I have terrible luck with Pleco's, they die within 2 days, I've tried hi-fin spotted pleco's and common both die. My water is perfect with other scaleless fish thriving (BGK, pictus cat and Peacock eel) and they are not starving because they dont live long enough to starve(and i had algae wafers). I have gotten them all from petsmart but thats where I got all my fish and they are all healthy. Anyway Im done with pleco's, I'm looking for another "algae eater" that gets to a fair size (6-12") that I can try.
Algae Eaters
- Thread starter eatingleg4peanut
- Start date
umm mate, i may not have a store like that here, but from what i've heard it may not be an issue with the pleco's, i've seen them thriving in horrid conditions, may be the shop itself or where they come from, Chain stores tend to have no one with the skills to care for the fish, and or may not be coming from ideal conditions, try getting them from somewhere else?
if not i don't really know much about the algae eaters, but i'm keeping some bristlenose, and they seem to be doing amazingly well.
Personally, i refuse to shop at a store that has anything less then decent tank conditions, if the tanks look terrible (i'll normally give them a leeway of a couple of dead fish, can't always get them and i know with the amount of fish they have it can be hard)
if not i don't really know much about the algae eaters, but i'm keeping some bristlenose, and they seem to be doing amazingly well.
Personally, i refuse to shop at a store that has anything less then decent tank conditions, if the tanks look terrible (i'll normally give them a leeway of a couple of dead fish, can't always get them and i know with the amount of fish they have it can be hard)
sry but your doing somthing wrong if you cant keep a pleco alive. I have seen a 14 inch pleco live in a 10 gallon tank that was in a garage for a couple years with a crap filter. That was before I knew anything about fish and I soooo wish I would have grabbed him now that i realized the conditions she was in.
I agree its either your buying an already extremely sick pleco, or there is something wrong with your tank???
The reason i say that is coz i bought a pleco months ago which was living in a bucket and was so scrawny and skinny that i at one stage didn't think he would make it... now its thriving in my tank and fatter than ever...
The reason i say that is coz i bought a pleco months ago which was living in a bucket and was so scrawny and skinny that i at one stage didn't think he would make it... now its thriving in my tank and fatter than ever...
Plecos are EXTREMELY hardy. They can survive in swamps. Im not sure what is going on but maybe the ones you are buying are sick.
A Couple of questions for us to better aid your problem.
What size tank?
What Filters do you have?
What are the Water Parameters EXACTLY IE ppm?
What is in the tank and at what size?
What size tank?
What Filters do you have?
What are the Water Parameters EXACTLY IE ppm?
What is in the tank and at what size?
Its a 55 Growout tank thats been cycled for awhile now. Filter is a marineland double cartridge/flow unit(forget name) and Aquaclear 70. I dont know exact water IE ppm I use the strips and they are always on the money my tank stays around 80 degrees. Tank has BGK(3.5"), Senegal Bichir(3")peacock eel(4") Firemouth (1.5") Pictus Cat (3") and 4 tinfoil barbs (3.5") they are all happy and hungry. This is one of 2 55 growout tanks that I have waiting for my 120 and 150 im getting in january. I originaly suspected abuse by a small female jack I had in this tank(even though there was no visible damage on the fish) but she was removed after the 1st pleco died. Oh, and there are no medications in the tank that could be killing the pleco's. I give up, I have a magnet scraper I guess I will just use that when needed.
eatingleg4peanut;4368225; said:
Telling us they are on the money really does not help. Those test strips say usually 0,10,20,40 etc on Nitrate Nitrite is in halves and Ammonia is in halves in order to actually help you the ppm is vital....I'd recommend to get a liquid kit as they are on the money helpful.
Lastly I would not recommend ANY Pleco for the fish you have because Plecos are bad at eating bichir slime coat. So my recommendation is absolutely no Algae eaters and just an algae magnet