Rip Green Phanton Plec

[San O Fisher]

On saturday I did a 40% water change same as I always do, but I ended up doing a massive cutback on my plants and ripped a few out that had not been as doing as well as the others. I added my natural aquarium vital and my plant food as always, then fed the fish later about 30 minutes later. I came back 10 hours later to find my green phantom plec belly up and bloated dead on the floor and all my fish including my syno eupt at the top of the tank gasping for air...I did not check water stats, but quickly did a water change of about 50% and within about 15 minutes everything had settled down, in the morning every one was acting normal. I didnt even lose a tetra or an oto, which I figured I would at least have lost a couple.

any thoughts? also, I will be looking to get a new plec, but have not decided what I want yet

 

[twin54]

On saturday I did a 40% water change same as I always do, but I ended up doing a massive cutback on my plants and ripped a few out that had not been as doing as well as the others. I added my natural aquarium vital and my plant food as always, then fed the fish later about 30 minutes later. I came back 10 hours later to find my green phantom plec belly up and bloated dead on the floor and all my fish including my syno eupt at the top of the tank gasping for air...I did not check water stats, but quickly did a water change of about 50% and within about 15 minutes everything had settled down, in the morning every one was acting normal. I didnt even lose a tetra or an oto, which I figured I would at least have lost a couple.

any thoughts? also, I will be looking to get a new plec, but have not decided what I want yet

When you say you "ripped out" do you literaly mean grabed ahold and riped them out? Could it be that by doing this you released allot more amonia and other chemicals that were in the substrate than you would with a normal substrate vacuming? I would asume you have some fertalizer just under your plants as well as adding the fert like you did on your water change so perhaps it was just an overload on toxins in the water due to stiring up too much stuff at once?

I'm no expert on the plants but all I know from all my reading is fish dont like too many changes at once! If your fish were at the top gasping for air and the pleco died then I have to asume there was too much of something in the bottom of your tank the one place your plec stays all teh time Sorry to hear he passed away! Before getting a new one id figure out how and why this happened so it can never happen again!

O as well....did you have CO2 in your tank? Perhaps there was too much co2 after removing some of the plants?? like I said not one to know about real plants just some ideas >.<

 

[San O Fisher]

I am assuming you are right about ripping the plants out, it must have released toxins and I usually run an extra filter, but it broke so I was not able to filter the tank as fast as possible. I had the little bugger for over a year, but it is what it is. I will make sure next time I take out just a plant or two at a time.