Can't Keep Plecos Alive

[Bex]

Melafix as far as I know is just tea tree oil. Are you sure it wasn't another med (eg. Myxazin by Waterlife - not sure if that has it in?).

However, natural doesn't mean gentle and this isnt the first time I've heard of deaths with Melafix and Pimafix.

Really? It seems a lot of people use these as well? I saw a poll about what meds people had and just about everyone had and used both of these regularly?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Wow! That was a lot of information but very helpful Tokis! I have a 29 gallon long and so far the cycling for the tank has been going well. I tested the PH yesterday and it was about 6.5-6.7. I have the aquarium pharmaceuticals master freshwater test kit and everything seems to be going fine as well. I forgot to mention that I saved 10 gallons of my old water and mixed that in with the brand new water I have in the tank.

I also added some microbe-blend bacteria and seachem Neutral regulator to speed up the cycling process. I have some plants in the tank, anubias nana, amazons, riccia, and a few other low-height plants that I can't name.

Running an aquaclear 200 and a dirt magnet

Glad to help !
If your tank is cycling i would avoid buying any fish until there is no nitrites or ammonia (making sure numbers stay 0 over the following weeks at the least), adding new fish to a cyling tank is not good as this is the stage when the tank is least stable in its ecosystem (when the tank has been stable for 6months or more, free of nitrites and ammonia, it is considered a "mature" tank ).
When you buy fish for a tank you should only do it when the tanks conditions or inhabitants health are ideal, adding fish when there are sick fish, water quality issues, strong meds in the tank or just before the tank is due for a cleaning does not help the new fish settle in and it can sometimes make the new fish ill themselves.

I must warn you about common plecs though- these fish can grow up to 18inchs+ long (although 9-12inches is more common, but even so), so a common plec will outgrow a 29gal (there is a myth that fish will grow to the size of the tank, but this is not true- keeping a fish in crampt conditions will stunt its growth to a certain extent, but also will significantly decrease its life expectancy and eventually kill it).
It is important you do not overstock your tank, when you buy fish you must take into consideration many factors about keeping them including how big they'll get, what sort of temperment they have, how active they are, what conditions they need to be kept in ect. So it is very important to get your own research done when looking for new fish to add to your tank .
If you would like to know of some plecs that will not outgrow a 29gal, here is a list of 30 plecos under 8inches ;

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=132656

All of the fish in the above list can be found on Planetcatfish.com where they have much info and pics on keeping them and so forth (check out the Cat-eLog) ;

http/www.planetcatfish.com/core/

B)

 

[KathyM]

I must warn you about common plecs though- these fish can grow up to 18inchs+ long (although 9-12inches is more common, but even so

Fantastic post Tokis, but just wanted to say the species of common plec sold most commonly (liposarcus pardalis) more commonly reach 18"+. Saw one in the LFS at roughly 2ft, and they can even exceed that. Of course people rarely keep them when they exceed 9-12" which is why I think many people think they only reach that big in home aquariums.

I've been meaning to get in touch with Planet Catfish about their poor information on sizes of "commons", they for some reason have it down as 9" ish, which doesn't help when well meaning folks look on there for information before buying. They also have L001s listed as only reaching 7"

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I must warn you about common plecs though- these fish can grow up to 18inchs+ long (although 9-12inches is more common, but even so

Fantastic post Tokis, but just wanted to say the species of common plec sold most commonly (liposarcus pardalis) more commonly reach 18"+. Saw one in the LFS at roughly 2ft, and they can even exceed that. Of course people rarely keep them when they exceed 9-12" which is why I think many people think they only reach that big in home aquariums.

I've been meaning to get in touch with Planet Catfish about their poor information on sizes of "commons", they for some reason have it down as 9" ish, which doesn't help when well meaning folks look on there for information before buying. They also have L001s listed as only reaching 7"

I suppose it depends on where you live, most of the common plecs sold where i live are the 9-11inch variety, i've only seen one sailfin up for sale that was 2ft or so long. I guess if you want to buy a diddy common plec you should be prepared at the least that you can fit a 125gal in your house .

 

[KathyM]

Hey you're lucky then if you're getting the other species I'd personally love to get hold of a true hypostomus punctatus or plecostomoides as they stay fairly normal sized and are very handsome - it's funny how they're still called "common" plecs when they're not common at all *lol*. Sadly ALL Pets At Home stock across the country - including the albinos and chocolate albinos - are liposarcus pardalis (and of course gibbies but they're sailfins), as is every other LFS in our area at least. While liposarcus pardalis are one of my favourite plecs, they won't fit even in the tank we have planned (6 x 2 x 2) in the long run.

 

[rockin302]

Thanks for the link Tokis and everyone else. When I cleaned out the tank I left some of the old gravel in there and mixed it in with new gravel. I also saved 10 gallons of old water and didn't thouroughly clean the sponge in my aquaclear so there should still be some beneficial bacteria in there. So far the fish I have in there from the old set up are still alive and I check the water conditions daily.

PH is about 6.5
Ammonia is practically gone
No Nitrites in the tank
Tank is now crystal clear and smoe of my plants have already started to bud new growth.

I may have lucked out this time but I'll be sure to do it right next time I ever do a major overhaul (hopefully I won't if I keep my maintenence up.)

Someone from another forum reccomended gold nugget plecos as they don't get to large. Does anyone know approximately how much they run in dollars? I'll let the tank cycle for at least 3-4 months before I buy a nice pleco as I intend to keep him for a long time.

 

[KathyM]

I wouldn't try with a Gold Nugget if you've had commons die to be honest. Gold Nuggets have a hell of a reputation for dropping dead on arrival, usually due to poor acclimatisation and the fish shop not keeping them long enough before selling. If you're desparate for a GN, make sure the LFS keep it and watch it for at least 2 weeks to make sure it is eating well and not carrying anything before it comes home.

 

[RadaR]

Wow, well Im glad mine is doing fine and didnt die.

 

[rockin302]

Well, I didn't want to drop a big chunk of change on a pleco so I went out and bought a Siamese/Chines Algae eater just to test out and so far so good. He hasn't been chasing anyone and seems very healthy. Maybe in a couple more weeks I'll take my chances with a pleco and see how it goes.