Help With A Very Skinny Baby Pleco

[fish_keeper2]

god i feel so stupid ) ) ) on an IMPULSE buy i just got a baby pleco(common.....yes i know stupid of me ) ). so i drug out my old five gallon tank and got some gravel, a cave, and some plants(fake) and i put him and a couple of baby guppies from my 10 gall in there along with the filter media from the ten gallon. the plec is only about 1-1.5 inches(for now). after realeasing him i noticed his gills were red. im guessing either from stress of being baged and all or ammonia levels in the tank it was in. i doubt its the ammonia becuase it was also housed with large tiger barbs which were all perfectly fine and healthy and fat. then i noticed he was really skinny, which makes me feel even stupider becuase i thought the plecs looked fine in the tank and him too once it was bagged. so for now i have droped in a good sized piece of cuccumber and turned off the lights. what i want to know now is what is the best thing to do for it now to make sure it gets some weight and is happy and healthy.

please dont hound me about this as i know it was very stupid ) of me to get the poor guy. )

i just wanted to add that i just checked on him and he was sucking on the cuccumber so thats a good sign.

 

[modernhamlet]

I think we can count on you to find him an appropriate home once he's grown up.

In the meantime he needs 3 things:
1. Plenty of nourishing vegitation/algae. Sinking algae tabs and blanched vegetables should do the trick.
2. Clean water
3. A good place to hide and not be stressed.

Hopefully the little guy will pull through and fatten up in no time. Let us know how it goes, ok?

 

[SkiFletch]

monitor and post your water stats here first, setting up a new toxin-free tank is rarely as easy as you mentioned

 

[fish_keeper2]

he is currently eating on cuccumber which is good. i have some algea plellets on hand for my corry so thats good too. since i seeded the tank with media from an established tank it should be cycled soon but i am going to do a small partial everyday. when i get payed on fri i will finally be buying my first test kit instead of relying on my lfs. i will update tomorrow asap.

 

[fish_keeper2]

Update: he is fairly active and is eating. it does look like he has put on some weight from the cuccumber i left in over night. i dont think the gils are red anymore but i have to wait till i catch him sticking to the side of the tank. by catch i mean walk in to the room with out scarring him.

 

[benzonar]

Cucumber doesn't have that much nutrition in it, its mostly water.

Try some blanched zucchini, or better still try him on a slice of sweet potatoe. You will need to par boil it but apparently my lfs swears by it on fattening up their plecs after they have received them. Seems to work and my two BNs love the stuff.

 

[fish_keeper2]

i usually feed zucinni to my ottos but when i was at the store the other day thay had none. my mom has to go to get some sodas and water and such so ill ask her to see if she can go a different gocery store and get some sweet potatoes and zucinni if they have it. how long would i have to boil the sweet potatoe for before i use it.

 

[benzonar]

I normally cut a 1cm thick slice, rub the dirt off around the edge and then place it in a microwavable cup.

I then pour boiling water over it from the kettle and put clingfilm over the top of the cup. Put it in the microwave for 3 minutes on full power (800w).

Then take it out but be careful as the cup will be hot.

Put it under the cold tap until the sweet potato has cooled off. The potato should sink, if not then attch a bit of lead weight to it.

Then the plecs will move in.

 

[Raz]

Those things will work as well as a leaf of romain lettuce...frozen brine shrimp will add weight to him as well.

 

[fish_keeper2]

thanks everyone. he is doing better and has put on some weight. ill have to wait till after fri to get other vegtable stuff. but i do have brine shrimp and algea wafers.