New Rubber Lip Not Doing Well :(

[zombii]

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Tank size: 40 gallon tank filled up to about 22 gallons
pH: levels all read at petsmart and they said they were all fine, gave them multiple samples from different areas of the tank
ammonia:
nitrite:
nitrate:
kH:
gH:
tank temp: 76F

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior): the fish doesnt seem discolored on top, but his stomach looks like it has some sort of bruising on it, but i've never had a pleco before so i dont know if its normal. i left the bag they gave me in the water for about a half hour then opened it and let him out. he darted over to the water heater as soon as he got in, then swam behind some of the bricks i have in the tank and sucked onto the glass and hasnt moved much for about 3 hours. i've tapped the glass once or twice an hour just to make sure he is ok, and when i do he sort of backs up. so i know he is alert, but something seems off. like i said his stomach has what looks like some sort of bruising on it so im really worried.

Volume and Frequency of water changes: about 10% every saturday

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: no additives, have two bubblers.

Tank inhabitants: one baby hieroglyphic turtle, about 5 months old. hes only two and a half inches long so he probably wont mess with the rubber lip much.

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): the two bubblers i got last night

Exposure to chemicals: none that i know of.
sorry for bad quality of picture hes on a side of the tank thats up against my dresser so i cant get a good shot
Digital photo (include if possible):

 

[greenmumma141]

Well, there's a lot of things that could be wrong. How long has your tank been set up, and is it fully cycled??? The only way to ever be sure of your water readings is to get a liquid test kit for yourself, as fish store employees will 9.999 times out of 10 tell you that your water is great even if it's not, so that you buy fish. And they also use test strips which are not reliable at all.
 
I'm not a turtle expert, so I don't know anything about yours, but I don't think putting any fish in with him is a good idea. Even if he/she doesn't try to eat them, turtles are very dirty compared to fish, so I just don't see any fish that you put into this tank doing too well... Yep, after looking up this specific type of turtle, they get pretty huge. If you are looking to provide live food for them, I would stick with the feeder fish, as they are much cheaper than rubberlip plecos.
 
Rubber lips as a species are a little tricky. They require a tank with really good flow, as they're naturally found in fast moving water. They're pretty abrupt movers, so he could possibly have bruised himself, or the person who caught him for you could very well have injured him, as they are extremely fast and hard to catch. However, from the pic it is impossible to tell. Rubberlips, and a lot of other plecos, do have darker areas on their bottom side, which is perfectly normal.  Not too sure which type of rubber lip you have, but here is some info for you: http/www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?species_id=318
 
30 minutes is an okay time to acclimate fish, but I would suggest adding some water from your tank into the bag, then waiting another 10 minutes or so, and add some more.  I do this for about 45 minutes, then I scoop the fish out with a net and set them free into my tank, that way none of the water from the fish store goes into my tank. 
 
To be honest, I would find a new home for the rubberlip or the turtle, and stick to either type of tank.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Personally, I don't recommend fish and reptiles, certainly not turtles.
 
What filter do you have running on this tank?  Turtles are VERY dirty critters and plecos are one of the messiest fish, so your bioload is actually fairly heavy.  Without proper filtration you are going to have more issues than you know what to do with.
 
 
Personally, I don't know what 

pH: levels all read at petsmart and they said they were all fine, gave them multiple samples from different areas of the tank

 
means.    You really need your own test kit.  Test strips, which is what I assume they are using aren't very reliable.
 
 
I don't see the "bruising" you are referring to in the pic.  But, maybe someone else can.  I wouldn't worry about the pleco not moving for a few hours.  That's fairly normal.  They get more active at night than during the day.
 
Is there any wood in the tank?  
 
Is there a spot that the fish can hide if it wants to?  
 
Plecos can be rather reclusive at times, my BN hardly ever comes out during the day, but I know where he is.  And if he's sucking enough to stick to the glass, then he's not dead.    

 

[zombii]

thank you both for your replies. i think in the future ill be buying a 30 gallon tank to have just as a fish tank. for filtration im using a marineland c-160. it does a great job of keeping the water looking nice although im not sure on water quality. as for the testing of the water, yes they did use strips. i didnt know they were so unreliable, so i wont be going there again to get it tested. what type of test kit should i get? i havent worried much about actual water clarity in the past so i never bothered to get a test kit since it was just the turtle. i got the tank finished and filled about mid march and its been going fine with just the turtle ever since. but ive had an algae problem within the past month so i was looking at some solutions when i came across plecos. i did about a week of research before getting one, but i never thought much about cycling and testing until i got here. i dont know if the turtle might have helped aid the cycling process, but i havent been actively doing it. im going tomorrow to get test kits and if the water isnt good ill take back the pleco (if he survives :'( ) after looking at the pictures from the website greenmumma provided i think the discoloration is just the way the fish looks and not from bruising. there is no wood in the tank, plenty of spots from him to hide though. in fact he found a spot the turtle couldnt reach even if he wanted to 

  if i could take him back now i would but unfortunately the pet store is closed until tomorrow. is there any way i can be sure he survives through the night? hate to see him die from my mistake

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Some plecos appreciate wood, some REQUIRE it.  I don't know which category the rubbernose falls into.
 
 
Test kits - liquids are much more reliable than test strips - any brand really.  Nutrafin, API, whatever you can get.  You'll want ammonia and nitrite as they are the most critical - being poisonous...  The other options are nitrate, pH, gh and kh - these are far less important.

 

[zombii]

thank you. i tapped the tank again and he has made it through the night, ill get the liquid test kits like you both said as well. thank you for your help!

 

[greenmumma141]

Eagles, I'm almost sure that rubbernose don't require wood in their diet, as they're found in fast moving streams with mostly rocks. Not positive though...

 

[zombii]

ill add some in just to be safe. if he uses it, great. if not, whatever 

 
p.s. according to petsmart labeling it is a rubber lip, not a rubber nose. not sure if there is a difference or if petsmart is just mislabeling again.

 

[greenmumma141]

Same thing. There's a bunch of names for him. Do you have any plans for him or just going to keep the same set up going??