Sick Bristlenose Pleco

[akw_17]

I bought a bristlenose Pleco three days ago. I put it in and it seemed fine, just a bit shy. On the first day it wasn’t eating, but it would move around the tank and suction into different walls. That night I measure the pH and it was a bit high, 7.4. I put pH down in it and measure the next day and it had gone quite a lot too low, 6.6. That afternoon I noticed my Pleco wasn’t moving too much, wasn’t eating, and was lying near the bottom of the tank and breathing really hard. I thought the low ph might be affecting it so I got it back up to 6.8-7. It’s still doing that this afternoon, and appears to be having trouble suctioning to the side of the tank, and it won’t eat any of the wafers I give it. I have 5 neon tetras and 5 diamond tetras in the same tank, who seem completely normal. It’s a 65L tank and has 0 ammonia. Apart from potentially increasing oxygen by a tiny bit, I don’t know what to do. Thanks!

 

[DoubleDutch]

Some BN's only start eating after 10-14 days. It is still.adaptong. Leave some vegs in overnight.

Stop messing with PH. A stabil one is more.important than a low one.
This BN probably is not wildcaught, so will be allright in a Ph of 7,4..

 

[Attenbruh]

Bristle nose PH can range anywhere from 6 - 7.5. If you keep the PH at a stable level it will be much happier ( as said previously ). My bristlenose is very shy and at first I was also worried about her not eating much, but she has been fine for almost 2 years now. Mine often doesn't eat unless she is hungry unlike neon tetras or other fish in your tank. I'm sure they will be fine.

 

[itiwhetu]

How often and how do you water change your tank?

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Pictures and video of the fish?
How long has the tank been set up for?
What is the ammonia, nitrite & nitrate of the water?

As mentioned by others, don't adjust the pH. A pH of 7.4 is fine for most tropical fish and every time you change it, you can potentially kill the fish, especially if the pH changes a lot (like from 7.4 down to 6.6). That can cause acidosis. If there is a sudden rise in pH it can cause alkalosis. Both can kill. Please, no more playing with the pH, just leave it at 7.4 unless your dealing with wild caught fish.

Wild caught fish will have a label saying "wild caught" on the tank at the shop.