Shark Is Being Eaten By True Pleco

[garsyboy]

Hi,

I have just come in tonight to find my True Pleco ontop of one of my sharks eating it!

I don't know whether the shark was already dead or whether the plecko had killed it.
Last week I had 6 sharks now I only have 1. The Silver Tip sharks seemed to be doing fine until the Plecko was put in about 2 weeks ago.
Last week I found 2 had died then two days ago I found another 2 had died but could only find the body's of 1 and 1/2 and thought that it had decomposed rather quick but after witnessing this tonight it makes me wonder whether the Pleco had infact eaten it.

Are True Pleco's known for doing this kind of thing?
Is is likely to attack my Tiger Barbs & Zebra Danios?

 

[Teelie]

Probably scavanging. Plecos don't have the mouth to kill another fish like that. The chances are something else is wrong in the aquarium and has led to their deaths.

 

[mikster]

I would second that, the shark would have been dead already and he would just be eating the dead body, might want to check your water quality by getting a water test kit if you are losing fish. Do you know what size your tank is? and by true plecko do you mean a common plec?

 

[LisaLQ]

Rena Aquarama 80, 90ltr - 6 Zebra Danios, 6 Silver Tip Sharks, 6 Tiger Barbs, 1 plecko.

Via Aqua - 45ltr - 2 Oranda's, 1 Clown Plecko, 2 Armoured Catfish

Rena Aquarium 40, 18 ltr - 4 platties

Taken from his profile

Never heard of silver tip sharks, I've heard of silver sharks, and silver tip tetras, but not a combination of the two. Which are they - or do you have a scientific name for them? Is it either of these two?

http/www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/silver.htm

http/www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_silvertip.php

If it's the silver/bala shark, you really need to return them to the shop, along with the plec - unless you have plans for a minimum of a 6ft x 2ft x 2ft tank. Silver sharks get to 12", sometimes bigger, and need to be in shoals of 5 or more. Common plecs can get to 12-18", and need a 4ft x 18" x 18" tank at bare minimum. Neither are suitable for a 90l tank.

TBH all three of your tanks, if the stocking list is up to date, need some looking at. 4 platies would need at least 10g, a clown plec in a 45l is asking for water problems (they're one of the messier plecs as they are panaques and eat wood - therefore pooing sawdust), and as I said, the balas and common alone need a 6ft tank.

Orandas are coldwater fish and can get to 10", so should not be in your 45l either - both from a tank size and tank mates view. You should read these pages:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=96537

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=43980

From what I've read, for the orandas alone you'd need a 30g tank, but even that would be pushing it considering their eventual size, and tremendous amount of waste. As you've got them in a tropical set up at the moment, their metabolism is raised, and they will be making much more waste than normal - so you can imagine, in too small a tank, at a higher temp, with a messy plec - that's a recipe for disaster.

As for the original question - plecs aren't killers, but they are scavengers and will clean up dead fish (as will many other fish too - it's to them a free meal). Something else has killed them (possibly water quality), the plec is only helping you clean up

 

[WILDER]

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=187956

 

[dwarfgourami]

Well, thank goodness it was silver sharks anyway and not silver tip sharks- they are large marine sharks! Seems all answers have already been given, the main thing to do now is to rehome the pleco (if he is a common) and any surviving sharks and work hard on keeping water quality good by frequent water changes. Oh, and inspecting the tank and removing any dead bodies asap, as they can really mess up the water.

 

[garsyboy]

Well, thank goodness it was silver sharks anyway and not silver tip sharks- they are large marine sharks! Seems all answers have already been given, the main thing to do now is to rehome the pleco (if he is a common) and any surviving sharks and work hard on keeping water quality good by frequent water changes. Oh, and inspecting the tank and removing any dead bodies asap, as they can really mess up the water.

The tank is still reasonably new but for the last week the water quality has now been spot on.

I am reasonably new to this and I think I was advised by my LFS to get the Sharks to early, they also advised that the Plecko should be fine but when it get's to big to return it and swap it for a smaller one. They have also been advising on what can go in my other tanks. Upon reading the links above I will do some re-housing. Just out of interest in the 18ltr tank with the Platties I was told that I could start with 4 until the water quality is right and then could add another 4!

Think I will be asking the questions here first you all seem to know more!

Thanks really appreciate it.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

you have to remember the lfs has money to make from giving you in appropriate fish, if they die you go back to them and buy water treatments, medications and replacement fish. It's sad to say that a lot of lfs seem to take this as a good business strategy.

All the forum members here give they're advise for free and in they're own time, we've nothing to gain from telling you the wrong thing.

 

[garsyboy]

you have to remember the lfs has money to make from giving you in appropriate fish, if they die you go back to them and buy water treatments, medications and replacement fish. It's sad to say that a lot of lfs seem to take this as a good business strategy.

All the forum members here give they're advise for free and in they're own time, we've nothing to gain from telling you the wrong thing.

Over this past week that seems to by my opinion as well the LFS seem to let us have the fish we want but don't tell us about overstocking, they have said that in my 90 ltr tank I can have up to 26 fish and my 18ltr up to 8 and although they do say which fish seem to be ok together but didn't really explain how big the plecko could get!

I think without this forum alot of people would be at loose ends as to what to do and it's great to be able to learn from others that know what they are talking about with out the "selling" tactics.

Thanks everyone.

 

[dwarfgourami]

IMo 18 ltrs (less than 5 Us gallons) is too small for platies. I have a 19 ltr tank, which I have been using as a hospital tank, and before that for guppy fry, but adult platies really need a bit more space. And more than 2 or 3 would overstrain the filter.

 

[paul_219]

It can be that the sheak is already dead and he is eating it.

 

[Mystix212]

How big are your sharks and your pleco? I have a 55 G with 5 Balas (6-7") and 2 5" common plecos. Plus Angels, loaches, tetras, RTS, mollies and a Betta. They all co-exist great, they have been this way for 10 months with the angels being first in.

 

[fishlette]

i would agree that they are prob feeding on a carcass rather than killing it

 

[chrisdoesntmiss]

It has been known that some plecs, when breeding, will grab onto other fish and "scrape" them with there mouth. This is still unlikely and they do munch on anything thats dead. I would perform an autopsy on the corpses for any intestinal worms/hole in the head etc.