My Pleco Died

[chishnfips]

Commander bond (L001) passed away the other night, He didn't look ill, his colours were bright, but he just sat still for a day or two only moving slightly so I thought something was up. Then last night I found him as a skeleton all eaten. What happened?

All the parameters are fine, I have no idea as to why he died. I have had him since he was tiny, he was only about 2 years old, anyone got any ideas?


Ok Update: I phoned my LFS a to ask about what plecos they have in stock and while I was on the phone I told them my dilemma. They said the two reasons why plecos die are mainly these:

1. a toxic build up of waste beneathe the substrate
or
2. starvation

It couldn't have been the first one, as I am always moving stuff and gravel vac the sand, moving it about to avoid this. So it must be starvation, I feel really bad about it. I fed him a large piece of cucumber all the time and an odd wafer aswell, but the lfs told me cucumber doesn't have any nutritional value and I would be better feeding with the likes of potatoes and carrot as they have more nutrients. I feel rotten about it.

They said they have a L066 pleco in stock so I might go and get that they also have a L007 (vampire plec).

 

[LisaLQ]

So sorry to hear about your plec.

There are more reasons for plecs dying than that though, so I'd hold out on getting a new one until you know what could have caused it and if it was something infectious.

If he was eating and pooing ok, cucumber or not, he cant have starved - that would be the case in new plecs, but certainly not an established one.

Keep an eye on your other fish for a couple of weeks, and if nothing else shows up, chalk it up to bad luck and think about getting another. For now I'd do a couple of decent water changes and gravel vacs just to play safe, and keep an eye on the other fish - it could have been something contagious, in which case the others might come down with it an it'd be a bad idea to add more fish yet.

 

[chishnfips]

Yeah sounds like a plan, I have a BN and 2 armoured catfish in there at the mo, they seem ok and are eating a poo-ing as normal, the little bn is always out and about. do you think he may have got stressed with them being in there with him?

Then again they have all lived together for about a year prior to his untimely death.

 

[paul_219]

Sorry to hear this. I didnt know i should feed my pleco i thought he feeds only by cleaning the tank. I lost 6 plecos lol because of my mistake. They use to die from starvation.

 

[chishnfips]

I have always had to feed mine because my tank, (even after two years), does not get any big build up of algae. I know you are best to give them a varied diet, maybe i didn't actually realise how much he ate.

 

[LisaLQ]

I wouldn't worry about his diet, I think it's highly unlikely he died from starvation when you fed him cucumber and wafers. If he was eating them ok, it wasn't starvation. Cucumber is fine for plecs, many plec owners feed it to their fish. Courgette and other veg are even better - but food's food, and if he was eating - he didn't starve to death. Dont beat yourself up about it - these things happen

 

[Rhiannon]

I was gutted when my BN died too. It was awful to see such a beautiful creature just pass over night with no signs of illness.

I only fed mine zuchinni and sinking shrimp pellets, thinking he could live off them and the algae, but I think he may have died of starvation too.

I cried all morning. It was horrendus (I am pregnant and cry at everything, I dont know if people normally cry over fish losses).

Hopefully you dont have any more pleco deaths.

 

[LisaLQ]

Why do you think he died of starvation if you were feeding him and he was eating? It is much more likely to have been something else - surely? What were the water params, what tank were they in, what tankmates did they have, any other symptoms, sunken belly/eyes?

You were both feeding your plecs, yes cucumber is more water than nutrient, but it is still a valuable food for plecs, and shrimp pellets are good too - alongside other things. Both of you were doing ok feeding them - so why do you both assume they starved? I'd be worrying more about a potential quick killing illness rather than putting it down to starvation, if it were me. Not saying it will definitely have been that - but it's more likely than starvation in a fish that was being fed well and eating?

 

[Rhiannon]

I think it was because I didnt feed him algae wafers. Could this be so?

And no, mine showed no signs of illness, thats what gutted me the most. Fine oneday, gone the next.

 

[LisaLQ]

I doubt that would have killed him - yep a varied diet is best, but if you were offering him veg and shrimp pellets, he was being fed more than many people's plecs are (I mean the kind of people who dont feed their plec at all and still end up with 18" monsters lol). I really doubt it was starvation.

 

[Rhiannon]

Ok, thanks for that, because I think starvation would be a terrible way to go.

 

[chishnfips]

I couldn't check his belly because he had be munched by all the other fish, in basically a day or so. So I have no other way of telling how this happenend. All my other fish are fine and healthy, the tank is clean and by no means over crowded.

I just have no clues

 

[black angel]

Really sad to hear about your plec, i bought mine about the same time as yours and he is still going strong. I doubt as well it was starvation, probably a bacterial infection that took him fast so i would wait a couple more weeks before adding another to make sure the other fish are ok.
Mine eats like a pig. He gets two algae wafers a night and a fish food tablet. Through the week he has shrimp, white fish, mussels, cucumber, peas.