My royal is wasting away!

[skillzdatkillz]

I picked up ~2in royal a couple weeks ago and I read that they eat zucchini and other vegetable matter. I put him in my 135 with some cichlids and a bunch of clown loaches. I put a 1/2 a zucchini in the tank and its gone in 2 days but i only see the loaches eating it. I started noticing that my plec would hide behind the return of my sump 24/7 and was getting thinner and thinner. I put him in his own 10gal to make sure he got some food. I have yet to see him eat. What should I do? I realize that i have to do frequent w/c in the 10gal becuase of the volume of waste the pleco produces. What should i do to help my new royal?

 

[cdienzo]

I'd say that you're on the right track feeding the veg. Also, removing him from a tank where he couldn't compete for food was a good move, too.

You should make sure that he's got plenty of driftwood to munch on. Royals, being members of sp. panaque, need wood as part of their diet. I don't think that it matters what type of wood- so long as it's watterlogged and "aquarium safe" i.e. not from a freshly cut oak, etc.

If he's pooping alot in the 10g, it must mean he's eating something. Is there already some driftwood in there with him? Try feeding just before lights out & check on the food in the morning. Keep trying the veggies, eventually he'll come around and figure out that it's food.

BTW, you should also check out the pleco feeding article, stickied at the top of this forum.

 

[TwistedPenguin]

I read a couple of articles that said Royals can survive and actually thrive on drifwood alone when food in scarce, so definitely add some wood. Both my Royals don't seem to 'settle in' for 3-4 wks after I move them to a different tank. Loaches are great little fish but I've not been able to keep them in any tank where other bottom feeders can get enough to eat, which makes them good cleaner-uppers but not so good for other bottom fish.

 

[Muske]

Could have intestinal parasites

 

[skillzdatkillz]

So now all he does is sit in the same area of the tank. His eyes are sinking in and it's really bothering me. There is food and wood in the tank and I don't know what to do.

 

[TwistedPenguin]

I'm with Muske-Royals are wild-caught and the chance of him having intestinal parasites are high. I'd treat with praziquantel (Prazi-Pro, API's General Cure, Jungle's Parasite Clear-all have praziquantel in them). I do 2 rounds as part of standard quarrantine on all my new &/or wild-caught fish. Although it may be too late. It takes fish a long time to get that skinny and there's no way of knowing what he's been through.

 

[Jfitz]

toss in some algae waffers

 

[Lupin]

I'm with Muske-Royals are wild-caught and the chance of him having intestinal parasites are high. I'd treat with praziquantel (Prazi-Pro, API's General Cure, Jungle's Parasite Clear-all have praziquantel in them). I do 2 rounds as part of standard quarrantine on all my new &/or wild-caught fish. Although it may be too late. It takes fish a long time to get that skinny and there's no way of knowing what he's been through.

Levamisole hydrochloride or flubendazole is another option and more effective as both cover a wider range of parasites than metronidazole and praziquantel.

 

[cdienzo]

I've had good success using flubendazole on a particularly stubborn case of callumanus worms. Prazi & metro had no effect- although I did only treat at the recommended dosage.

Lupin, where do you get your levamisole? I've tried vet clinics, livestock supplies etc. I can't even find an online source. A little OT, so I'll PM you.

 

[Datnoid101]

Royals prefer malaysian wood since its softer and try throwing in some sinking carnivore pellets. Watch out, sinking eyes are a really bad sign. If you cant get him to eat soon it may be to far gone.