Hello, I'm new here.
It has been a couple of days now since I noticed my Pleco was having trouble clinging to the surface as he did. It seemed as he is too weak to hold on to it and is always sliding off now, lying on the ground.
His eyes are "blackned" too.

I checked the other messages in this fourm for pleco, and I too have no trouble grabbing him with him being resistent as before. I found nothing stuck in his mouth and he seems to be breathing quite normally.
The Water temperture is 27 c / 80 f.

I've been feeding him with 'NovoPleco Chips' once a week, divided into four parts, because the other fish keep eating his food.

The other fish in my aquarium are:
- Hemigrammus rhodostomus - they have red nose and b/w coloured tail fin.
- Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi
- And another type I haven't found his name online - he is small neon red and blue coloured.

Is there anything I can do to help my poor Pleco in his state? I bought him only four months ago and I can't bare the thought of loosing him..

I also have a video of him breathing if that would help any.

Oh I am so sorry to here about your pleco, for mine is dear to my heart I wish I could help you but I have no clue. Have you checked for spots or anything on him that may not look normal? Have you tested the water?

poor guy. Robyn will be on later she is awsome hopefully she will be able to help ya. I hope it all works out for ya.

C2

Do you think he is getting enough to eat? I have three plecos and they each get an algae wafer everynight at bedtime. My Mom had one she only fed once in awhile and he starved to death :huh:

I'm sorry about your pleco.

How big a tank is he in? Have you tested the water's pH, hardness, ammonia, and nitrite lately? Is the tank aerated? What kind of filter do you have? How much and how often are you changing the tank water? What do you add to the water?

You can put food in for the pleco after the lights in or and around the tank have been off for a few hours (the other fish should mostly be asleep then).

You've only had him for four months so if the problem is lack of food, it might take that long before he runs out of food reserves. It could also be that the water quality has gone down with time so I suggest keeping up with partial water changes weekly.

I hope he gets better!

Never thought food my plecos eat like CRAZY ALL DAY LONG but mine will roll another fish to get the food. Maybe a hospital tank to see if he perks up? and eats. my pleco likes the waffers but LOVES the little nugget bottom feeder food. Maybe he would go for that.

C2

Hey you guys,
Goliath, my pleco (yes. I named him) is in a rather medium sized regular aquarium. I don't know the exact sizes, and I couldn't find any image online.

To be honest, I never took much care of my fish, I never changed their water and in some miracules way the managed to survive for a long time. The only time I change the water is when I add new fish. To these water I add Stress Coat and Ammo Lock and once a week I give them something that is called Cycle.

I gave him his food yesterday night and i'm not sure he ate it, but it was gone when I woke up. As I came back from the university, I found him lying on his back, but still breathing. He found it difficult to rise up from the floor and has difficulty moving himself. I tried to feed him again, and to make sure he ate, I place him on the pill itself, but he didn't eat it.

[edit] Thank you guys for all your advices, tips and comments. unfortunatly he died. I really hope he didn't suffer the poor little guy.

so sorry for your fishy loss

I am sorry too about Goliath. I was hoping you and he would get a better out come. :(

I'm so sorry that he didn't make it. I highly suggest doing 30% weekly (or at least every two weeks) water changes (with the added Stress Coat and Cycle). Water changes are really the key to healthy and happy fish. You don't need the Ammo-Lock unless the ammonia is high. It may be if you haven't been doing water changes. I'm always amazed when people can keep fish alive without doing water changes but often it ends badly. My aunt's fish keep dying. When I asked how often she changed the water, she said never. Good luck with your remaining fish!

hi ive once had a pleco and the same thing happened unfortunately it died but maybe you could isolate it in a different tank and give it medicine and pleco food it might get better dont put your hopes 2 high



danny fish lover

ps.sorry if me saying mine died put you off but i did not isolate mine.

my pleco died in my hands :( :( :(

Reading everyone's interesting comments about their Plecos, since I'm still learning too. I have two, and they won't let me touch them at all. Seem almost panicky if they sense I'm coming close to them when I'm changing the water. The other fish are more bold. I do a weekly water change, and usually add a teaspoon of Stress Coat and then a teaspoon of Aquarium Salt every other week, because when I had Black Mollys I read from other Fishpond writers how the salt killed any harmful parasites (to Mollys) that was in the water. Anyhow after my sweet Mollys died, I never stopped and all the other 6 fish seem fine and very healthy (including the Plecos). I wonder if the salt helps that? -But you gotta do a water change more often. thats like someone never flushing the toilet or never washing the dishes in your house. Eventually the garbage and poison's gonna get to the living things within the house. I too worry about my Plecos getting enough to eat, because at feeding time, it seems the other fish quickly swim and gobble everything up. But i don't know- the Pleco's don't act hungry and they are growing. Overfeeding is bad too I know.