What Is Wrong With My Albino Bristlenose?

I got 2 bristlenose plecos from PetSmart about 4-5 months ago. After weeks of qt, and a successful ick treatment (with Paraguard and heat) one went into my 75 gallon and one went into my 20 gallon. After a month or so it became apparent that the one in the 20 gallon was male and the one in the 75 gallon was female (she was the one that had ick). All seemed fine for another few weeks and then I noticed the 75 gallon was getting a little "dirty" and needed a glass cleaning and the plants were getting some brown diatom collections. I thought maybe the 75 gallon was too much for my little female so I switched them. Both tanks were running the same parameters of 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, between 20-40 nitrates, and pH 7, temp 79-80 with about 30% water changes every Sunday. There is Malaysian driftwood and plants (flourish root tabs and liquid 2× week) in both as well. The male went right to work cleaning everything up. I realized that the female (now in the 20g) just wasn't acting right and I never saw her eating. She would stay in the same place all day and I began trying to feed her anything I thought might entice her. Broccoli, zucchini, cucumber, spinach, carrot, shrimp pellets, algae wafers, New Life Spectrum Thera+A, Omega One pellets, blood worms, brine shrimp, my sis shrimp.....Nothing appealed to her. I hadn't seen her poo in quite some time so I know she wasn't eating at night. So I decided she needed to be treated for possible parasites and set up my 10 gallon with a cycled sponge filter. I ran a week of General Cure with no improvement and no noticeable release of parasites so I did a few days more of general cure with epsom salts baths. She's not weak and slow because it was all I could do to catch her for her epsom salts baths! Still no change. Meanwhile I have not seen her eat a thing. There is no poo to clean in the bare bottom tank. I was just vacuuming leftover (untouched) food every day. She did hang on the sponge most of the time so maybe she'd been getting micro organisms from that but still no discernable poo. So for good measure I did a 6 day course of kanaplex just because I don't know what else to do. After those treatments I think maybe she will eat again if I put her back in her tank with the plants and rocks where she can get comfortable and natural food. She's been back in there now for a few days and she stays inside her cave or stuck on the glass right in front of her cave...Not eating. Still no poo to be seen. I tried garlic guard soaked peas today. I'm at a loss. Her stomach isn't bloated but there is obviously no food in it either. Pics attached. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

I would be very tempted to put both of them in the 75. Is it at all possible now that they are adults she is starting to get filled with eggs? I don't know if that could possibly be why she has stopped eating but I think it would be worth a try to put them together.

You might end up with bunches of little plecos but if it were me it would be worth at least putting them together if I thought it could possibly help her.

 

It never occurred to me this could be something related to reproduction. Hmmmm...I CAN put them in the same tank. There's certainly room for them both, but I'm wondering if I'll ever be able to separate them again. I thought plecos didn't like sharing space...that's why I got 2 (one for each tank). I just got a rainbow shark that will go in there as well in a month or so after his quarantine period is up. How will that go with territory aggression and such?

 

It never occurred to me this could be something related to reproduction. Hmmmm...I CAN put them in the same tank. There's certainly room for them both, but I'm wondering if I'll ever be able to separate them again. I thought plecos didn't like sharing space...that's why I got 2 (one for each tank). I just got a rainbow shark that will go in there as well in a month or so after his quarantine period is up. How will that go with territory aggression and such?

With a tank that big there should be no problem having both plecos in the same tank. Back before Jethro my common pleco got too big and had to be re-homed he and Elbert, my BN (that is him over there in my avatar) got along just fine. They even shared the same piece of zucchini. Jethro on the top of it and Elbert laying on his back munching on the bottom of it. Other than eating together they pretty much ignored each other.

I don't know what will happen when the rainbow shark is introduced to the tank. Hopefully they will all get along with each other. Just be sure the Plecos have lots of hiding places.

 

I suppose it can't hurt to give it a try. I feel like she should have died by now if she was actually sick. The fact there is nothing in her stomach (when you can practically see everything in it when it's working properly) is what has me the most worried. I don't think it's anything IN the tank that made her sick or stop eating because the male has been in there thriving since the switch.

I just made a BONEHEAD mistake! I just caught the female to move her into the 75 gallon and dropped her in. There was a piece of a leaf floating so I grabbed it and when I touched it I realized I had forgotten that I had lowered the temperature on it this past week! They used to be exactly the same in all parameters until Wednesday when I removed the glass lid and hooked up a cooling fan. She went from 80 to 75 with no acclimation! Is that a big enough difference to cause her to have any other health issues??? Ugh.....I'm kicking myself over this. I didn't want to stress her out even more by trying to fish her out and start over. I likely wouldn't have been able to catch her in there anyway.

 

Two more questions...well actually one more...but a mod merged my last two posts so I'm not sure you would've seen the added info and question.
- What happens to a fish if it isn't temperature acclimated as I explained above?
- Do the pictures of my bn pleco show any issues that anyone can see? (I don't see anything obviously wrong other than the fact there is no food inside her)

 

Hopefully someone will know the answer to your question about the temp difference. I've never read up on what happens when not temp acclimated. I just assumed it would not be good for them. How is she acting? It is possible that it will have no affect on her but either way I wouldn't try to catch her again since she is already in there. Another change may be more than she can take. Have her and the male seen each other yet and is so does it look like they are getting along?

I know you said you have offered her all kinds of veggies. Has either of your plecos ever had veggies? If not you may need to just keep putting something like raw zucchinI in there and just leave it for at least 2 days. If they still haven't found out it is food go ahead and replace it with a fresh piece. Be sure to put it in the same place each time until they discover it. Sometimes it takes them a little while to finally taste it but once they do they will want it all the time.

And, if they should have babies the babies will really appreciate the fresh veggies. There is nothing much cuter than a bunch of pleco fry chowing down in their veggies.

oops, forgot your other question. As far as I can tell from the photos other than an empty tummy she looks alright to me.

 

Two more questions...well actually one more...but a mod merged my last two posts so I'm not sure you would've seen the added info and question.
- What happens to a fish if it isn't temperature acclimated as I explained above?
- Do the pictures of my bn pleco show any issues that anyone can see? (I don't see anything obviously wrong other than the fact there is no food inside her)

I don’t think it’s a big deal, personally. I don’t even think a 10 degree difference to be fatal. You can probably guess, my acclimation period for fish is nonexistant.

 

She doesn't seem any worse from the temp shock. She was roaming around a bit which she didn't really do much of lately. They have "seen" each other but there has been no interaction between them yet. Maybe tonight once the lights are out.
They've had veggies. BroccolI seemed to be their favorite. But they both slacked off on eating any veggie. Her completely, and him...he nibbles at it for a while and then leaves it. Neither seemed to like cucumber and they both just sort of liked zucchini. I suppose it's possible he's getting plenty of algae from the glass, gravel, plants, and decor. They both spend most of their time stuck to the river rocks I have as sort of a centerpiece tower/tunnel/cave.
Maybe this will bring her around. I hope so...I've gotten kind of attached to Grumkin and Snark."

I don’t think it’s a big deal, personally. I don’t even think a 10 degree difference to be fatal. You can probably guess, my acclimation period for fish is nonexistant.

She doesn't seem to be negatively affected by it so far. She actually seems to be a little more active actually. That could just be the new surroundings, though lower temp might be the ticket.
Thanks for the input.

 

She doesn't seem any worse from the temp shock. She was roaming around a bit which she didn't really do much of lately. They have "seen" each other but there has been no interaction between them yet. Maybe tonight once the lights are out.
They've had veggies. BroccolI seemed to be their favorite. But they both slacked off on eating any veggie. Her completely, and him...he nibbles at it for a while and then leaves it. Neither seemed to like cucumber and they both just sort of liked zucchini. I suppose it's possible he's getting plenty of algae from the glass, gravel, plants, and decor. They both spend most of their time stuck to the river rocks I have as sort of a centerpiece tower/tunnel/cave.
Maybe this will bring her around. I hope so...I've gotten kind of attached to Grumkin and Snark."
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She doesn't seem to be negatively affected by it so far. She actually seems to be a little more active actually. That could just be the new surroundings, though lower temp might be the ticket.
Thanks for the input.

Bristlenose plecos actually prefer cooler temperature. In the wild, they can be found in the sixties.

 

Bristlenose plecos actually prefer cooler temperature. In the wild, they can be found in the sixties.

I agree, except for the hottest part of the summer I keep my tank at 75/76 degrees.

 

Bristlenose plecos actually prefer cooler temperature. In the wild, they can be found in the sixties.

I hope that's what the issue is.

I agree, except for the hottest part of the summer I keep my tank at 75/76 degrees.

Well that's been the thing with my tanks. I just started fish keeping last November. I live in Florida and I keep my windows open for about six months. The other six months the AC is running. I rarely ever turn on my heat. Knowing this I tried to choose fish that could live without a heater (I just don't like the way the look in the tank). I assumed my tanks would stay cooler than room temperature during the hotter months but that hasn't been the case. This is my first year...but I've learned a ton. I felt my fish could handle a degree or two above their optimum ranges for a month or so but I learned about cooling fans and decided to try one out last week. My tank has stayed around 74-75°since I got it. I'm thrilled with that! Once fall rolls around my tanks will be optimal without any temperature appliances. I haven't cooled my 20 gallon because the way my panda cories are spawning I figured they were quite happy with their setup.
Anyway, I appreciate your input and I'm hoping that maybe the temperature is what has had her feeling off. For whatever reason the male has handled it better, but now maybe she'll start perking up. Thanks again for the replies.

 

I hope that's what the issue is.

Me too for both your sake and hers. I know this ordeal has been stressful for both you and her.

 

Bristlenose plecos actually prefer cooler temperature. In the wild, they can be found in the sixties.

Only thing is this type of BN isn't found in the wild.

 

Please keep us updated on her progress. I am really really hoping she will be alright.

 

Well she didn't make it. I found her about a half hour ago. Whatever it was had been going on for quite some time. I hadn't seen her eat anything in several weeks. I suppose I'll never know.

 

Sorry to hear !

 

I am so sorry to hear that Sadly sometimes we lose them no matter how hard we try to help them. I do know it makes it even harder when we don't know why.