White Growth On Pleco...

[*Fishkies*]

I saw this on my pleco about three days ago. I don't know what it is and am hoping to find some answers here. He has lived with my goldfish that I have for four years and there has been no previous sicknesses before. I did give them some Romaine Lettuce, but I read on a site that that was okay to give. I though maybe he might have had a reaction to the lettuce, but i'm not sure. So any information as to what this could be would be grateful!!!! Here are some pics....as you can see the white spot under his eye, it's about an inch long.

View attachment 41780View attachment 41781

 

[LisaLQ]

I'd post that on the emergencies board, but it looks like fungus to me?

Can you give us some more info, tank size, companions, ammonia/nitrite/nitrate/ph levels, temp etc?

 

[LisaLQ]

Eek,, just seen your signature and seen that he's in a 20L tank? You really need to get him a new tank asap. I cant tell by the pics what species he is, but if he's a common plec he needs to be in a tank 4ft x 18" x 18", which is 75g. Commons can and should reach 12" in their first year, reaching 12-18" in total very soon after. Your goldfish also needs a much much bigger (and IMO seperate) tank.

In a 20l litre tank, a goldfish and a plec are going to make so much mess that they are literally swimming round in their own crap. How often are you doing water changes, and what kind of filter do you have running? What are the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels? Is the tank cycled?

You need to get them out of there asap - if you want to keep them together, then the 4ft x 18" x 18" tank will do if he is a common plec. I would seriously consider splitting them up into two (much larger) tanks or rehoming one though as goldfish are coldwater and plecs are tropical, so if you keep your plec in a coldwater set up he wont be as healthy/happy as in tropical, and if you put your goldfish in a tropical (heated) set up - his lifespan will be halved, and the mess will be unbelievable.

If he's a bristlenose, it might be worth posting on the coldwater board to find out the minimum tank size for a goldfish, I'm not 100% sure what it is - but I'm thinking it'll be around 30g.

Can we have a full pic of the plec please so we can work out what species he is?

 

[fishkers]

Well All I have to say to the commenters are if your all willing to pitch money in to buy *fishkies* an aquarium then great! But you might have to consider that not everyone can afford a bigger tank. *fishkies* happens to be my girlfriend and we are both college students barely getting by with what we have now. That pleco she has had for like 5 years and it was like her first fish, no one ever said it would get that big so its happy and swims around in the 20L for now and well thats probably the way its going to stay for 5 more years. Can we please get back to focusing on the problem not picking on every aspect of a persons aquarium. Thank you!

 

[LisaLQ]

The problem wont resolve without a bigger tank - it might get better now but it'll just get bad again. I appreciate not everyone can get a bigger tank, but in that case, they should get fish to suit their tank, not fish that need big ones

Return the fish to the shop or get a bigger tank - it's the only way it'll get better. I'm not being snobby just telling you the facts

Still waiting for tank stats, nitrate, nitrite and ammonia readings.

 

[*Fishkies*]

Here is a bigger picture of him...
View attachment 41793


Okay well first of all, i've already had this Pleco for four years, and everything has going quite well. Secondly I got him from walmart, and he wouldn't even fit in their tanks! So I really do not have the option to take him back to the store.

(I'm not trying to sound mean, just trying to figure out what's wrong with him and what that white spot is and how to treat it.)

**I also posted over in the Emergencies, since someone suggested to do that.

 

[LisaLQ]

Yep - he's a liposarcus pardalis, common plec, will/should get to 12-18".

Min tank size for him to be able to move around ok is 4ft x 18" x 18" - but obviously he wont be 12-18" in your tank so anything bigger would be a temporary improvement, depending on how big he is you might be able to get away with a 3ft until you can find either a bigger tank or a new home.

I'm honestly not trying to be rude - this is just what they need, and I'm sure you love him a lot and want to give him that - so you either need to get him a bigger tank or rehome him I'm afraid.

How big is he now and what are the tank dimensions?

Edited to add - it looks like a fungal or columnaris infection - which can be brought on by stress or poor water quality, which is likely with a plec and a goldie in a small tank. Pimafix and Myxazin should help, but he really needs that bigger tank to be able to make sure he doesn't get it back.

 

[*Fishkies*]

I am saving my money and i'll be getting a job this summer to hopefully and try and upgrade the tank size. I've really been planning and searching everywhere for a larger tank this past year! So hopefully I can get one by the end of this summer. I try to upgrade my fish as soon as I see them needing more room. Unfortunatly finding a big tank around here has been more difficult then I thought it would have been.

Right now my best size estimate for him is 6 1/2 inches. And he's been at that size for the past two years now.

The tank dimensions are 30"L X 11"H X 12 1/2" W.

Thank you so much for replying!

 

[LisaLQ]

Aaaah well - that's not 20l, maybe 20g, I dont know? 20l would be like a goldfish bowl, so that's why I was uber-worrysome lol.

He'll be fine in that for now til you can get him a bigger tank - it looks like a fungal or columnaris infection - the pimafix will cover the fungal aspect, and myxazin will cover it if it's columnaris. Do small daily or every other day water changes, and make sure you give the gravel a good vac (presuming you dont have an undergravel filter) as that's where the bacteria will come from.

Phew, my 2 x 1 x 1ft tank is 60l, so when you said 20l I was thinking he was in a tank a third the size of that!

 

[*Fishkies*]

Well i've always read of some people referring to their tanks as a 20L=20 gallons Long, instead of the 20 gallon high tank. So that's why I did that like that in my profile information. Glad we got that misunderstanding taken care of ! Sorry for that.
Yes yesterday I did give the tank a nice water change and cleaned up the gravel, in hopes that that would help stop the fungus from going anywhere else.

 

[LisaLQ]

Aaah well - a lot of people also use L to mean litres, it should have clicked in my head that you meant long rather than litres, you'll have to excuse me as I'm full of cold and therefore too bunged up to use my brain LOL...sorry about that.

 

[*Fishkies*]

Well today I was able to get out and get some Pimafix. So he will be treated with medications and hopefully get better soon!

 

[SuperColey1]

Well today I was able to get out and get some Pimafix. So he will be treated with medications and hopefully get better soon!

I was thinking20Ltrs as well. Oh well. Good luck and have a happy plec, althoug I do agree with Lisa.....gonna need a lot more space soon. I had to rehome 2 of the those beauties when they got to 8 inches, cos my 29G(125Ltr) just aint big enough for em. Hope this doesnt' put you off plecs, there are a few that will fit in your tank. GL

 

[*Fishkies*]

Plecs are really neat from the pictures i've seen on here. I have never really seen many varities my area except the common pleco. So yeah he is the one and only plec I have since he did get so big so fast. But I will one day upgrade that tank as soon as I am able to!

 

[james41683]

i have a common pleco also. got him from walmart about 2 years ago. it was one of the first fish i got and the guy at walmart assured me he wouldnt get much bigger than what he was when i got him (about 3 inches), well that was proved wrong quick. he out grew a 10 gallon tank, now he is happily living in a 60 gallon and he's close to 8 inches.