Help my clown pleco is starving

[Kerneels]

I agree - I don't think this is a clown pleco but you should post in the Catfish forum here asking for ID.

Thank you

 

[Kerneels]

Here are some clearer photos of him/her

 

[Gypsum]

Please, post the pic on PlanetCatfish or the pleco FB group. Look at the markings on your fish compared to the photo I posted. The markings are quite different, plus your fish seems to have a longer, narrower head. If the LFS labeled it as a clown pleco, it might be a similar species, but you'll want to know for sure so you can be sure your tank conditions and feeding are correct.

 

[Kerneels]

Please, post the pic on PlanetCatfish or the pleco FB group. Look at the markings on your fish compared to the photo I posted. The markings are quite different, plus your fish seems to have a longer, narrower head. If the LFS labeled it as a clown pleco, it might be a similar species, but you'll want to know for sure so you can be sure your tank conditions and feeding are correct.

I agree he doesn’t have the same patterns but his body looks somewhat similar but I already posted ont the catfish forum, I’ll let you know what they say

 

[AilyNC]

A clown pleco should have markings on lines or stripes across it's body. Your Pleco has spots similar to common Pleco or Bristlenose. I see no bristles though.

I found @utahfish very helpful in ID'ing my Plecos.

 

[Kerneels]

O

A clown pleco should have markings on lines or stripes across it's body. Your Pleco has spots similar to common Pleco or Bristlenose. I see no bristles though.

I found @utahfish very helpful in ID'ing my Plecos.

oh I didn’t know that but yes he’s/she’s not a bristlenose pleco because he/she Doesn’t have bristles. Thank you I will ask them

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

@Bub is also good at pleco IDs

 

[Kerneels]

Thank

@Bub is also good at pleco IDs

you

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

2 albino Corydoras
2 guppies
6 danio zebra fish
2 platty fish
2 black mollies

I'm really sorry to have to tell you this, but you've also been poorly advised when it comes to stocking. A ten gallon/40 litre tank is far too small for nearly all of these fish.

Corydoras are a schooling species that really need a group of 6 or more, and need a bigger tank than 40 litres. Zebra danios are active, very fast schooling fish, and need to be in a tank larger than 10 gallons. Black mollies also grow to a huge size as the years go on, a ten gallon is too small for them.
Information about black mollies from a reliable source here, including minimum tank size:

Poecilia sphenops – Short-finned Molly/Black Molly — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

And from personal experience, these are a some from a trio of black mollies I inherited, living in a 57 gallon tank. They're more than five years old, and they're HUGE.

This corydora is a fully grown bronze cory, not a small juvenile.

Those yellow mollies are mature adults, as is the blue platy and santa mickey mouse platy with one eye, but the black molly is massive compared to them. They continue to grow as they age, and believe me, they use all 57 gallons.

Above and to the left of the large molly, an adult male guppy. Healthy black mollies get large, and they're also strong swimmers that need space. Believe me, these use every inch of a 57 gallon (220 odd litre) tank, effortlessly.

If you want to keep these fish, I'd recommend you upgrade to a least a 30 gallon (113 litre) tank, and up the corydora school to six. If any of your guppies, platies or mollies are female, keep the ten gallon as a grow out tank for fry, or to use as a quarantine tank for when you get new fish.

I'm sorry to break this news, I completely understand if you were given bad advice by a fish store, it happens to so many people. And when the fish are juveniles, it's easy to think they're okay in there, it won't look overcrowded when they're so small. But it's hard to recognise when you see them daily how they're quickly outgrowing the tank, and you don't want them to suffer from stunted growth from being in too small a tank either. The old saying was "a fish only grows to the size of its tank" but not only is this untrue, but in cases where it is, it's because the fishes growth was stunted, and stunted fish die as a result.

If you can't or don't want to get a larger tank, we can suggest species that would be much better suited to a ten gallon tank, and your water parameters! Again, I'm very sorry.

 

[Kerneels]

I'm really sorry to have to tell you this, but you've also been poorly advised when it comes to stocking. A ten gallon/40 litre tank is far too small for nearly all of these fish.

Corydoras are a schooling species that really need a group of 6 or more, and need a bigger tank than 40 litres. Zebra danios are active, very fast schooling fish, and need to be in a tank larger than 10 gallons. Black mollies also grow to a huge size as the years go on, a ten gallon is too small for them.
Information about black mollies from a reliable source here, including minimum tank size:

Poecilia sphenops – Short-finned Molly/Black Molly — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

And from personal experience, these are a some from a trio of black mollies I inherited, living in a 57 gallon tank. They're more than five years old, and they're HUGE.
View attachment 119171
This corydora is a fully grown bronze cory, not a small juvenile.
View attachment 119172
Those yellow mollies are mature adults, as is the blue platy and santa mickey mouse platy with one eye, but the black molly is massive compared to them. They continue to grow as they age, and believe me, they use all 57 gallons.

View attachment 119173
Above and to the left of the large molly, an adult male guppy. Healthy black mollies get large, and they're also strong swimmers that need space. Believe me, these use every inch of a 57 gallon (220 odd litre) tank, effortlessly.

If you want to keep these fish, I'd recommend you upgrade to a least a 30 gallon (113 litre) tank, and up the corydora school to six. If any of your guppies, platies or mollies are female, keep the ten gallon as a grow out tank for fry, or to use as a quarantine tank for when you get new fish.

I'm sorry to break this news, I completely understand if you were given bad advice by a fish store, it happens to so many people. And when the fish are juveniles, it's easy to think they're okay in there, it won't look overcrowded when they're so small. But it's hard to recognise when you see them daily how they're quickly outgrowing the tank, and you don't want them to suffer from stunted growth from being in too small a tank either. The old saying was "a fish only grows to the size of its tank" but not only is this untrue, but in cases where it is, it's because the fishes growth was stunted, and stunted fish die as a result.

If you can't or don't want to get a larger tank, we can suggest species that would be much better suited to a ten gallon tank, and your water parameters! Again, I'm very sorry.

I can’t get rid of them now, I’ve already named them and everything they are my fishies and I can’t upgrade to a bigger tank, because I don’t have place for a bigger tank, the only other tank I have is 15 liter one where my betta fish is in (he’s very aggressive so he lives on his own) what can I do to help because I just measured my tank and it turns out I have a 66 liter tank but I don’t fill it up to the top, so it’s about 60 liters. But I don’t know what to do now and please tell me about the fish you suggest

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I can’t get rid of them now, I’ve already named them and everything they are my fishies and I can’t upgrade to a bigger tank, because I don’t have place for a bigger tank, the only other tank I have is 15 liter one where my betta fish is in (he’s very aggressive so he lives on his own) what can I do to help because I just measured my tank and it turns out I have a 66 liter tank but I don’t fill it up to the top, so it’s about 60 liters. But I don’t know what to do now and please tell me about the fish you suggest

Not much point suggested more fish to add if you can't upgrade and you're keeping the current fish, you really don't want to add any more fish to the current tank, it's already overstocked as it is.

If you can't upgrade but want to keep them, there really isn't any help I can offer.

 

[Kerneels]

Not much point suggested more fish to add if you can't upgrade and you're keeping the current fish, you really don't want to add any more fish to the current tank, it's already overstocked as it is.

If you can't upgrade but want to keep them, there really isn't any help I can offer.

I can’t take them back to the petshops my we just called, they don’t take fish back.

 

[Fishiemang]

Yea. Black mollies get about 4-5 inches long if they live that long. I have 5 that are about 4 inchers now. I had about 100, but inbreds don't live that long. Plus, cichlids had a buffet every time they dropped fry. The 5 bigguns are my originals. Now I have a ton of babies again....haha.

You now have an excuse to upgrade tanks! No need to return the fish. Get a bigger tank, like a 30 gallon or a 54 gallon corner unit, get it cycled, and transfer everyone over. Save the small tank for a hospital tank. Bam. Problem solved.

 

[Kerneels]

Yea. Black mollies get about 4-5 inches long if they live that long. I have 5 that are about 4 inchers now. I had about 100, but inbreds don't live that long. Plus, cichlids had a buffet every time they dropped fry. The 5 bigguns are my originals. Now I have a ton of babies again....haha.

You now have an excuse to upgrade tanks! No need to return the fish. Get a bigger tank, like a 30 gallon or a 54 gallon corner unit, get it cycled, and transfer everyone over. Save the small tank for a hospital tank. Bam. Problem solved.

I don’t have place for a bigger tank at all that’s why I can’t get one