Pleco died!!!

[Plecolover4477]

My pleco(blackie)died earlier today..Im still trying to figure out where or what I did wrong.Im usually always on top of my fish's health and water parameters.I recently upgraded to a 40 breeder that Ive been putting off for awhile.It was smooth transition as I transferred one cycle to another.Ive experienced fish dying before but this particular fish was one of my favorites.When he flipped onto his back,he then immediately flipped back onto his stomach and then he died.Prior to and after my water parameters were 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and like 5 nitrates.I know i havent went into thorough detail yet of the steps and process, but I'm like really still scratching my head.The other fish that are still in the new tank are 5 glofish, 4 whiteskirt tetras and 8 albino cories.They all seemed to be ok except I noticed that my cories that usually were all over the old tank active and doing their normal sifting through the gravel ..they now just lay around at the bottom and move sporadically now in the 40 breeder.Ive upgraded and transferred my 20long to the 40 breeder. Ive done this transition many times before but I know i slipped up somewhere and it cost me a beautiful fish.Please...I need help!!!!

 

[Eliza4310]

Any rough idea of how old he was? Age could've made him more susceptible to whatever caused his death. My condolences go out to you.

 

[mrsP]

For me it doesn't sound that you made any mistake. Sometimes we just loose a fish without any certain reason we know. He might have had underlying health issue that didn't show, or just the stress of the move might have killed him. Specially older fish, as Eliza4310 mentioned, is more affected. Cories might also be confused and perhaps bit scared of new environment, all they likely need is a bit more time. Perhaps keep lights off today? I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[mattgirl]

I am sorry for your loss. Sometimes something like this happens and we never get to the bottom of why it happened. I too lost a pleco and will never know why. She was fine at lights out and was floating the following morning. She was at least 4 years old but that is still fairly young for a pleco. Thankfully I still have some of her fry but even that doesn't make losing her much better. I only mention this to let you know that it does happen even when not upgrading tanks.

Can you think of anything done differently this time than the other times you made a move like this? Was the tank new? If you got it used from someone do you know how it was cleaned? Could someone have cleaned it with something they shouldn't have and then didn't rinse well enough? If that is a possibility extra water changes may need to be done to dilute what ever it might be.

With your corys not acting normal it might just be a matter of giving them time to adjust to their new surroundings but keep a close eye on them. Did you use the same gravel or at least some of it and added more of the same color? If a different color they may need time to get used to it. Keep the lights off for a couple of days and give them quiet time to get used to their new home. Feed lightly if they are not out foraging for food as before. By doing so you can prevent leftover food from causing problems. Hopefully they will be back to their normal active selves soon.

 

[Plecolover4477]

My pleco(blackie)died earlier today..Im still trying to figure out where or what I did wrong.Im usually always on top of my fish's health and water parameters.I recently upgraded to a 40 breeder that Ive been putting off for awhile.It was smooth transition as I transferred one cycle to another.Ive experienced fish dying before but this particular fish was one of my favorites.When he flipped onto his back,he then immediately flipped back onto his stomach and then he died.Prior to and after my water parameters were 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and like 5 nitrates.I know i havent went into thorough detail yet of the steps and process, but I'm like really still scratching my head.The other fish that are still in the new tank are 5 glofish, 4 whiteskirt tetras and 8 albino cories.They all seemed to be ok except I noticed that my cories that usually were all over the old tank active and doing their normal sifting through the gravel ..they now just lay around at the bottom and move sporadically now in the 40 breeder.Ive upgraded and transferred my 20long to the 40 breeder.

Any rough idea of how old he was? Age could've made him more susceptible to whatever caused his death. My condolences go out to you.

Honestly I'm not to sure but I know he wasn't very old...I know for a fact he was healthy

For me it doesn't sound that you made any mistake. Sometimes we just loose a fish without any certain reason we know. He might have had underlying health issue that didn't show, or just the stress of the move might have killed him. Specially older fish, as Eliza4310 mentioned, is more affected. Cories might also be confused and perhaps bit scared of new environment, all they likely need is a bit more time. Perhaps keep lights off today? I'm sorry for your loss.

I agree with the both of you but at the end of the day its my fault...my pleco has survived other moves and even and "ICH" outbreak last year.Thank you so much

I am sorry for your loss. Sometimes something like this happens and we never get to the bottom of why it happened. I too lost a pleco and will never know why. She was fine at lights out and was floating the following morning. She was at least 4 years old but that is still fairly young for a pleco. Thankfully I still have some of her fry but even that doesn't make losing her much better. I only mention this to let you know that it does happen even when not upgrading tanks.

Can you think of anything done differently this time than the other times you made a move like this? Was the tank new? If you got it used from someone do you know how it was cleaned? Could someone have cleaned it with something they shouldn't have and then didn't rinse well enough? If that is a possibility extra water changes may need to be done to dilute what ever it might be.

With your corys not acting normal it might just be a matter of giving them time to adjust to their new surroundings but keep a close eye on them. Did you use the same gravel or at least some of it and added more of the same color? If a different color they may need time to get used to it. Keep the lights off for a couple of days and give them quiet time to get used to their new home. Feed lightly if they are not out foraging for food as before. By doing so you can prevent leftover food from causing problems. Hopefully they will be back to their normal active selves soon.

Thankyou so much and you have guided and helped me well in the past.I transferred over everything from the old 20 to the new 40.I purchased the new 40 breeder at Petco and I cleaned it thoroughly (no bleach or any other chemicals).I had the new tank setup with the new filter and the old beside it running.I checked the parameters 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and like 5 nitrates as I expected.All the other fish are currently ok and I did use a bit of the old water not as much because I know the old water doesn't hold too much of the BB.The filter and gravel,along with some decor does.It was a smooth upgrade to much knowledge but as I recount my steps I can't find any possible error but I can't help to feel like because our goal in this hobby is make sure we provide the best of care for our fish.Ive lost fish before but this was one of my most favorite.Replacing him will be hard but I will not be getting another common pleco this time around.Thank you so much.Oh yeah and one other thing I filled majority of the new tank with new dechlorinated water so I'm not sure if maybe that could've caused a little shock to them.This is the new setup for now...

For me it doesn't sound that you made any mistake. Sometimes we just loose a fish without any certain reason we know. He might have had underlying health issue that didn't show, or just the stress of the move might have killed him. Specially older fish, as Eliza4310 mentioned, is more affected. Cories might also be confused and perhaps bit scared of new environment, all they likely need is a bit more time. Perhaps keep lights off today? I'm sorry for your loss.

I did notice his belly was a tad bit bloated also I inspected before and after he died

 

[Plecolover4477]

I am sorry for your loss. Sometimes something like this happens and we never get to the bottom of why it happened. I too lost a pleco and will never know why. She was fine at lights out and was floating the following morning. She was at least 4 years old but that is still fairly young for a pleco. Thankfully I still have some of her fry but even that doesn't make losing her much better. I only mention this to let you know that it does happen even when not upgrading tanks.

Can you think of anything done differently this time than the other times you made a move like this? Was the tank new? If you got it used from someone do you know how it was cleaned? Could someone have cleaned it with something they shouldn't have and then didn't rinse well enough? If that is a possibility extra water changes may need to be done to dilute what ever it might be.

With your corys not acting normal it might just be a matter of giving them time to adjust to their new surroundings but keep a close eye on them. Did you use the same gravel or at least some of it and added more of the same color? If a different color they may need time to get used to it. Keep the lights off for a couple of days and give them quiet time to get used to their new home. Feed lightly if they are not out foraging for food as before. By doing so you can prevent leftover food from causing problems. Hopefully they will be back to their normal active selves soon.

Hi Mattgirl now that I think of it as I'm jogging through the steps in my mind...the only thing I could think of was the water.It was majority tap but dechlorinated.I let the new tank run for a bit just to make sure all was well with the equipment.I added some lava rock but I cured well ahead of time before adding it..I wanted to add a natural look.From researching on it I found that lava rock is inert and does not affect the Ph of the water.I have my old filter running beside the new filter in the 40 gallon and the water parameters are the same 0 ammo,0 nitrites,less than 20 nitrates and the Ph is about 7-7.6.Theyll run side by side for about a month and by that time the new filter will have been seeded enough.Apart from that maybe I wasn't feeding him enough which honestly seems absurd to me but when you think you're doing enough sometimes it really isnt.I will be getting two more plecos but this time bristlenose plecos.Im not going to beat myself up on it im just gonna focus on and make sure I continue to provide the best for my current pets.Thanks again so much Mattgirl