Common pleco arching backwards

[Cara]

My common pleco died this week. It was very sudden. He seemed fine/normal...swimming , eating, cleaning the glass.... one morning I found him arching backwards. I thought he was stuck under the driftwood so I moved it and repositioned him. By the time I came home from work that evening he had died.

I won't be getting another common pleco but I sure would love to understand.

I've had him 4.5y...he had grown from 2" to approximately 11"
75g tank
78° 7.2 0 0. 5

Tank mates don't seem to show signs of distress....mollies, ember tetras, couple of ghost shrimp, and bladder (i think) snails.

TIA

 

[Fishfur]

I am very sorry to hear that. But the truth is nobody can tell you why it happened or what happened exactly.

Even if a necropsy was performed, though it might reveal a cause of death, it might not.

Hobbyists rarely know or find out for sure why any fish dies unless it’s from one of the very few conditions that are usually recognizable.

 

[Cara]

Hobbyists rarely know or find out for sure why any fish dies unless it’s from one of the very few conditions that are usually recognizable.

Thanks Fishfur....this is as I expected. I guess i was hoping someone would say "yes. This is common because....."

 

[Fishfur]

Thanks Fishfur....this is as I expected. I guess i was hoping someone would say "yes. This is common because....."

We always want to know why things like this happen. It’s perfectly understandable.