Whats The Secret To Keeping Plecs's ?

[kevinmcd]

Hi love pleco's but never had any success. Anytime I bought them they lasted at best nearly a month.

The last time I bought a golden pleco and had less than a week. Was eating fine for four days pooing long strings so thought

this time would be fine. Then towards the weekend stopped moving and finally went to the filter and dropped dead next day .

Very fast too die. Have put few big stones on the bottom to see if they will get nice coating off algae but dont want too put

another pleco till sure off why they dont last. Tank stats Juwel 260 litre have nt done water test but all other fish fine ??

 

[JenCliBee]

Hi love pleco's but never had any success. Anytime I bought them they lasted at best nearly a month.

The last time I bought a golden pleco and had less than a week. Was eating fine for four days pooing long strings so thought

this time would be fine. Then towards the weekend stopped moving and finally went to the filter and dropped dead next day .

Very fast too die. Have put few big stones on the bottom to see if they will get nice coating off algae but dont want too put

another pleco till sure off why they dont last. Tank stats Juwel 260 litre have nt done water test but all other fish fine ??

A good varied diet, good water conditions and stats and plenty of hiding places.

The other most important part is the correct info of the particular species you purchase, that way you know what needs are exactly required to keep it healthy and long lived

 

[rdp50734]

You need to get your water tested first. LFS will do this usually free. What were you feeding the plecs? Also what species? Some species need wood in their diet as it aids digestion, have you got any in your tank? What temperature do you keep your tank at?

 

[kevinmcd]

dropped algae wafers but never really eat it. Gave slice off cucumber and sucked this. Dont have wood but can put in presume you mean any

wooded ornament or do you mean bog wood ?? Tank at 24C. Seemed to be eating fine had miles off poo so presume was water conditions. My

thinking is to keep few big stones and let algae build up before keeping again . The pleco was a albino brisled pleco also known as as

golden pleco common name . Will check water conditions and update but might be few days - thanks for advice

 

[rdp50734]

bogwood, driftwood, mopani, sumatran and loads of others! You can get it from ebay or your local aquatic shop. If you get new though it might release tannins! They make good decor and provide hiding places. And as I said some species use it to aid digestion. Good luck!

 

[Darkstar]

If your plecs are dying that quickly then wood, or a lack of it, isn't the problem. No plec should die in a month without wood.

However, until you test you water we can't give you an answer....my guess is the problem is either with you water or a substrate issue. What substrate are you using and how do you clean it. What is your cleaning regime for the tank in general?

 

[`Peter]

Make sure you have driftwood or caves in which it can stay or hide in. Plecos are a VERY hardy fish and should tolerate temps ranging from 62-82 degrees. Feed them a wafer once a day and add a zuchini or cucumber to the tank. Good luck

 

[simonas]

I;d say if your waters ok the food cos they can so easily starve

if you buy another perhaps check that its belly isn't sunken as shops often sell very poor quality plecs

maybe buy a slightly older plec next time

 

[Darkstar]

I;d say if your waters ok the food cos they can so easily starve

if you buy another perhaps check that its belly isn't sunken as shops often sell very poor quality plecs

maybe buy a slightly older plec next time

I wouldn't recommend buying another until the o/p has some idea of why the others died...and frankly the o/p doesn't appear too interested in finding out why anyway: They havenn't come back to athe thread nor been bothered to test their water...the latter being just the kind of answer I'd expect from someone who repeatedly loses fish.

 

[VickiandKev]

I;d say if your waters ok the food cos they can so easily starve

if you buy another perhaps check that its belly isn't sunken as shops often sell very poor quality plecs

maybe buy a slightly older plec next time

The size of the plec shouldn't be an issue - so long as a bristley is over an inch it's okay to be moved.

I have to agree that water quality is probably the problem here. I've found that bristlenose plecs, especially youngsters do very badly in water with poor oxygenation as much as water that is spiking in toxic nitrite and ammonia.

It's also important to remember that a bristlenose adds a lot of waste to a tank, even a small one, and it's best to test the water and possibly do more frequent water changes when adding them to any tank. Well, it's advisable to test the water when adding anything to any tank really.

 

[simonas]

I;d say if your waters ok the food cos they can so easily starve

if you buy another perhaps check that its belly isn't sunken as shops often sell very poor quality plecs

maybe buy a slightly older plec next time

I wouldn't recommend buying another until the o/p has some idea of why the others died...and frankly the o/p doesn't appear too interested in finding out why anyway: They havenn't come back to athe thread nor been bothered to test their water...the latter being just the kind of answer I'd expect from someone who repeatedly loses fish.

when you say the latter doyou mean me?

 

[rdp50734]

I read it as not being bothered to test the water

 

[Darkstar]

when you say the latter doyou mean me?

I mean exaclty as rdp50734 states. The user is assuming his water is fine because the other fish are still alive....which isn't a valid answer when some of your fish are dying, hence it appears to o/p can't be 'bothered' the check their water stats. As the saying goes, we don't keep fish we keep water....and when you have a problem, the first thing to check are the stats.