Help with plecos

[Yeaulman]

Hey all, I am new to this forum and had a catastrophe last night. I found my plecostomus dead in the water. I think maybe he was starving himself. I had the little algae discs for him but I never saw him eating them. I noticed when I first put it in th tank, it was cleaning and sucking on the glass, but now what? So I need help to find out how to keep one of these guys.

Also the tank is 20 gallon, with 2 calico fantails, and a black moore now. The temp of the tank is about 21 degrees celcius (room temperature). I have a mechanical filter setup that sucks the water out of the tank and filters it through a carbon/sponge media. My tank has been set up for about 4 weeks now.

Any help is appreciated
Martin

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Hi, to the site.

Plecs should not really be kept at that tempature. They are tropical fish. What kind of plec was it?

What are your amonia, nitrIte and nitrAte levels? Did you cycle the tank before adding fish?

 

[Yeaulman]

Well i bought them from a fish store who had them in the same tank as the other fish I bought. My boss also has one in his tank at work with a 3 black moores. It seems to be doing fine. I cannot remember which type it was, it was spotted, thats all I know ) I am still new to the fish world.

I also had my water tested at that store and it was all safe so he said. The person who tested my water owns the store and has been doing that for 15 years.

 

[wetwetwet]

Was the tank cycled??

If not then have a look at some of the pinned topics in beginners...



www

 

[Yeaulman]

Yes the tank was cycled, and I did a recent 10% water change and replaced the water with dechlorinated water.

 

[M/ASC]

i think plecs in cold water are subject to debate
the shop i work in doesnt sell them for coldwater nor do we recommend them.
plecs are herbivourous and so have a long complex digestive system to convert plant matter into a useable form, much like a cow having several stomachs. this means that they use a lot of energy to actually metabolise the food and so must eat ALOT of plant based materials. in cold water, plecs metabolise slowwer i.e they are colder and cannot digest food as effieciently as they would in warm water.
ambient room temperatures also play a major role. although plecs maybe fine throughout the summer, in winter when the heating isnt on in the house (say if no one is there) then they will be suffering.
a plec will survive in coldwater but it will not thrive!

 

[Yeaulman]

so maybe a tank heater to keep the water temperature stable?

 

[Cheese Specialist]

I don't think you should add a plec to that tank, it's already overstocked. Goldfish need 20 gallons for the first and then 10 for each fosh after that. They get very big 10" and are very very messy. So messy that a lot of water is needed to dilute the waste.

A plec, is also a messy fish and many secies can get to 18"+. I would never have a plec in a 20gallon tank, tropical or otherwise.

As for the LFS, I take everything they say and do with a spon of salt to be honest and just because someone else does something does not make it ok. The fish may seem fine now but will not be for long in bad conditions.