pleco mysteriously died

[aquarium3]

I just looked into my tank and saw my pleco was on the bottom dead. I took him out and noticed a redish spot on the base of his tail his fins were pretty ripped up but that was probably from my serpae tetras after he died. What could of killed him. I also noticed he was out during the day yesterday which he is normally not and the spot that is now red was white and looked like an abrasion on his skin. He also shared a cave with a south American bumblebee catfish so is it possible that my catfish killed him? But I do not see the catfish being able to make the red injury on the base of the pleco's tail.

 

[FishGuest5123]

How old was he? Probably a stupid question but did you have wood in the tank and what did you feed him?

 

[aquarium3]

How old was he? Probably a stupid question but did you have wood in the tank and what did you feed him?

He was still a baby mabey 5 months old I have a coconut cave of that counts as drift wood but am going to get some soon to put plants on I put hikari algae wafer in for him and an occasional cucumber.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Food was fine but there is controversy on whether coconut shell can replace driftwood for plecos. I would definitely get some wood. They need it to aid in digestion. Mopani wood is a good one to use. This may have been part of the answer as to why he died. Let’s see what others have to say. Good luck!

 

[aquarium3]

Food was fine but there is controversy on whether coconut shell can replace driftwood for plecos. I would definitely get some wood. They need it to aid in digestion. Mopani wood is a good one to use. This may have been part of the answer as to why he died. Let’s see what others have to say. Good luck!

I was worried it was fish tb because of the red spot on the base of his tail or that might just be me being overly cautious I might go buy a locally bred albino BN pleco to replace him.

 

[FishGuest5123]

It’s not fish TB. There are many more signs. Was his spine straight? Bent spines are often seen in fish TB.

 

[aquarium3]

It’s not fish TB. There are many more signs. Was his spine straight? Bent spines are often seen in fish TB.

Spine looked perfectly straight. I just discovered about fish tb and it really kind of freaked me out, could you list the signs of it for me.

 

[FishGuest5123]

I don’t know all of them but I do know open sores or red lesions, wasting away, bent spine, lethargy, not eating, are some. It’s not as prevalent in fish such as plecos. Guppies seem to be coming up with it much more recently, at least in the U.S.

 

[Colin_T]

It's not TB.

Have you tested the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & pH?
If yes, what are the results?

How often are you doing water changes and how much water do you change?
Is the new water free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank?
Do you gravel clean the substrate when you do a water change?

Have you added any new fish, plants or anything else to the tank in the last 2 weeks?

How many serpae tetras died recently?
What did the serpaes look like when dead or dying?

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The red patch is a bacterial infection and may have contributed to the fish's death. However, you mention dead serape tetras and that would suggest a disease outbreak in the tank.

Wipe the inside of the glass down and do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate. Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. Wash filter media in a bucket of tank water.

Post pictures of the other fish so I can check them for diseases.

 

[aquarium3]

It's not TB.

Have you tested the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & pH?
If yes, what are the results?

How often are you doing water changes and how much water do you change?
Is the new water free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank?
Do you gravel clean the substrate when you do a water change?

Have you added any new fish, plants or anything else to the tank in the last 2 weeks?

How many serpae tetras died recently?
What did the serpaes look like when dead or dying?

------------------------
The red patch is a bacterial infection and may have contributed to the fish's death. However, you mention dead serape tetras and that would suggest a disease outbreak in the tank.

Wipe the inside of the glass down and do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate. Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. Wash filter media in a bucket of tank water.

Post pictures of the other fish so I can check them for diseases.

No serpae tetras have died they are healthy, I was saying the dead pleco's fins were probably ripped up by my serpae tetras after my pleco died. My tank has 0 nitrite and 0 ammonia and the ph is 6.8. The tank is a 38 gallon and I have been doing about two 10 gallon water changes per week.

 

[Colin_T]

ok gotcha on the serpaes.

Have you added any new fish, plants, shrimp or anything else to the tank in the last couple of weeks?

I would increase the size of your water changes to 75% each week. This will remove more nutrients and disease organisms in the water compared to a 25% water change. This is necessary for algae eating fishes that produce lots of waste that can encourage bacterial and protozoan infections.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate each day for a week. Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks.

Monitor the remaining fish and if any look unusual then post pics asap. With any luck it was just a weak catfish and everything else will be fine.

-----------------------
How big is the bumblebee catfish?

All algae eating fish need some driftwood in the tank. Coconut shells do not count

Make sure there is some algae on the glass for the fish to eat. If there is no algae on the glass, increase the lighting times by an hour or so and try to encourage the algae to grow. You can also put rocks, wood or pieces of Perspex in a bucket of water and have them outside in the sun. When they are covered in algae you put them in the tank for the fish to graze on. When the fish has eaten the algae you put the item back outside in the bucket of water to grow more algae.

 

[aquarium3]

ok gotcha on the serpaes.

Have you added any new fish, plants, shrimp or anything else to the tank in the last couple of weeks?

I would increase the size of your water changes to 75% each week. This will remove more nutrients and disease organisms in the water compared to a 25% water change. This is necessary for algae eating fishes that produce lots of waste that can encourage bacterial and protozoan infections.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate each day for a week. Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks.

Monitor the remaining fish and if any look unusual then post pics asap. With any luck it was just a weak catfish and everything else will be fine.

-----------------------
How big is the bumblebee catfish?

All algae eating fish need some driftwood in the tank. Coconut shells do not count

Make sure there is some algae on the glass for the fish to eat. If there is no algae on the glass, increase the lighting times by an hour or so and try to encourage the algae to grow. You can also put rocks, wood or pieces of Perspex in a bucket of water and have them outside in the sun. When they are covered in algae you put them in the tank for the fish to graze on. When the fish has eaten the algae you put the item back outside in the bucket of water to grow more algae.

No new fish have been added it may be he was just a weak fish when I purchased him I think 4 months ago he was about 2 inches and I does not appear he had grown any more. There is plenty of algae on the glass, can not do the rock in a bucket outside trick because there is no sun right now due to it being winter in Alaska.