Baby Plecos Dying?

So last week I got a baby pleco, and the very next day when I checked my tank I found him dead with am fin stuck in the filter. Yesterday, I got another one. Before I went to bed he spent a good half hour against the heater, but he was alive and well as I checked on him before going to bed, just cuddling up to the heater. This morning, the half of his body that was on the heater was all white and he was dead on the ground under the heater. The tank is at 77 degrees so he wasn’t cold, and he ate so he wasn’t starving. The two plecos I bought are from the same batch at the pet store, but none of them looked sick when I bought them. My water is in great condition. Why do these guys keep dying? Is it true that baby plecos are known for being, lets say “silly”? I used to have an 8 inch pleco that died after 4 years and he was the hardiest fish ever until the day he got sick. If I get both a heater and a filter guard should my tank be safer for a baby pleco and the problem solved? I really miss having a pleco but now I’m nervous about adding another with all these fishy suicides.

 

Can you please list:
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
How long you had the fish
What you were feeding them


Healthy fish don't get stuck to filters, so let's figure out what made them sick.

 

I need a new test kit for nitrites and nitrates. Ammonia reads at a safe level.
I have 7 guppies and 4 platies for a few weeks now, feeding them Nutrafin Max livebearer flakes and occasional spirulina flakes and they’re thriving. I fed the pleco some Nutrafin Max krill and shrimp meal sinking pellets for the brief time I had him/her.

 

Can you please list:
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
How long you had the fish
What you were feeding them


Healthy fish don't get stuck to filters, so let's figure out what made them sick.

I need a new test kit for nitrites and nitrates. Ammonia reads at a safe level.
I have 7 guppies and 4 platies for a few weeks now, feeding them NutrafinMax livebearer flakes and occasional spirulina flakes and they’re thriving. I fed the pleco some Nutrafin Max krilland shrimp meal sinking pellets for the brief time I had him/her.

 

Hey, so sorry for the late reply. Were you feeding the babies any algae? Both of those foods are pretty high in protein, they need food a bit more on the vegetable side of things. Obvs I don't think that was the cause since you had them for such a short time period.
Best guess is that they were sick from the store. Are your other fish acting okay?

 

Hey, so sorry for the late reply. Were you feeding the babies any algae? Both of those foods are pretty high in protein, they need food a bit more on the vegetable side of things. Obvs I don't think that was the cause since you had them for such a short time period.
Best guess is that they were sick from the store. Are your other fish acting okay?

No all I had given them was shrimp pellets before going to bed. My other fish are alright. Very strange.

 

No all I had given them was shrimp pellets before going to bed. My other fish are alright. Very strange.

That sucks man. My best advice is to go to a different store. And do you have driftwood? Apparently it's not essential for bn's, but if you feed a lot of veggies you can get away without driftwood.

 

Yeah, I think I will. And yeah I have driftwood.