sick pleco

catdoc · Post by **catdoc** » 09 Apr 2003, 21:32

I think I know the answer to this one, but thought I'd throw it out there anyway. A friend has a common pleco that she's had for 2 weeks. It's being kept in an unheated, 30 gallon tank with 2 large goldfish. Now he's just acting listless, not attached to the substrate like usual and hiding more. She also said he's "panting". First thing I told her was to get the tank warm, so she's got a heater in it and temp is up to 78 now. Do we need to get pleco away from his companions? I assume that he's likely susceptible to the usual goldfish yuck? He's only about 3", just a little guy. I'm chomping at the bit to take him home and nurse him back to health, but don't want to bring anything contagious home to MY fish.

Thanks!

Christy

Vik · Post by **Vik** » 09 Apr 2003, 22:06

Did you test the water for Nitrates/Nitrites etc? Perhaps a partial water change will help a little. The common is fairly hardy, I am not familiar with goldfish though, so I don't know what they have to pass to the pleco. I would try to change the water 25% or so. Try to feed a piece of zucchini to the pleco, they love that. Good luck!

Vicki

Post by **Barbie** » 09 Apr 2003, 23:20

2 weeks into a new tank would put him at the first peak of the nitrogen cycle, namely an ammonia spike. Definitely do a 30% water change, stop feeding the fish, and don't worry about the temperature. The waste the goldfish are putting off will kill him long before being cool will. If you have an established tank where you could supplement bacteria from, it wouldn't be a bad idea. There are articles on new tank cycling at the main page for planet catfish also, I believe.

Barbie

catdoc · Post by **catdoc** » 10 Apr 2003, 02:26

Not a new tank (has been up and running for a year) but I think the chemistry IS the problem. She is not good about water changes, in fact, she told me today that she just adds new water as the old evaporates.

I corrected her on this, but not sure if I got through. Maybe I'll have to see if she'll let me adopt the little guy, I feel sorry for him and I'd love to take him in for her. Like I said, MY biggest concern is that if I bring him home and I don't want him bringing any sickness to my own healthy tanks. I can set him up in his own 10-gallon and treat him, if needed, but I don't know what to treat (if anything). Would putting him into a healthy tank with good water shock him since he's coming from such a dirty tank?

Post by **Barbie** » 10 Apr 2003, 17:35

A clean tank would be a big change for him, so you'd definitely want to acclimate him slowly. You'd want to set up the 10 gallon as a quarantine tank with water from an established tank and established filter media. If you move him in a bucket, you can set it on the floor and slowly run water into the bucket from the tank. I use a piece of airline tubing with a loose knot in it for this. When I've tripled the volume of the original water, I add the pleco to the tank, then top the tank back up with new water. Hope that helps. He sounds stressed, not diseased, to me.

Barbie