new pleco problem

aar4545 · 10-19-2006, 09:23 PM

At the time i wrote this thread i had just gotten back from a fish store.my problem is my new pleco when i realesed himi notice he just sat on the side of the wall clinging to it and not moving its mouth at all!!!

Then i noticed he had 1 eye!!!!!My question is are plecos normaly slow moving and have 1 eye!!!Oh yeah he is alive

but im not sure how long he will be this way.ive also seen 1 fish in another tank of theres dead!!!

ps.the fish guy said that my pleco would
eat the diatoms/algea on the
glass sides of my tank.
darn algea/diatoms!!

Tommy Gun · 10-19-2006, 09:39 PM

I would think that the 1 eyed pleco is rare or at least a result of an accident of some sort. I do think that many of them are reclusive and definetly nocturnal in nature. You may help your pleco out a bit by giving him some places to hide of his own and I would give him some time to adjust.

I have a pleco who is almost always reclusive during the day, but is super active at night. I bought some small LED lights so that I could at least see some shadows in my tank at night and have seen my pleco out and about all the time.

The one eye may be a concern, but not a death sentance unless you have super agressive fish or maybe some cray fish. Even then, plecos are 'armored' and can get themselves in and out of a lot of trouble. I think you just need to give him some time and some hiding places. If you offer hiding places for him all throughout the tank, then he may venture out more and more when he realizes that he has a place to escape to no matter where he is.

Loman · 10-19-2006, 10:03 PM

aar4545,
I agree with the basic post that Tommy provided but I if I had just purchased a pleco and realized he had only one eye I would try to return him. This is almost certainly due to some injury and you have no way to know how long (or short) a time ago this occurred. If it was a recent injury then the fish may have other non-observable issues. You could get infections etc. I would be at least a little concerned. If the store is reputable I would think they would not want to sell a fish like this if they realized it so I would see if they would take it back and give me credit for it.

plecox2 · 10-19-2006, 10:05 PM

yes, giving him a hiding spot or some type of cave would be a good idea.

Tommy Gun · 10-20-2006, 06:38 PM

I think returning the pleco would be an ok idea, but I wouldnt really think of it as garbage, just damaged goods which can be just as good as normal goods as long as you dont mind a couple dings and dents. I had three peacock eels and one was missing both eyes, which I did not notice until a week or two after I brought them home. It ended up being the eel I saw the most since to it, it was always night time and would come out to eat and look around during the day.

All of my plecos have really liked to hide out at the very top of some of my decorations; inside of course. I have a ship wreck decor that is hollow and one pleco would wedge himself into a crack near the top of the tank. My current BN pleco hangs out in a 'tree stump' all day, way up in the top where no other fish can find him. Like I said, I have three small LED lights in the tank so that I can see a little bit at night time. I see the pleco out during these times and he is always sucking on the glass or cucumber, if I put some in for him. Other than that, I never see him at all basically and when I am redecorating or rearranging, I have to look very closely into the hollow spots before I take them out of the tank. When I moved into my new house, this same pleco escaped discovery by my wife and it actually made it for about a half an hour in the tank, without water. Swear to God, he is still alive and kicking!

Loman · 10-20-2006, 07:04 PM

Tommy,
I was not suggesting it was garbage. There is a risk that the injury was recent and infection etc. will set in and cause problems. If I could avoid that risk I would. I agree there is also a probabiloity that it will be a fine fish and live a long time.

Tommy Gun · 10-20-2006, 07:38 PM

Loman,

I didnt mean to imply that was your meaning. Sorry about that. Just wanted to bring up my experience with the eel more or less. It is a great point to look for infection and maybe melafix would be a good preventative step.

asahlin · 10-20-2006, 08:14 PM

man my pleco doesn't hide very much at all, i think it is all the lettuce i put in his tank away from any hiding places, i trick him into coming out

he is my fav fish because most people find him ugly and i am drawn to sad cases, so i would probably love a one eyed fish!!

plecox2 · 10-21-2006, 03:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by asahlin

man my pleco doesn't hide very much at all, i think it is all the lettuce i put in his tank away from any hiding places, i trick him into coming out

he is my fav fish because most people find him ugly and i am drawn to sad cases, so i would probably love a one eyed fish!!

yeah plecos are kool, which is why i have a yellowish one and a black one =]

trust-e-man · 10-21-2006, 12:42 PM

I have to agree with all these guys with the pleco. I had one About half a foot long with an oscar but the sad thing was that the oscar beat him up all the time he had scars and his dorsel and tail fin eaten up. i feed that oscar all the time large meals twice a day and then get all the debries out at night with my hand to see if he would stop if it was a hunger problem but it wasnt. after a while i finaly put the pleco in my hospital tank until till i gave him to a friend at his aquarium store to trade in for a yellow spotted black pleco im still waiting for it to arive