Royal Pleco Rescue = HELP

[I heartmypleco]

So I've rescued a royal pleco from my friend's parents house. He looks a bit underfed, his stomach is slightly sunken but not too bad. He has tears on his tail (will these grow back?) And he has this wierd white fuzzy fungus stuff growing on him, so I have not put him in any of my larger tanks. I need suggestions on getting him to eat as well as what this fungus could be and how I could treat it.. he's a beautiful fish and I would love to have him in my larger tanks right now. He's currently in a 10 gallon with 5 corys. So far all i've done to treat it is put 2 tablespoons of salt dissolved in a cup of water into the 10 gal tank. Also what can I do for his torn fins?

Nasty white stuff

[I heartmypleco]

P.S. I;ve had him for about 3 days.. the first day all he was was one white fuzzy ball on his fin.. it seems to have progressed in these 3 days. Now he has the ones near his eye that you can see in the picture, you can't see the fin ones from that angle. Any help is appreciated. If it helps, i'll try to get a clearer shot of him later, when he changes his positions, I don't want to disturb him.

[Shane]

The fish has a severe fungal infection. You will need to treat with an appropriate anti-fungal medication such as http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... catid=4829 or http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... 6820&rel=1

-Shane

[I heartmypleco]

Thank you shane, I will be going to the LFS today to pick up some new plants for my 90 gallon tank. While i'm there i'll pick up those products, or any product with the same chemicals. Will his appetite come back once the fungus is gone? What about his tail?

[Richard B]

A tear in any fin can grow back without too many problems, after infections have cleared up.

Fish with fungus often won't feed until it's cleared up. That said some fish do eat. I may be wrong but i have a sneaking suspicion it is somewhat dependant upon the size of the fish, and the nature of the fishes food - for example, a large TSN or RTC with bad fungus will still eat a feeder fish but a small pim pictus often won't eat.

[I heartmypleco]

thank you.. He's about 6 and a half inches. But I don't think he's eaten much, if anything. I suspect he might be munching on wood as his stomach doesnt look as sunken as it did as the day I picked him up..I hope all goes well I would really love to see him in my 90 or 100 gallon (yet to be set up)

[Scleropages]

In the meantime, if you aren't already doing so, I recommend that you make sure the pH doesn't get too acidic in that tank. I've always found that if the pH goes below 6.5, my royal plecos start to show signs of stress. If it goes below 6.0, they start to develop sunken eyes and abdomens. If I add sodium bicarbonate, they come around within 24 hours. Need to stay on top of that with fish that eat wood and constantly release tannins.

[I heartmypleco]

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... 6820&rel=1 << I bought this medication, removed carbon, followed directions. How long should I expect to see results, even if minimal?

[Shane]

With some luck, in 48 hours.
-Shane

[Coriequest]

Good luck, hope he makes it!

[I heartmypleco]

Me too, I really hope he makes it. Is it likely that he will? The white fuzz seems a bit better today.. the white areas are stil just as large but it doesnt have fuzzy stuff hanging from it like it was before, so im taking that as a good sign? I've never had the opportunity to own a royal pleco so this is a great opportunity if I can get him to recover. Otherwise he is a lovely specimen. Side note : I went to pet supermarket yesterday so pick up some food and saw theyre also selling royal plecos, in the EXACT same condition mine is in for 20 dollars. =\ I'm guessing that is where my friends family got it from and gave up when he wouldn't get better or eat. Why don't they treat them before selling them?

[I heartmypleco]

they had like 4 or 5 of them.. one was seriously ill, sunken eyes and everything.

[I heartmypleco]

UPDATE : His fungus is still there but seems to be ALOT better.. it is no longer a big white tuft.. its greying out and looking more like his skin, still a little fuzz but no where near as bad. What should I introduce into the tank to try to get his appetite going?? Also it has been 4 days since I medicated him (two 48 hour periods) The package says to do a 25 percent water change and/or replace the carbon filtration. I plan to do this but my question is.. since it's not completely gone, should I dose once more? or leave it be cause the meds still might be working?

p.s. Ill post pics of his progress later today when I empty out my camera's memory.

[plecomanpat]

personally I would do the water change and continue medicating...IMO 48 hrs is not ample time, to start seeing results yes, but not to completely irradicate. As far as inducing him/her to eat...as it progressively heals you will notice it grazing more,and if you have wood in the tank its quite possible it is consuming the wood and microbacteria that resides on it..it is possible for them to survive in nature on a total wood diet and being captive most likely would not change that....Good luck....hope it pulls through...Enjoy

[I heartmypleco]

Thank you so much for this. I really needed this info as I was afraid to overmedicate, but felt it was neccesary to re-dose. Should one more dose do it? or dose every 48 hours until said fungus is irradicated?

[plecomanpat]

if it was me,I would dose 1 more time after fungus is no longer visible...btw Royals are my favs....have many of them and not 2 are the same...looks like yours is now on his way to a healthy living...thnxs to you...Enjoy

[I heartmypleco]

Thank you! this is my first royal pleco. I've uploaded a picture of his progress. Once hes all better he'll be going in my 90 gallon planted with some other BN pleco's. I love him so far and I can't wait to see him well and acclimated in his new tank. As far as you saying no 2 are the same.. you mean appearance wise? or as far as personality ?? I also heard somewhere that they get greenish stripes instead of grey as they reach full size, is this true? or was i misinformed, i always thought the green royal was a diff species.. ALSO if anyone can identify what particular type of royal (L#) he is, it would be greatly appreciated.

[Scleropages]

I hope you don't mind losing some/all of your plants. Once you add the royal panaque to your planted tank, there's a good chance it will chow down on most/all of them.

[I heartmypleco]

damn, really? Even if I keep him well fed? I was always told the same things about bristle noses but the BN's never munch any of my plants, except for when I had swords.. they LOVED the swords, got real fat on them, so I let them have at it and planted with these plants that they don't really mess with. Are royal's more inclined to munch plants than BN's? All I really have are some tall grasses, one beng giant hair, I have an onion plant, one crypto I JUST planted and two micro sword plants that I'm hoping will carpet. As well as some java moss tied to some driftwood and some moss balls. The BN's dont care for any of these.. is it safe to assume what the BN's dont eat the royal wont eat? probably not. ;/ I also have another plant im not sure what it is.. which i think he may be inclined to munch on but i dont care about that plant as much.. even though it is nice.

[megacat]

As mentioned most/any plant will be eaten.

What foods are you feeding it?