Plecos Starving

Ok every time I buy a pleco he lives for about 2 weeks than dies I feel guilty about buying them but without them algae explodes plus they are nice looking fish they all have the same behavior they just stick to the sides for about 2 weeks than one day just start floating around and the next morning I wake up to find them dead the tank has established driftwood I feed him algae wafers which he doesn't eat and he never touches his zuchinnI it seems like they eat algae off the sides but when they die their stomachs look empty the tank has plants driftwood and algae a lot of it idk help parameters are fine one more thing the day before they all died they were floating at the top and struggling but just didnt make it


Btw its a 75 gallon that has established since november

 

Do you buy from the same store every time? Sounds to me like you should try a different store. What are you parameters? Do you acclimate new fish, and if so, how?

 

quarantine 2 days
parameters are unreadable ( my chart got wet) but they are
nitrates safe I think that's 20
nirtites safe maybe 10
hardness soft
chlorine 0
alkaline moderate
ph 6.9
temp 74


btw he when I did the test he was dead idk I gave zuchinnI daily right by his cave and there was plently of algae in the tank

 

2 days isn't a quarantine period. 2-4 weeks should be a minimum.

How are your other fish? Are you only having trouble with plecos?

 

Hey there luke, if you have a nitrite reading your tank is not cycled. You should have a nitrate reading but not a nitrite reading. If you DO have a nitrite reading of 10, that will be your culprit because that would be an extremely toxic level. What is you ammonia reading?

Please run the tests again, and let us know the results. What are you using for test kits, if it's API liquid, you might be able to place the test tubes up against a white background, paper or something, take a pic and upload it here. We might be able to help you determine what the reading is.

 

Good morning Luke, everyone,

Please use the correct punctuation and prevent run on sentences. Without correct punctuation, a post is very difficult to read. If a post is difficult to read, then your responses may be limited and or ignored completely. Too, it's good forum etiquette.

"Grammatical skills are extremely important when it comes to online forums. If your message is not easy to understand it will inevitably either be misunderstood or not read at all. If your primary language is not that of the forum you are a member of just do your best and let it be known that the language is not your primary language. If it is the same language as your primary then follow the rules of the language and do not treat the forum as a text message on a cell phone, it is rude and immature." from the link below:
https://www.fishlore.com/aquariummagazine/jan08/forum-etiquette.htm

I want you to receive as many responses as possible.

Thanks!

Ken

 

I agree with Jaysee. Two days is not long enough, especially if the fish have been causing you problems.

The readings you are getting may be from adding high waste producers so often, but they do need to level out before you add anything else.

 

The tank is fine all other fish are happy and eating. I don't have another test kit but I think the plecos won't eat. I won't sweat it to much and just stay away from algae eaters . I couldnt read the numbers on the chart but I could tell that they were safe from the colors. the tank is a bit heavily stocked but I do water changes evey three days, I used to do them weekly but every three days helps keep the water clear never had a problem with nitrates I shouldnt have any NITRITES because the reading was on the safe side the ten was a guess for the most part I will stay away from plecos and just let my snails clean up