WOW o__0 ..., Goldline Royal !

[Jer]

Thanks for the positive ID guys. Turned the lights on briefly to feed the arrow and he seems to be happily rasping away ignoring all the hiding spots. I'll breathe a sigh of relief when he starts eating !

View attachment 1070527View attachment 1070528

I wouldn't relax just yet. As someone who has gotten a LOT of sunken belly/eyed Royals over the years I can tell you that those that don't seek hiding often are the most sick of the bunch. Keep vigilant and do whatever you can encourage him to eat as much as possible because until he's taking food he's not out of the dark.

 

[impala]

I hear you Jer, over the years I've had my share of heart break with these guys too, this one was just too beautiful not to take a chance on. In fact I'll be on pins and needles till this guy goes one way or the other. Tomorrow will be 48hrs and if he doesn't start eating by then I guess the writings on the wall.

 

[Jer]

I hear you Jer, over the years I've had my share of heart break with these guys too, this one was just too beautiful not to take a chance on. In fact I'll be on pins and needles till this guy goes one way or the other. Tomorrow will be 48hrs and if he doesn't start eating by then I guess the writings on the wall.

I would have given it a shot too and I commend you for trying. I'm just saying to keep trying because he's not out of the woods yet. I wish you the best of luck.

 

[impala]

Thanks for the well wishes Jer, this morning he's still breathing, but between a rock and some wood and not moving about anymore. His eyes look worse, but one can still hope.
To the best of my knowledge there's nothing to do in these circumstances but keep my fingers crossed. Was thinking of maybe upping the temperature from 80*F to 81*F but fear that may be stressful ?
Other than that I'm still keeping the lights off. Hate the helpless feelings in situations like this !

 

[Jer]

I wouldn't increase the temp. Maybe try offering him different veggies and see if maybe something triggers his desire to eat. Never know what he was feeding on before but if you can find it you may get lucky.

 

[joe jaskot]

Sorry to repeat, but never buy a pleco with a sunken belly. That usually indicates intestinal parasites.

 

[Jer]

Sorry to repeat, but never buy a pleco with a sunken belly. That usually indicates intestinal parasites.

I'll never fault someone for trying to save a pleco. He knew what he was getting into and knew his odds so there's really no sense beating that dead horse. If he doesn't buy him and give an effort to save him, who will?

 

[joe jaskot]

I'll never fault someone for trying to save a pleco. He knew what he was getting into and knew his odds so there's really no sense beating that dead horse. If he doesn't buy him and give an effort to save him, who will?

Just trying to warn others who may read this post and prevent them from wasting their money on a fish who is wasting away.

 

[impala]

I wouldn't increase the temp. Maybe try offering him different veggies and see if maybe something triggers his desire to eat. Never know what he was feeding on before but if you can find it you may get lucky.

We're having our warmest week this spring and nature has raised the tank temperature by half a degree over the last 3 days. I've had zucchini and sweet potatoe in there daily with HBH algae grazers every night. The arowana and other royals have totally ignored him since day one, although who knows what happens overnight.
Ammonia is a constant zero and I never let my nitrates reach 40ppm. The one ray of hope was the feces he left behind in the bag and pail when I brought him home.
As you say I may get lucky and if not it was worth a try imo and I'd do it again for a rare beauty.

 

[Dis]

Some advice given to me was to never handle a new pleco. Acclimate it to your tank and give it a few weeks to settle in before handling. Any added stress for the fish is unnecessary. Anyway, I saw this pleco a couple weeks ago and you should be fine. Hope it starts eating fir you. Goodluck with it.