Pleco sucked on my goldfish!?

Question

About ayear ago we were given a tank with some common goldfish and a pleco. They have all co-exist quite happily until recently. I woke up a couple days ago and one of my goldfish had his eye sucked on. I got rid of the pleco but am wondering about what I can do to help my lovely goldfish to heal. He has a round circle of red with white around it (like peeling skin almost) with some black marks that I assume are bruises. The eye itself looks fine. Also, should I move him to a separate tank to heal? Right now he is in a 50 gallon tank with 2 other goldifsh, a bottom feeder, and 5 rosy red minnows.

Thanks for the help!

The other goldfish in the tank are just hanging around this injured fish. They feed together and sleep together. It's like they know he's hurt and are trying to comfort him. They didn't hang around together too much before this one was injured.

Answer 1

I wouldn't move him unless it gets worse or you see any signs of aggression towards him. Be careful, the rosy reds might be more aggressive than the other goldfish. The pleco was feeding on the slimecoat. The slimecoat helps to protect the goldfish and also helps it to heal. If you have a conditioner that specifies it is good for improving the slimecoat, you might want to add it to the water. Adding some aquarium salt does tend to help but you want to raise the salinity gradually. What would really be best for him is just to make sure that the water is really clean and that noone is picking on him while he is healing.

Answer 2

Hi, Goldfish are extremely sensitive to each other's needs as several of the others have mentioned & unless the problem is contagious they always do far better as a group. I have four Comets & a Common & recently had to temporarily isolate one of the Comets for treatment in a hospital tank & it was heartbreaking watching him looking for his friends. The others were noticeably subdued as well & it was great when I was able to reunite them-they spent hours tumbling & chasing!

What you describe doesn't sound like any permanent damage has been done but you may want to add a low dosage of aquarium/rock/sea salt to the tank to aid the healing process, a guide to the amount is shown on the attached link. Hope everything turns out fine.

Answer 3

Get rid of that pleco. He will do this at night when the goldfish are sleeping. Goldfish should only be housed with goldfish, and that includes the lowly pleco. See if the petstore will take him. You don't need that thing to clean off the algae, let that grow on everything. Your goldfish will graze on it and it will help them grow. That kind of algae is good for the system and indicates everything is fine with the water. Pleco's are omnivours and are noctournal so your goldfish, who sleep at night are in real danger if that pleco is in there.
To help the fish heal, keep the water perameters perfect. You may want to add a little salt to the water for a few weeks.

Answer 4

keep them together, goldfish are social fish and the company and support will probably help him heal faster. unless you notice other fish picking at him. not too much you can do besides maybe add some stress coat and keep the water clean.

plecos often latch on to larger fish unfortunately, but at least you discovered it in time. I'm sure your goldfish will heal in no time. maybe you can cheer him up with a treat, slice an orange and tie a string through a slice, then float the slice on the water. goldfish love it and it's good for them too :)

Answer 5

Add two teaspoons of sea salt to your tank. Also get the temp up to aroung 80. The combination of the sea salt and the temp should heal your fish in a couple of days.

Answer 6

You don't necessarily have to move the goldfish unless the other fish are threatening in any way. I would just say keep a close eye on it.

Answer 7

I recommend separating the fish, or purchase a tank divider, so that the 2 fish cannot interact with one another.

2N!$H

Answer 8

moving him to another tank will probably help