Fish I Want To Save :(

[Shelster]

Fluttermoth, have you recently got married?

Congrats if so lovely Cornish surname there

 

[fluttermoth]

Fluttermoth, have you recently got married?

Congrats if so

lovely Cornish surname there

Lol, no, I haven't! I've just rekindled my love for an old kid's TV programme called 'Knightmare'
 
But thanks for noticing!

 

[Supraman]

Ya I will keep you guys posted, and I just wish people would take advise when it's being given to them.

Also I'm glad that pleco found a good home it still looks like a great fish and I would have proudly offered it a home in my tank. I don't know what it is about pleco's but I find them to be one of my favourite fish.

 

[fluttermoth]

Oh, there's certainly just something about plecs. isn't there? They're a dull brown and pretty ugly, tbh, but they're so adorable, somehow 

 
I always want to pick them up and hold them on my shoulder, like a baby; they'd fit so nicely!
 
Even the people who don't like plecs often get stuck with them, through taking them in because they feel sorry for them, and they all seem to fall in love!

 

[Shelster]

Fluttermoth, have you recently got married?
Congrats if so lovely Cornish surname there

Lol, no, I haven't! I've just rekindled my love for an old kid's TV programme called 'Knightmare'
 
But thanks for noticing!

Ooh I think I remember that one

 

[Supraman]

Haha that's how I grew so fond of them lol. My friend had a common plec that was only 3" and he went off to Africa for a trip and asked me if I'd take care of him till he got back, so I put him in my 65 gal tank and over two months he shot up in size and looked amazing. When my friend got back he was shocked to see the pleco was not a 7 inches long. I still miss that fish, I was told to keep him and sadly had to rehome him when I moved.

Oh also, do think that such a drastic change in water quality will do harm to the fish? I would hate to remove it and put it in my clean water and have him die.

 

[fluttermoth]

 

Fluttermoth, have you recently got married?
Congrats if so

lovely Cornish surname there

Lol, no, I haven't! I've just rekindled my love for an old kid's TV programme called 'Knightmare'

 
But thanks for noticing!

Ooh I think I remember that one

"side step to the left"

 
 
Back on topic...

 

Oh also, do think that such a drastic change in water quality will do harm to the fish? I would hate to remove it and put it in my clean water and have him die.

 
Yes, that can be a concern. Your friend's tank is almost certainly suffering from 'old tank syndrome', where the water gets more and more soft and acidic, and the nitrates get very high.
 
If you do rehome any of her fish, I would recommend you do a drip acclimatisation, over a good few hours, before you add them to your tank.

 

[Supraman]

I've never herd of a drip acclimation, how would I go about doing this?

 

[This Old Spouse]

I think there are a few ways to do this, but my method is to bag the fish, then when you get it home, hang the bag on the inside of your tank with the top open. Wait half an hour or so while the temperature matches up, then I take a turkey baster and suck up some of the tank water and drip it into the bag a little at a time. In a few minutes, suck up some of the bag water, then replace with some more tank water. Sometimes this can take a few hours, but be patient. If you hurry the process it can be harmful to the new fish.
 
Best of luck! I hope he does well with you!

 

[Supraman]

Oh he is not mine just yet, I'm trying to see if I can get him right now though. And that is an awesome idea, I think I will use this method on all my fish from now on

 

[fluttermoth]

The way I drip acclimatise is;
 
I have the fish bagged, open the bag, and sit the bag in a bucket; clipping the top of the bag to the handle of the bucket with a clothes peg. That makes sure the bag stays upright and open.
 
Then I use a piece of airline to start a syphon from the tank into the bag; I tie a knot in the airline so I have the rate I want; I start off with a drip or two every five seconds or so. Wrap the whole lot in towels/blankets to keep everything warm and dark.
 
Every ten/fifteen minutes, carefully check the fish; as time goes on, if they look ok, you can loosen the knot and let the tank water go in a bit faster.
 
When the fish's bag is full, lower the whole bag into the tank, let it sink, and carefully tip it to let the fish swim out. Let the fish swim out in it's own good time; don't force it out. Don't worry about getting the old 'bad' water into your tank; you can't dry the fish off before you put it into your tank, so any bacteria/diseases will be transferred anyway, and if your tank is properly cycled and monitored, any ammonia or nitrite will soon be dealt with.
 
I do this with all fish that have come from another hobbyist's tanks, where I don't know the parameters, and all fish that I get mail order.
 
It's a hassle, but well worth it, if you want to make sure you don't lose fish from shock; I killed the first lot of fish I bought online by poor acclimatising; I held the bags up to the light to check them, and they all died of shock before i even got them out of the bags; lesson learnt!

 

[dougie]

Fluttermoth, have you recently got married?
Congrats if so lovely Cornish surname there

Lol, no, I haven't! I've just rekindled my love for an old kid's TV programme called 'Knightmare'
 
But thanks for noticing!

Knightmare.... How ace was that?

 

[fluttermoth]

Oh, very ace indeed

 
They're starting repeats of series one and two on Challenge UK,from the 10th March.10:30PM, if anyone's interested

 
Anyway, so as not to go too far off topic, I've started a Knightmare thread here; http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/418271-knightmare-;/
 
Let's get back to helping Supraman's friend and these poor fishies

 

[Supraman]

She's thinking about letting me take one, but she said she is pretty attached to the fish and wants to keep them so by the sounds of things I won't be able to help these fish.

One day I think I will go over there with my test kit and just see what the levels in the tank are because I don't see how these fish are still alive.

 

[dougie]

Perhaps you can show your friend this thread & others on here about poor conditions? Hopefully your friend will see that you rightly have the best intentions & only the good health & survival of the fish in mind?
Maybe it will encourage your friend to do something positive.

Good luck.