Is This Pleco Healthy?

[Zikofski]

okay i bought this common pleco yesterday for £20

just to confirm is he a common pleco or other? looks different to all the pics i search for under the name common pleco

and dose he look healthy?

thank you for all comment and help

i did put blood worms in last night and put 1 algae pellet the same brand the store was feeding them, pellet was all gone in the morning most of the left over bloodworms where either black or gone so i presume he ate them as well did a 50% weekly water change today and parameters are all good

 

[snazy]

His belly looks full to me from the pictures.
Isn't it a bit steep to pay £20 for a common? Mine cost 3-4 euro.
I think you need a type of cave, somewhere for him to hide. Mine is married to a piece of driftwood that creates a natural cave under and panics if I remove it to siphon the gravel under.

Edit: How many rays does he have on the top fin?
He does look like my common, but yours is a bit green looking

 

[Zikofski]

lol yes he was £20 because he is huge i think 6 months old around 10cm long and i guess he was over fed yesterday i think i just bought some cucumber for him i shall leave him to clean my tank for food and give cucumber tomo

erm i don't know not seen him with his fin up tbh is it normal for them to sleep with fin down, not had a chance to watching him at night yet either

but thank you for what you have told me

 

[snazy]

I should try to make a profit selling mine. It got to 10cm without effort on my side in 2-3 months
They sleep with the fins clamped most of the time so I wouldn't worry about it.
It would spread the fins if it has an eye on someone elses food just before stealing it

 

[Zikofski]

hahahaha okay il have a look for that i like the way he stealth moves, i look he's in one place look back 5 secs later he is gone and sucking on something else haha

 

[xingumike]

Sorry to say you got absolutely fleeced on the price.

The colour you see (the banding) is not normal in one that small and is probably a result of you putting him into the tank, I would expect it to go a uniform dark colour over the next few days.

 

[Zikofski]

aah okay he was the same colour at the LFS so i presume water quality there was crap, i didn't think £20 was to bad but oh well worth it in my eyes

 

[xingumike]

aah okay he was the same colour at the LFS so i presume water quality there was crap, i didn't think £20 was to bad but oh well worth it in my eyes

Ultimately, that is all that matters.

I have seen larger commons adopt that colouration permanently so don't be too alarmed if yours does, it does look healthy otherwise, full belly, eyes not sunken etc.

These fish are pretty bulletproof to be honest.

 

[Zikofski]

cheers i hope he colours up but then if he dosnt it may look more unique thnx, he is eating allot all is gd thank you my other fish i think are just like #136### is this in the tank lol

 

[snazy]

If it is about the black stripes being so visible, mine has been the same since I got him 3 months ago. He does go darker sometimes, when attached to driftwood. But he likes roaming around during the day, so the most I've seen him looking like is black and brown stripes, same as yours, but not as green as yours

 

[Zikofski]

If it is about the black stripes being so visible, mine has been the same since I got him 3 months ago. He does go darker sometimes, when attached to driftwood. But he likes roaming around during the day, so the most I've seen him looking like is black and brown stripes, same as yours, but not as green as yours

haha kl thnx, but it wasn't just about stripes it was just generally first plec i had had and just don't know when people say eyes sunken and belly sunken i have no idea what that is or what that looks like but i guess its not what my plec looks like so thats gd thnx again

i admit i like the light and dark grey stripes

 

[moochy13]

if your tank is as bare as it is in your sig, this could be stressing him out. get some nice big rocks, plants or chunks of wood in there that he can hide around.

 

[Zikofski]

kl yes i plan to put plants in and some slate if i can find some cheap enough maybe make a cave out of it I'm thinking but no money at moment

 

[xingumike]

More wood is probably the easiest, it will disturb plants, especially when it grows.

What size is that tank, looks massive but I think it's an illusion as the angels are tiny.

 

[moochy13]

i would suggest saving your money for a nice sized bit of wood first off. a nice chunky bit the plec can get under or behind, or even just on, rather than another twiggy bit like you've got. i can get large fist sized rocks at my lfs for anything between 50 p to a quid, handeful of large pebbles for a quid and smaller pebbles and random bits for pennies. stacked up and with a bit of thought, that alone could make for a nice little area at one end of the tank. nice bit of wood, probably about 10-15 quid, at the other end, job done. your tank will look a lot nicer, the plec will have something to interest him, and he will act more naturally and hopefully colour up. plants can wait, whereas getting some cover for the plec would be my priority.

commons in my experience arent shy, putting something for him to hide behind wont all of a sudden mean you wont see it ever again. in fact knowing he has his bit of security sometimes seems to make fish think they're safer, so come out and act more naturally. and a nicely coloured healthy common plec is in my eyes quite a site to behold. if they stayed a more reasonable size id have a gibbi in a heartbeat.