my plecos keep dying

[shinydemon]

just recently set up my tank, and on advice from the bloke at pets at home (i live in UK), got 2 plecos and a feather fin synodontis...
the pleco was dead by the end of the first day, and the albino one dead by the next day.
the catfish is still ok at the moment, so i'll get another of those tomorrow...

still unsure about plecos though.. they never lasted more than 3months in my cold water tank.. (cold water plecs, obv.. )

but feel i need to have a couple of plecs to help clean the tank..

what temp should the water be? i'm still a newbie, and am trying to think of all the things i could be doing wrong!

 

[glolite]

Sorry about your fish
How long was the tank set up for? Have you tested for ammonia and nitrites?
The usual temperature for most tropical fish is between 24 and 26 degrees c.
If your fish died the next day, Pets at home should refund your money, i Know that because I've shopped there as well.

 

[sylvia]

'Coldwater' plecs are just common plecs... they're tropical. You may not want to replace those plecs anyway. For a start, they grow to 12 inches - much too large for your average tank - and 2 is usualy not a good idea because they are territorial. Has your tank cycled? (read through link in my signature...) and what are your water parameters including pH? What size tank?

 

[daddyo72]

Do you have enough for the plecos to eat? I usually give mine apples, lettuce, potatoes or peas.

 

[shinydemon]

well... that article sure told me a lot! had no idea about cycling, as LFS did not say anything about it!!

i'd been given the tank by a mate, with fish in it, and they all died within a couple of days of the move..
so i cleaned it all out thoroughly (prob too much! the water was clear by the time i'd finished cleaning the gravel...)
left it running for a week, as the woman at pets at home told me to, and then bought the 2 plecos, and the synodontis (which, btw is still alive! yay me)

i have since had the water tested, all was ok apart from the ph, which was purple... still not 100% on what that means, but it was pretty!
have bought ph down, as they told me to, and still just have 1 fish in the tank..

didn't realise the "coldwater plecs" were the same as trop ones... they told me they were different, and they were twice the price!!!

the temp is at 24 degrees.. and is 2".. not sure about other measurements at the moment..

decided against plecos at the moment, as when i got to the shop today, there were 2 of the albino plecs dead at the top of the tank!!

anyway, thanks for the advice guys, i'll keep trying!

 

[G_Sharky]

I hate it when LFS people don't tell newbies about cycling. I work on an LFS and everytime someone ask for help I always ask them info on what kinda fish, tank, or what kinda set up they have or want. A lot of newbies always wanna buy a bottom feeder even though their tank in not cycle and I always tell them that when Ammonia and Nitrates starts to spike up, the most lethal place to be in the tank is the gravel cause ammonia is really high in there compare to the surface. Maybe that's the reason why your plec didn't make it past the first day in your tank.....

 

[shinydemon]

i started with the catfish, and plecs, as they said they were the most hardy fish..
now they've tested the water, and i've used phdown, i'm supposed to change 10-15% of the water daily until sat, when they'll test again, and let me know if i can have more fish yet!

i'll get another synodontis from Pets At Home, but other than that we're going further out to another store to try them.. they're family run, so hopefully they'll know a lot more about what i'm supposed to be doing!

not having a great time at the moment, lost my job on mon, so don't have as much money as i was going to have to spend on my tank!

oh, and my tank is 2 feet, not inches!!! lol

 

[Ob1]

hi shinydemon

The similar thing happen to me, I obtained a tank from a friend at work. After 3 weeks most of the fish died apart from my plecs.

No one said anything about treating tap water . I learnt a valuable lesson from that experience. )

Cya ob1

 

[Alurny]

Its usually not advisable to mess about with PH mind you.

 

[Candyco]

Erk... I used some of that PH Down (Buffer) NEVER AGAIN! The water clouded so much i didn't c my Red-Bellied Piranhas for ages.... That buffer i've been told is never a permanent solution. You need 2 keep adding the stuff, what's the point if u can never c ur fish! The man @ my lfs advised using rain water, which is a pain in the bum but it works well Really sorry 2 hear of ur fatalities tho. Live n Learn, i've lost quite a few since i started. My Red-Bellies got a taste 4 each other (started with 12, now got 9) They completely vanished & the others rapidly grew!
Hey... i'll stop waffling now! I'm side-tracking now! GOOD LUCK! Kaz

 

[smithrc]

just picked up or your temp - bung it up a few degrees - around 27-28deg.