Pleco Not Looking To Good.

[Gr3mlin]

Tank size: 120 ltr
pH: 6.4 (bit high, but always been around that level)
ammonia: 0.1 give or take
nitrite: 0 mg/L
nitrate: 0 mg/L
kH:
gH:
tank temp: 26-27*c

OK, so lately last 3days i noticed my pleco wasnt looking so great.
straight away i started the tank on a treatment of wunder - Tonic.
but i thought i would get some advice.
My pleco sort of hangs around the bottom of the tank, just doing next to nothing.
normally he would suck around (as they do) then when you walk up or past the tank, he'd swim away and hide in his rock.
but lately he sort of just stays there looking at you. fin down, sad like.
i noticed that he looked very skinny, his stomach is sucked in looking. so i put a couple of pleco drops in and kept an i on him.
i notice he did go up and have a bit of a feed but not much, then went do his rock again.
i've notice a bit of a dis-colouration on him, so i put some tonic in the water.
i also put some cucubumber in and he had a munch.
he use to always swim up to the top of that tank and eat the fish flakes, but now he doesnt do that either.
i do have some photo's.
I had another look closer today, he was near the glass, and it looks like Ich. although im not 100% its like tiny little glassy looking dots. im talking, pixel size!
I've just done a water change and put some tonic salt in the water.

nothing new to the tank really, ph tested tap water and its around 8.0+ so i did a 25% water change and checked the tank, 6.4 after the change, was 7.6 but it always been around 7.0
added a couple of planets about a week or so ago. maybe 2 weeks.
been told water in Tauranga - New zealand is really high at the moment, pet store told me.

OOhh, i also recently like tuesday put a new heater in because I thought there was a leak, as it had water in it. and i did a check and was getting 60+ volts AC from the water. (outlet power is 240vac)

sigh, my poor fishy.

 

[Truck]

PH of 6.4 is a bit low

 

[Corleone]

PH of 6.4 is a bit low

It is, but also fine, provided it's stable, pH is not a critical water stat. 6 is low, 8 is high, but anything in that range is ok for the majority of commonly sold fish, despite specific preferences. However, by the sounds of it, you're getting fluctuations, which isn't good, especially in the range you're saying. With a regular maintenance routine,t he tank should settle at a fairly stable pH.

Anyway, by your water stats (ammonia present, no nitrate), it looks like your tank is not cycled. Review this thread ASAP:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=175355

By your water stats, it also looks like you're using test strips? You should get a liquid test kit ASAP - strips, especially ammonia strips, are inaccurate and unreliable, and also, despite their cheaper initial price, cost more due to few strips per package compared to the drops in a liquid kit. By US prices, an API Freshwater Master kit costs $30 and will last about as many tests as $100 or more in test strips. UK users report a similar comparison.

Ich looks like salt on a pretzel to help with identification. Poor water quality (ammonia, nitrite) tend to contribute to most any diseases, including ich. Any treatment can be difficult in a cycling tank, as frequent water changes are in order any time there's ammonia or nitrite present, however, tonic salt and increased temperature does work well with ich, and should be easier (and cheaper) to maintain in constant levels than other meds.

 

[Gr3mlin]

my tanks been running for about a year maybe 1 and a half. i've recently taken the biochem out of my filter as it per the instuctions on the med i've put in the tank.
PH is normally at about 7.2, normally, i did just do a water change and as add more tonic in the water. then test that water.
the testing equipment i used was a liquid testing kit.

umm, i cant think of anything else.
what are the normal tank stats?

 

[Spishkey]

i thought salt was bad for plecos?

 

[Gr3mlin]

honestly, i would have a clue. all i know is hes not doing all that great and i did what the fish expert told me 2 do at the petstore.
i also dont think salt would be the problem here at the moment considering that i put it in the tank to try help him.

 

[Spishkey]

no i didnt mean thats what caused the problem, i was just thinking aloud, im sure i read salt should not really be used with plecos, i could be wrong though and be getting it mixed up with another fish, i shall go and check

 

[Corleone]

It is, however, I've use aquarium tonic salt to treat ich with plecs and corys without issue. At least one person on the forum had a plec in mid level brackish water for a couple months before it finally passed, so short term exposure for treatment should be ok.