Sick Plec

[tia123]

please help, there is sumthin wrong with my plec. hes not eating and just seems to be hanging around, mostly near the surface. he was fine yest, before i did a water change, what can i do for him

 

[PlecMama]

Tell us exactly what you did yesterday and how you did it please.
When a fish changes as quickly as that, from being normal to "definately something wrong" AND you have very recently done something to the tank, you dont usually go far wrong assuming it was something you did while you were fiddling with the tank.

Immediately, I would say there's something wrong with the water, but it depends on the plec, how old he is, what type he is etc. For example, if this is a brand new plec and this was his first water change at your house, then he may be nothing more then a bit freaked out. However, if it's an 8 year old that you've had for a few years, then something in what you did has probably made the difference.

Tell us about the plec, the tank and how long you've had him etc please, also how he's behaving now, any change?

 

[tia123]

Tell us exactly what you did yesterday and how you did it please.
When a fish changes as quickly as that, from being normal to "definately something wrong" AND you have very recently done something to the tank, you dont usually go far wrong assuming it was something you did while you were fiddling with the tank.

Immediately, I would say there's something wrong with the water, but it depends on the plec, how old he is, what type he is etc. For example, if this is a brand new plec and this was his first water change at your house, then he may be nothing more then a bit freaked out. However, if it's an 8 year old that you've had for a few years, then something in what you did has probably made the difference.

Tell us about the plec, the tank and how long you've had him etc please, also how he's behaving now, any change?

ok, sadly he has died, but would still like to make sure that it wasnt sumthing that i had done. id only had him for nearly 2 weeks and he was a common plec, not sure of his age tho. i had done my usual 20% water change in my tank, i did nothing dif than usual, altho this was his first water change in my tank. cant see it being my water i tested it last week and all was fine, and the other fish in the tank all seem to be very happy.

i have 2 albino cory, 1 rainbow shark, 1 dwarf gourami, and 2 mollies in my 40l tank.

 

[KathyM]

I'm sorry your plec died Please don't get another common though - your tank is way too small for one. 40l is only 10 gallons - how big was he? That might be an indicator as to why he died. Have you tested your water parameters?

 

[tia123]

i had only had him just under 2 weeks, my lfs told me he would be finr in my tank for a good while yet as he was only small ( 1.5 inch). i am quite new to all this and my plan was to master fish keeping in a small tank before spending the money on a large one.

my water was tested last week and all was fine, and all my other fish are fine and seem happy. there was nothing obviously wrong with him, he was eating and acting normally the one day, then he just stated hanging around mostly near the top, he then went down to the bottom and died within a few hours.

just hope it wasnt sumthing i had done done to the poor little fellow, i would have loved to have kept him till i managed to get a bigger tank.

 

[KathyM]

Yeah he would've needed at least 4 x 2 x 2 eventually, preferably bigger They grow really fast so I wouldn't recommend trying again until you have a suitable tank.

 

[tia123]

no i wont, if only lfs store had told me that in the first place, thanks for your advice tho x

 

[KathyM]

We got told the same when we had our 38g (UK), and had to sell our common. I know how you must feel!

 

[tia123]

is so annoying when you get wrong info from people who you think know what they are talking about. im new to this so like to ask questions before i buy any new fish. i apear to get more help in here than i have done at any lsf near me. still i will learn from my mistakes.