Just yesterday i purchased 2 new suckers and 2 black fish (i dont know it name but its fully black with a mouth that seems like a frog - the pet shop told me its the gold fish variety). one of the black fish is constantly after the sucker and i just noticed the skin of the sucker has been pulled out .. the suckers is quite big but damn lazy, even when the black fish pecks at it is doesnt move. what could b the reason? will the pet shop take the fish back? I have 3 catfishes and 4 other fishes of the gold fish family but not excatly gold fishes.
2006-12-01 16:44:16 · 5 answers · asked by greatempress 3 in Pets ➔ Fish
I surely hope you have a large tank (I'm talking at least a 75-gallon here) to house all of those fish properly.
When was the last time you did a water change? You have your ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels tested lately?
And I don't mean any offense, but how can you care for a fish properly if you don't even know its name? How can you do research on the fish?
Sounds to me like the "sucker fish" might be diseased and dying. Fish normally don't attack other fish unless there's something wrong, and the fact that the "sucker fish" isn't swimming away when being attacked should be a warning flag. I'd isolate him at this point in a quarantine tank. I doubt the store would take him back in his less-than-perfect condition.
2006-12-01 17:01:40 · answer #1 · answered by birdistasty 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well, for starters, goldfish and other fish don't go together. Goldfish are coldwater fish, and high waste producers. They require 20 gallons of water each, and a temp of about 68-72F.
Other fish like plecos (sucker fish) and catfish are Tropical fish, requiring temperatures of 78-80F. The cold water probably isn't making him happy. Another issue is, since you have so many waste producing fish and I'm assuming that your tank is too small, your ammonia and nitrite levels are probably high, which is very bad for your fish. Ammonia and nitrites are toxic. Be sure to do weekly water changes of 20-40% of the water.
You should bring back the catfish and the suckerfish to your petstore, and make your tank a coldwater goldfish tank (IF it is big enough - remember the 20gal/fish rule). They will likely take them back, yep, and will probably give you a refund and/or store credit.
OR bring back the goldfish, and make your tank a tropical tank. However, I would still bring the 'lazy' pleco back, it sounds sick :( But it might 'chear up' if you install a heater and arrange for more pleco-friendly water.
Do you know what type of pleco it is? Common plecos can reach crazy lengths of 20+ inches, and are also huge waste producers. Unless your tank is over 80 gallons, you should not be keeping one, let alone two, and you should bring both of them back.
If they are bristle-nosed or rubber-lip plecos, then they only grow to 4-5", and would be fine in tanks over 20gallons.
Woo, that's a lot of info, sorry! Anyway, I know it's tough to start out with fish correctly, because petstores are so full of misinformation. But there's no reason that you can't fix up your tank to have happy, healthy fishies. Healthy fish live longer and look better, so it's in your interest to keep them as healthy as possible.
The best piece of advice I can give you, if you want to be a good fishkeeper, is not to trust fishstores. If you plan on getting a new fish, go home and research it before you buy it. If you have a question, don't ask the fishstore, but log on to http://www.fishforums.com. Most petstores just want to sell fish, they don't care whether it dies a month later or not (in fact, its in their interest - it means you go back and buy more fish!)
Good luck with your fishes!
If you find that none of your fish work properly in your tank arrangements, there is NOTHING wrong with bringing your fish to your local fish store and starting over. Your fish will thank you.
Oh, contrary to what some people think, plecos ARE active fish, and a health one will not allow itself to be picked at by other fish. My plecos are pretty inactive until something touches them, and they spaz and dart away. They never allow themselves to be munched on.
2006-12-01 16:56:43 · answer #2 · answered by Zoe 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
suckers are hardly active...i have quite a few in my own tank. if th esucker is letting the gf pick at it, its probably no tbotheing the sucker all that much.
2006-12-01 16:50:11 · answer #3 · answered by Bri 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
ok you could take the black fish and return it and the suckerfish just stay on the wall all day dont worry
2006-12-01 19:09:28 · answer #4 · answered by Ethan S 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the goldfish (moore?) usually don't go after a pleco unless it's sick and dying.... return the catfish...
the common pleco is comfortable with temps in the 60s°... it's fine in an indoor goldfish tank.
2006-12-01 19:36:08 · answer #5 · answered by professorminh 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋