Why did my plecko's die?

Ashdyre · 03-01-2007, 01:49 PM

We accidentally had 2 plecko's. i bought one in the morning before work and geoff bought one after work without knowing. we thought it would be a problem but they did fine for 1 month, we were feeding them shrimp pellets which they seemed to really enjoy, especially the smaller one.

last week the bigger one died. and now today the small one is dead. what happened? nothing in the water changed, all the other fish seem to be doing well, i saw the pleckos eating...

Ovuel · 03-01-2007, 03:12 PM

Ash,

I'm not trying to be rude, but please read this....

http://www.fishtankforums.com/2-gene...solutions.html

If you start out by giving everybody as much information as you have, "we" will be much more efficient and concise in helping you figure out what happened to your fish. Again, I hope you don't think I am being rude, but as soon as I read your post I had about 12 different questions pop into my head, and almost all of them are on that sticky.

-Ov

Ashdyre · 03-01-2007, 08:05 PM

nope! not being rude! my fault, i'm still new here

OK lets see if i can remember everything...

i have a 35 gallon freshwater tank, it's been up and running WITH fish (it was cycled before without fish for 1 month) for 3 months, i have 2 comets, 1 black moor, 1 striped catfish and 1 neon tetra (don't ask, lol) and i *had* the 2 plecko's for about a month before they died. i'm feeding goldfish flakes and shrimp pellets twice a day, the tank is a constant 70F, i say i'd do 20% water changes every 2 weeks, and i use a checmical that's supposed to take out chlorine from it only when i put the new water in, i have 2 UGF and 1 uhm, 'normal' filter? i don't know what it's called, there is no ammonia, pH is neutral (7) is that good enough? lol

thanks!

Loman · 03-01-2007, 08:59 PM

Nothing in what you have said so far jumpos out as the probable cause of fish deaths. The neon is still correct? My experiance is they are pretty sensitive. Did you have any sort of algea attackjs that may not have been reall algea? Any symptoons or signs on the dead fish that might provide a clue? From a water perspective any idea what the Nitrite and Nitrate are? I suspect both are fine based on the other readings?

BJP · 03-01-2007, 10:32 PM

A months not enough time to rule out preexisting diseases and such from prior to purchase. I would also question the diet. It's hard to keep enough algae around to keep green eaters happy. They may like the high protien of the shrimp pellets but some greenery and in some species some access to driftwood is needed.

If you try again I would suggest a good stay in quarantine and while in QT take the time to get them used to a veggie suppliment. There are some good tablets and wafers on the market and even the goldfish could benefit from having some veggie flake mixed in their food rotation. Once you have healthy one's accustomed to eatting what you offer, introduce them to the tank and continue to offer it. Starting off at lights out for feeding the wafers wouldn't be a bad idea either. You could start that in QT also. Hopefully feeding at night will keep the goldfish from eatting most of the food. They can graze until dawn then the goldfish get cleanup duty when they wake up.

Maybe add a solid feeding station also so the food isn't getting sucked down into the gravel by the UG's before the plecos can get their fill. A flat rock or even a coffee mug could work.

You might also look into some fresh options for occasional use like romaine lettuce and cucumbers.

alexfevery · 03-02-2007, 12:58 AM

I think even though plecos are omnivores they definately need more of the plant and algae matter than meat. Maybe he was not getiing enough veggies? cause you were feeding them only shrimp pellets.

Tommy Gun · 03-02-2007, 11:30 AM

I agree with everyone, there is very little information to go on here and so keep in mind that these are all mostly semi-educated guesses and it is not because everyone who has replied is not educated, but rather becuase they have little to go on from your information, which I also suspect, you are in the same boat.

I sort of agree with alex here in that feeding a fish a diet that is too meaty or too vegitable based...in this case probably too meaty, can cause problems over the long run. The truth is that even though many fish will eat nearly anything you provide, they may not be able to process the types of fat and/or nutrients in that food, and lead to a sort of starvation. I think that most any tank of 'normal size' (e.g. 55 gal to 75 gallon or less) would have a hard time supporting two pleco's diets without some good supplimentation. In this case, I think that you were on the right track, but may have been feeding the wrong foods.

I also cannot agree more with BJP in that a quarantine tank is always the best bet and there are many good veggie based suppliments for use with your plecos in the future.

Lastly, it is very possible that you dont even need a pleco at all and unless you want to keep one becuase you like them or above and beyond their advertised algae eating ability, I would say that you can skip them completely and may want to look at another solution for dealing with algae. IF this is the case, let us know and I am sure you can get about 50 good alternatives for your tank, including changing your husbandry tactics and skipping a livestock option completely.

Ashdyre · 03-02-2007, 01:27 PM

I guess that would make sense, there wasn't a lot of algea in the tank and when i found out we had 2 i thought uh oh, but they seemed to be doing well for so long and enjoying the shrimp pellets. If i decide to get another one i will definatly invest in more "green" foods.

And bout the neon... lol... I know they are a tropical fish but my friend used to keep them in a fish bowl with a betta and always had great success with them. I think i bought 6 or 7 and within a week they had all died except this one... and it's almost 2 months now and he's still kicking around! lol.