How Do I quarantine my new L-plecos what meds will I need?

thepleco · Post by **thepleco** » 07 May 2004, 13:11

Hi catfish people. I am a new Catfish guy and my local pet shop is getting me in a some realy nice L-plecos L-260, L-177, and L-18. I am getting groups of 6 of each. Needless to say they are not cheap! and I wont be able to afford to replace any if they die. I am very scared about this because i know they are wild and ill have to quarantine them what medications and what protocols do you suggest? what do I feed them? I have read up on some but id love to get your input. I have been coming to this site for months now and I am finaly ready to make the plunge to these guys. ALso I have hard water pH 9 and 560 counductivity will this work? I also have an RO so I can soften it up . I was told they do fine in hard water? I eventualy want to breed these guys they will be housed in 40 gallon tanks. looking forward to your answers

Post by **Silurus** » 07 May 2004, 13:49

You might want to think about deworming them. See this thread.

exoticfishfactory.com · Post by **exoticfishfactory.com** » 07 May 2004, 16:21

The above thread is excellent let me just add this. I do daily water changes on my new plecos everyday until i see they stabilize. I feed them beefheart mix, although an expert on here advised recently to not use beefheart becuae of the fatty tissue which may cause blockages. The exporters use beefheart and this gives the fish a food they are use to. I also use fleubenol 5% both mixed in the food to remove parasites and in the water to remove extrnal parasites. clean water is the key. best of luck

dave

Zanmato · Post by **Zanmato** » 08 May 2004, 03:35

Treat them with Praziquantel for internal parasites and then put them in the main tank. No quarantine needed.

exoticfishfactory.com · Post by **exoticfishfactory.com** » 08 May 2004, 04:11

No offense to anyone but that may be well and dandy for you but thats very scary advice for most. Always quarantine wild fish. I have diseccted hundreds of wild fish and I can tell you there are things that may come up that cannot be cured. For example metacercarian parasites that encyst in the muscle tissue. The wise man always quarantines his fish. Our L-plecos are just too expensive to be foolish with them. You may get away with it and get lucky but the day you get burned youll be sorry. My livestock is just too valubale. Never introduce wild fish to other established fish until you quarantine them. My two cents

Dave

kwalker · Post by **kwalker** » 08 May 2004, 04:55

exoticfishfactory.com wrote:. Never introduce wild fish to other established fish until you quarantine them.

Dave

On this one i have to agree with Dave. I in the past have learned the hard way and lost an entire colony of 5 L-260's by introducing fish that where not quarantined. This cost me in more ways than one. It is not worth even attempting. quarantining all new imports is a must.

Ken