A dead fish isn't anything out of the ordinary in our aquariums but thus was a bit odd and hoping it's not some sort of indication of a bigger problem. It lived 3 years. Is that the norm? I thought they can live quite long.. I did a water change on Wednesday and yesterday found it lying on its side barely breathing. I left it not sure if it was just doing something unusual (they are a bit of a quirky fish). Today I found it dead. I did lose a Cory several days ago, but otherwise all other fish appear fine. I added nerite snails about 5 days ago. Otherwise, everything else is business as usual. I don't feed it too often. Could it have starved?
BN pleco is dead. What Could have gone wrong?
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I went to scoop it out and discovered it was still alive...but barely!
Should I remove it and quarantine it?
Should I remove it and quarantine it?
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My limited experience with bn hasn't been good. My super red died within 6 or 7 months of keeping him...he started not being as active last few week's before he died and would hide majority of the time. I got another one but common variety and he's displaying same behaviors issue as the super red the last 6 weeks or so. He's still alive but worried about him.
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Hey,
parasites or not enough food, if there are no other symptoms.
For the available medication, someone that knows the available treatments in your country will have to answer.
Is there enough wood in your tank? BN Plecos NEED wood to live a long and happy life.
parasites or not enough food, if there are no other symptoms.
For the available medication, someone that knows the available treatments in your country will have to answer.
Is there enough wood in your tank? BN Plecos NEED wood to live a long and happy life.
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Hey,
parasites or not enough food, if there are no other symptoms.
For the available medication, someone that knows the available treatments in your country will have to answer.
Is there enough wood in your tank? BN Plecos NEED wood to live a long and happy life.
yes lots of wood... is this parasite possibility a threat to the other fish?
You're in the GTA right? You may be able to get Paraguard at your LFS. Walmart.ca advertises that it's still carrying it too.
But I think you need to feed this little guy. Plecos aren't exactly 'algae eaters' even tho they're sold that way. They need to eat, daily, a mix of plant & meat materials. I'd get some sinking kelp wafers - bug bites are popular in my tanks - as well as frozen tubifex worms & daphnia or brine shrimp to feed.
Hope he makes it!
I wouldn't actually jump to thinking internal parasite at all. I suspect that may have come up as you'd lost a cory a few days before? If there were indicators on the cory or BN of parasites - itching on rocks/decor, constipation or white stringy poop, lethargy, bloating - I may have thought parasites. If he were parasite infected, normally the entire tank would be treated for parasites & Paraguard at a starting low dose is according to its manufacturer, safe for cory & BN.
But given that his belly is concave, there were no other reported symptoms & it sounds like he scavenges for food, I'd think he was malnourished. If that's the case he needs to eat high quality, protein rich food ASAP. As they mature plecos need a steady meat, as well as vegetable diet. You can try softening a slice or two of zucchini, spinach - basic fresh greens if you have them - sticking them on a clean fork & sinking it carefully near the pleco to eat tonight.
I don't know who else is in the tank with him, except corys & he'll compete for food with them. Expect them all to tear into whatever protein or veg you feed tonight. There will need to be enough to feed both pleco & corys. You'll have to pay attention to water quality, removing uneaten food & doing regular water changes while you're essentially over feeding the tank.
If you can get to a LFS (local fish store) tomorrow, I'd look for Paraguard (or another anti-parasitic that says it's safe for cory & pleco), frozen food & high quality sinking pellets/wafers for omnivores, like bug bites.
Unless I saw obvious signs of parasitic infection like those listed above or white spots associated with ich or camallanus, I'd feed first.
Hope it helps.
Just saw the added photo - thank you! Are his scales sticking up all around his body? Is he normally this colour or has he paled? That tummy should definitely be rounded rather than concave. Poor little guy.
I'm thinking that it might be helpful to fill out the emergency template (you can copy & paste from the link) to give folks a better picture of what's going on. Better to make suggestions with full information.
Erf ... that's a lot worse than I expected, one of the worst I've seen in fact...sorry for you and the little one.
You should definitely try to give her a good amount of food. If she's still eating, there might be a chance.
This can be either malnourishment, parasites or a bacterial infection, in this order of likeliness.
BN Plecos also need meat (a lot of people think they are herbivore), so if you have anything the also contains meat that would be perfect. Pleco tabs for example, a few scattered around the fish tank shortly before the lights go out. I think that's more likely than parasites.
For parasites it would either be intestinal flagellates or worms. If it's either of those, I'm afraid it's too late for treatment for this particular fish.
Bacteria could be anything. You might want to add catappa leaves and alder cones in your tank to help reduce the bacterial load...however, a bacterial reason is the less likeliest in my opinion.
You should definitely try to give her a good amount of food. If she's still eating, there might be a chance.
This can be either malnourishment, parasites or a bacterial infection, in this order of likeliness.
BN Plecos also need meat (a lot of people think they are herbivore), so if you have anything the also contains meat that would be perfect. Pleco tabs for example, a few scattered around the fish tank shortly before the lights go out. I think that's more likely than parasites.
For parasites it would either be intestinal flagellates or worms. If it's either of those, I'm afraid it's too late for treatment for this particular fish.
Bacteria could be anything. You might want to add catappa leaves and alder cones in your tank to help reduce the bacterial load...however, a bacterial reason is the less likeliest in my opinion.
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In Canada we take what we can get as most commercial anti-parasitics were removed from shelves in 2019 when antibiotics were banned. I *have* seen Paraguard available on shelves here & there, but not Prazipro or anything else. It's a frustrating chase for something that isn't banned, just absent because the crackdowns on LFS over antibiotic sales were so fierce. Thus far, those available online end up being 'unable to ship', after payment, despite being advertised as for sale & shippable. Sigh.
Random Great Topic!
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