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Are these baby Sabaji Plecos?!

Posted: 30 Jan 2017, 03:08
by Mike343
I bought a Sabaji pleco yesterday and found these attached to its stomach today!

I can't find anything about this being common behavior but if they are two babies should I remove her from my 125 gal discus aquarium?
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Re: Are these baby Sabaji Plecos?!

Posted: 30 Jan 2017, 03:25
by ThePsychotiCatfish
They don't look like baby plecos to me. But then again I'm not an expert on plecos and havn't kept much more than bristlenoses and gold spots. to me it looks like a parasite or skin condition.I had something similar looking on on of my Pictus cats a few months back. After dosing the tank with the neccesary medication it disappeared in a week or two.

Re: Are these baby Sabaji Plecos?!

Posted: 30 Jan 2017, 03:27
by bekateen
Hi Mike343,

Since your photos show only the belly of the pleco, I can't confirm or deny that the fish you bought is .

But I can tell you two things:
  • Although the photo details are not clear, those two objects, if they are attached to the body, are almost certainly ectoparasites (maybe fish lice). They are absolutely not baby plecos.
  • The pleco is seriously emaciated, and needs focused good food to get it into shape.
Taking those two points into account, I'd recommend you get that pleco out of the discus tank ASAP and get it into an isolation/quarantine tank where you can treat for parasites and work on feeding it.

Good luck, Mike.

Eric

Re: Are these baby Sabaji Plecos?!

Posted: 30 Jan 2017, 03:33
by Mike343
He's in quarantine now. Thank you!

Re: Are these baby Sabaji Plecos?!

Posted: 30 Jan 2017, 07:54
by TwoTankAmin

Re: Are these baby Sabaji Plecos?!

Posted: 30 Jan 2017, 09:32
by Jobro
TBH, I would try to remove these suckers from his belly asap. I had one on my L260 WC once. I removed it using my fingernail. Fish did fine afterwards.

This fish is in bad condidition and needs help right now. And a lot of food afterwards.

Re: Are these baby Sabaji Plecos?!

Posted: 30 Jan 2017, 13:06
by stuby
They definitely look to be fish lice to me...... you can remove them with tweezers. Make sure to check him over as he very well may have more!! It also looks like he may have ick..... and as you have already put him in your discus tank you will need to treat that tank for parasites or you are just asking for problems!!

HTH
Chuck

Re: Are these baby Sabaji Plecos?!

Posted: 30 Jan 2017, 23:54
by Mike343
I just want to first off thank all of you for your quick replies. I removed the lice off the pleco immediately after more research last night. I am currently treating the pleco with MelaFix from API. I am trying to feed him small amounts of various foods. I dosed the discus tank heavily in epsom salt and will be off soon to pick up parasite meds for both tanks. Thanks again, hopefully disaster was adverted and I will need to be much more careful in the future.

Re: Are these baby Sabaji Plecos?!

Posted: 31 Jan 2017, 10:34
by Jobro
When you shop for plecos, you should always insist on picking the fish from a group of fish or catch them yourself. Always turn them around and look at their bellies. If it is concave, you should not buy it. Flat is usually fine for newly imported fish, but concave bellies are a bad sign and will usually lead to death sooner or later.

Does the fish have Ick or not? if the only parasites were the fish lice, I would refrain from any further treatment. Only treat if you know what it is. Not blindly.
Arugulus need about 14 days to hatch, chances are there were only these two and they did not spread or spawn at all, they need both genders for replication as well. Maybe you were lucky. Better go with daily inspections on your fish for the next weeks and look for any of them. You can always treat if needed. It's not like they will kill a discus within 1-3 days. Maybe you should buy a proven to work medication to have one in stock if you need it.

Refrain from trusting shopkeepers that sell a fish like that and better read up on medications before you use them.

Keep the Sabaji in a dark, warm (28°C) and well aeriated tank. Try frozen foods like brine shrimp. A wild caught might not accept commercial foods right away and he needs to start eating now or it will be too late. Adding a piece of wood with some algae on it, if available, might be a good start as well. Most plecos will eat some wood if nothing else is available to them. Try to let him alone for as much as possible for now to avoid unnecessary stress.

Re: Are these baby Sabaji Plecos?!

Posted: 31 Jan 2017, 18:03
by TwoTankAmin
Epsom salts is basically magnesium, it will raise the TDS a ton, be very careful using it with soft water fish. If you are actually trying to add salt (as most define it), this is sodium chloride, not magnesium. Salt will also raise TDS, however it will not show up using a GH test kit. Plecos are not fond of salt, but in some cases it is necessary, The problem is that salt in the water (and excess magnesium) alter the water parameters which us stressful to the fish. Stress reduces a fish's resistance and the ability to fight disease, infections parasites etc. So when we add things for treatment process we need to be aware of the potential downside and monitor the fish. We need to be sure the treatement isn't what kills the fish. It is also important to realize that not all fish react the same way to treatments. An African cichlid would not have problems if one adds salt and or magnesium where a South American cichlid very well could.

Imo, the best thing about a bottle of melafix is the bottle. If antibiotics are truly required, use a real one. In the case of removing the lice, I would think something topical directly on the wounds left afterwards would be more effective than something in the water.

Re: Are these baby Sabaji Plecos?!

Posted: 31 Jan 2017, 23:56
by Mike343
It was very active the first day I had it, eating off the plants and scavenging leftovers. The second day it became lethargic when I noticed the now confirmed fish lice. Since I removed them it's swimming around quite a bit in quarantine but I'm not sure if it's eating. Conditions recommended above are being met for it's comfort. I'll also refrain from the melafix for now and stay with water changes only.
My Galaxy, yellow spotted snowball, clown and bristlenose all seem fine along with my 5 discus, Cory cats, Siamese algae eaters and neons. The shrimp are fine in my fuge as well.
I really appreciate everyone here and your great advice. I look forward to learning more from all of you and my new plecos! I'm hooked on them now :) Fingers crossed for Sabaji. Many thanks, ill post an update in a couple weeks for anyone interested. ~ Mike

Re: Are these baby Sabaji Plecos?!

Posted: 01 Feb 2017, 15:02
by stuby
stuby wrote: 30 Jan 2017, 13:06 They definitely look to be fish lice to me...... you can remove them with tweezers. Make sure to check him over as he very well may have more!! It also looks like he may have ick..... and as you have already put him in your discus tank you will need to treat that tank for parasites or you are just asking for problems!!

HTH
Chuck
I should have clarified it a little better..... if in fact he does have ick you will have to treat both tanks for parasites (ick away, quick cure, or whatever works for you). You do not have to treat for the lice as there is very little chance that they bred in the tank. Any new fish you should put in a QT tank for no less than 1 month..... longer if you can, and keep a close eye on them for any sign of problems. If you are buying from a breeder there is very little chance at getting sick fish...... buying from a pet store is like playing Russian Roulette only with fish!

Chuck

Re: Are these baby Sabaji Plecos?!

Posted: 16 Feb 2017, 04:32
by Mike343
I just want to give you all my update that my Sabaji is well. He's out of QT and back in the main tank. I picked the lice off with a tweezers (along with a nasty anchor worm I discovered under his mouth) I treated him for ich as well with API ich treatment. Thank you all once again for your support and I am very happy he has made a full recovery! He is extremely active, gained weight and has quickly become the show of attention.
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Re: Are these baby Sabaji Plecos?!

Posted: 16 Feb 2017, 05:22
by bekateen
Congratulations. I hope it continues to thrive.

Cheers, Eric

Re: Are these baby Sabaji Plecos?!

Posted: 16 Feb 2017, 14:42
by stuby
Very nice, I am glad to see he/she is doing well and it looks like he/she has a good home!


Chuck