Dead Pleco?

[kiru]

Hello MFKers,

This morning when I was about to feed my fishes, I found one of my Bristlenose Plecos dead on the bottom of the tank. Not sure what the cause of it was but I also have 2 other plecos which I do not want the same thing happening to. The dead Pleco was doing well the night before when I did a 20% water change.

The tank is 70gal. and is currently under salt treatment of 2 teaspoon per gallon for about 6 days now for combating Ich which showed up last Tuesday. All the fishes currently are clear of Ich but was thinking of continuing treatment for a few more days to steer clear of unhatched encysts. The fishes (4 goldfishes + 3 plecos) seems to be doing well with the increased salinity and hasn't shown any signs of trouble. The tank is heated by a 300W at 82.5 degrees, aerated by Stella S10, filtered with Fluval C4 and submersed trickle filter I made myself with a Powerhead 802 coarse padding. The tank has been running for 3 months now.

pH : 7.5
Ammonia : 0.0
Nitrate : 0.1

Is the salt having an impact on the plecos? Are they sensitive to such salinity levels and/or the heat? Any suggestions is much appreciated.

 

[Lupin]

Your nitrate is 0.1? Not nitrite? What test kit are you using?

Was salt dissolved?
Any red streaks on the dead pleco's belly?

I've never had problems using salt with catfishes and loaches as long as it's properly dissolved but not all plecos are able to tolerate salt. If you notice any signs of irritation by either plecos, reduce salt to 0.1.