I have a 55 gallon fish tank wiht community fish in it. I had one pleco last for 5 mos., then it passed on. I keep on buying new plecos, and then with in a week they die. No other fish is dying in the tank? Any ideas on why this keeps on happening only to the plecos? I even go to different pet stores each time...
2007-03-24 16:31:47 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
The fact that you are going to different pet stores may not be as big of a deal as you think... they all get their fish fom the same source most likely. ould be a run of bad plecos. Honestly though, I doubt that. It's probably something to do with your water that the other fish have grown used to. I would suggest a bit larger than usually weekly water changes, maybe in the 40-50% range for a few weeks, then do one the day before you try another pleco. You could also take a sample of your water to the store with you so they can test it and compare it to theirs to make sure nothing is so different it would kill your new fsih.
MM
2007-03-24 16:42:28 · answer #1 · answered by magicman116 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Is there algae in your tank? I am a manager of a pet store and I even go to our wholesalers to pick out my fish personally. But plecos are often starved a bit during shipping and we do sometimes have weeks where the fish are a bit week. My suggestion is to buy a pleaco that's 3-4"s. The bigger they are the hardier they generally are. Also get sinking algae wafers or tablets from your local store to supplement his diet. Adding driftwood is a great idea too. Algae grows well on wood and some plecos even eat the wood itself. The Royal Pleco for example is called a "Canoe Eater" by those living in the area where this fish is found in the wild.
2007-03-25 00:20:33 · answer #2 · answered by ajester27 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I would have to ask what is the ph of your tank. Most plecos seem to be comfortable in the 6.5 - 7.5 range while some community fish have a wider range. If that is not the problem you may just have gotten a bad run of fish from the LFS you have been using. My advice is never to buy anything unless it's been in the store for a week so you can see the general health and know you're not getting a problem that arrived in the shipment that even the store owner doesn't know about.
Here is a link for everything you ever wanted to know about plecos. Hope this helps.
2007-03-24 23:38:22 · answer #3 · answered by chaos_and_amber2 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
All plecos are very adaptable to most all water chemistry. May I ask what kind of pleco you are getting? Many plecos will get way too big for the tank you have. Make sure you do some research before you buy the fish so you know you are getting a pleco that is small enough for your tank.
2007-03-25 02:29:19 · answer #4 · answered by fish guy 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My guess is that your plecos do not get enough to eat. They need plant material and they need it on the bottom. They eat at night. Before you shut the light for the night,drop some spirulina sinking food wafers in the tank.Make sure there are rocks or/and driftwood for it to hide in.
2007-03-25 01:56:25 · answer #5 · answered by DAGIM 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm not expert on fish, but there might be somehting in the water that the Pleco's don't "agree" with.
2007-03-24 23:37:13 · answer #6 · answered by ? 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They need warmer water. Get a tank heater. Or a different kind of algae eater. My mother-in-law has had her pleco for five years, it's about eight inches long and made her change rock types so he wouldn't be able to eat them.
2007-03-24 23:38:15 · answer #7 · answered by anton t 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
If its taking a week for them to die it kinda sounds like they are starving
2007-03-25 02:36:51 · answer #8 · answered by J Rebel 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋