filter and 2 oxygen air things and 2 heaters for even distribution. It has been established for 3 years.
Temp: 78 degrees
These were done with a lab kit:
pH: 6.6
ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
These are as close as I can come with one of the quick dip sticks:
The hardness seems to be quite soft (less than 25 maybe?)
alkalinity is very low (like 0-40) (how do I adjust this?)
He has no tankmates- he lives alone and the only additions were a couple of plastic type plants purchased from a pet store (there were a Christmas present!) and they were put in around mid January.
Click the image to open in full size.Click the image to open in full size.
I am now doing a 30-40% water change/vacuum every 2-3 days (have been doing this for about a month now) because he seems to do a little better when I keep the water changed. I am using Amquel+ and Novaqua+. He isn't really eating -some days I think he does, but very little -the problem is I don't see poop! His belly looks like it always did. He stays at the bottom of the tank and moves every now and then. He rarely attaches himself to the sides of the tank or anything else for that matter and doesn't swim (this is his "normal" behavior). Some days he is in the same place for 24 hours straight! I just don't know what else to do to help him! He does swim away and attach himself to the back when I vacuum, but only then.
Even though I'm doing frequent water changes, I still am getting white cottony stuff floating in his tank sometimes. (Seems like when he doesn't eat-but I am vacuuming every 2-3 days!!!) He still has the white around his eyes and they still seem to bulge a bit. Could it be bacterial instead of fungal...or both? How can I get rid of this? Can I give any other meds to him? Melafix or something like that? I know Plecos can be sensitive. Should I raise the temp? Please help me! I'm so desperate! And thank you!
Again, he is by himself- no other fish or live aquatic plants in the tank w/ him. He is fed Hikari sinking algae tabs and every now and then he gets a nice slice of zucchini- but the last time I offered it he wouldn't eat it and that's when I knew he was sick and then the following day I noticed the eyes and white stuff.
36 gallon with 1 aquaclear 50g filter and one whisper 20 gallon filter and 2 oxygen air things and 2 heaters for even distribution. It has been established for 3 years.
Temp: 78 degrees
These were done with a lab kit:
pH: 6.6
ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
These are as close as I can come with one of the quick dip sticks:
The hardness seems to be quite soft (less than 25 maybe?)
alkalinity is very low (like 0-40) (how do I adjust this?)
He has no tankmates- he lives alone and the only additions were a couple of plastic type plants purchased from a pet store (there were a Christmas present!) and they were put in around mid January.
Click the image to open in full size.Click the image to open in full size.
