Gibbicep pleco

Hi all,
Let me try introduce my problem first a about 2 weeks ago now I decided to change my gravel because of the large amount of things in my tank I decided to empty it fully and put my fish in a spare bucket whilst I done the gravel change, this however ment I done technically a complete water change up to about 80%
(I poured the water from the bucket back into the tank) I also didn't clean my filter fully as I thought the good bacteria on the filter would help speed up the cycle of the new water, my problem is is that my largest gibbicep pleco is strangely circling my filter my first thought would be nitrite problems (however being stupid I used my last test strip and can't buy any till I get payed Tuesday) I have done 1 20%water change since the gravel change, all other fish are fine, would people recommend I keep sticking to 20 percent changes using tap safe or is this a sign of something else, the circling he is doing isn't fast for say he stops and swims of somewhere else and acts like a 'normal pleco' however then comes back and almost goes up and then spirals around my filter my other smaller gibbiceps are doing just fine, she isn't pacing up and down its almost like she is feeding sometimes.

Also on a side note could any one possible give me a few tips on how to breed gibbiceps I am currently looking into it for when my little ones that I bought grow.

A few things:

When you did the big water change and gravel change, you likely kicked up a lot of stuff in the water from the old gravel. This could cause an ammonia spike, which would later become a nitrite spike.
You need a tester that includes ammonia as well as nitrite because ammonia is the first thing to show up during a mini-cycle, which is possibly what you have. Strip testers do not include ammonia so you need a separate one for that.

Under normal circumstances, weekly water changes should be at least 50% per week, but with a fish like a gibbiceps you need to do a larger amount - plecs are messy fish. Whenever you suspect something not right in the tank, you need to do these water changes daily until things settle down - and have the test results to prove things have settled.
The filter media should be cleaned once every couple of weeks, and more often if the debris builds up quickly. Plecs do huge amounts of poop for their body size and that will accumulate in the filter. All that goo on the media is a nitrate factory, and we need to keep nitrate below 20 ppm.

I have little personal knowledge of plecs. Is it likely your circling plec is upset by the gravel change and probable tank rearrangement?


Finally - I do hope you have an enormous tank for your tank buster plecs!

Pleco in question is the biggest one who has now decided to stop it all together and is now feeding on the bottom (was just a bit worried due to the water change I done)
The second one is one of newest plecos who iv even told is a mix of gibbicep and something thinking of starting a seperate thread for this but any clues??

essjay said:

A few things:

When you did the big water change and gravel change, you likely kicked up a lot of stuff in the water from the old gravel. This could cause an ammonia spike, which would later become a nitrite spike.
You need a tester that includes ammonia as well as nitrite because ammonia is the first thing to show up during a mini-cycle, which is possibly what you have. Strip testers do not include ammonia so you need a separate one for that.

Under normal circumstances, weekly water changes should be at least 50% per week, but with a fish like a gibbiceps you need to do a larger amount - plecs are messy fish. Whenever you suspect something not right in the tank, you need to do these water changes daily until things settle down - and have the test results to prove things have settled.
The filter media should be cleaned once every couple of weeks, and more often if the debris builds up quickly. Plecs do huge amounts of poop for their body size and that will accumulate in the filter. All that goo on the media is a nitrate factory, and we need to keep nitrate below 20 ppm.

I have little personal knowledge of plecs. Is it likely your circling plec is upset by the gravel change and probable tank rearrangement?


Finally - I do hope you have an enormous tank for your tank buster plecs!

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My tank is plent big enough for the moment and when I move out I'm planning on getting a huge tank! I don't think it would be an ammonia spike as the gravel and water were both completely moved from the tank, and oh yes they are very messy especially when you have bog wood on there lol, my new media for my filter has arrived so I am going to replace them and keep doing 10 percent water changes everyday? The pleco seems fine now I was just abit worried due to the complete change, thanks for your help

Gibbicep is a funny word not a fan of big plecs too messy dont eat a ton of algae and most people keep them in tanks that are for their current size not how big they will be having said that i have no idea what your plec is doing but good luck!

I remember someone having a 8 inch pleco in a very small tank... I honestly prefer them over the likes of super reds and other bristle noses I find my rainbow shark although he is a pain does most of the algae cleaning on his own

Lot of good advice here. I would add that a lot of plecos species react to water level and temperature changes as a breeding signal. I think I remember this being related to natural rain and drought. Maybe he’s getting ideas?

If you did not treat the water and its chlorinated? You're' lucky they are alive with an 80% water change.
IF you have water that has chlorine and chloride?..you need something that neutralizes both.
80% water change is never a good idea..the drops or ups in PH,chemicals..raw tap water. Not good.

80% water changes are fine as long as they are done regularly so that the tank water is virtually the same as tap water. It's where the fish keeper rarely does water changes , when the water chemistry of the tank is significantly different form tap water, that there is a risk of harm to the fish.
And the new water should always be treated with dechlorinator as a matter of routine regardless of the amount of water changed. The OP said he uses Tap Safe to treat the water.

Waterstrider said:

Lot of good advice here. I would add that a lot of plecos species react to water level and temperature changes as a breeding signal. I think I remember this being related to natural rain and drought. Maybe he’s getting ideas?

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I know when breeding clown loaches there's something to do with drought etc, that's what I thought was happening but to he sure I'm gonna do daily water changes and keep an eye

Missed that. Never heard of that brand before. But still,80% of raw water..thats a lot of stress.
20% seems plenty. It would have helped if he saved all the old water in container or containers..and used that to jump start the cycle. But,thats past.
I would for a few weeks feed lightly..help the bacteria get going.

Stan510 said:

Missed that. Never heard of that brand before. But still,80% of raw water..thats a lot of stress.
20% seems plenty. It would have helped if he saved all the old water in container or containers..and used that to jump start the cycle. But,thats past.
I would for a few weeks feed lightly..help the bacteria get going.

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I was going to save the water but only had 2 buckets lol, using my old media from my filter should be enough to kick start the cycle and using 20% percent should also be enough, they are used to big water changes as my plecos are very messy, I appreciate your concerns though

A lot of people on this forum do weekly 70% water changes with no problem. It's only when the tank has been neglected, then a large water change is done that there can be problems. That's because in a neglected tank the water chemistry has been allowed to drift away from the chemistry of tap water and the sudden change in chemistry harms the fish.

essjay said:

A lot of people on this forum do weekly 70% water changes with no problem. It's only when the tank has been neglected, then a large water change is done that there can be problems. That's because in a neglected tank the water chemistry has been allowed to drift away from the chemistry of tap water and the sudden change in chemistry harms the fish.

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I might start doing 30 % twice a week what do you recon?

I have just done a water test and all is great so I recon it was down to breeding habits perhaps