I have these 2 plecos in one tank...a common and a sailfin L001. Some days ther belly is swollen a lot and they want to float on the back half...sitting on the glass tail up...with one fin stuck out sideways. Then somedays they look ok and not sitting funny...then back and forth. Is it some sort of internal parasite? Should I med them....metro or something? They are still eating and everything else seems normal....just bloating and un-bloating. Might have seen some clear stringy poop too....
my plecos bloat and then go back to normal over and over
- Thread starter NOLAGT
- Start date
Sounds normal.. well except maybe the poop being clear. It's usually brown or at least tinted. What are you feeding him?
Our common pleco goes upside down, sideways, all kinds of odd positions. As far as one fin sticking out, he's probably just lying on it.
Our common pleco goes upside down, sideways, all kinds of odd positions. As far as one fin sticking out, he's probably just lying on it.
I can see there stomachs are actually bigger and they cant help but sit head down...if they try something else you can tell they float back to tail up. If they are on the bottom of the tank there tail end wants to float up. They have been munching on nls pellets and algae wafers for a little while now. Tank is bare bottom so they can get to the pellets easy. They are small like 2". There was a larger royal pleco in the tank too but he never did this so I moved him out.
FWIW, my bushynose plecos often spend time lying on their backs, and have done so for years . . . I think it's just a peculiarity that some of them have . . .
I wouldn't medicate randomly unless you had a good reason . . . and "might have seen some clear stringy poop" is not a good enough reason, you want to make sure before you medicate . . .
I wouldn't medicate randomly unless you had a good reason . . . and "might have seen some clear stringy poop" is not a good enough reason, you want to make sure before you medicate . . .
NOLAGT;4379397; said:
When they're small, they tend to do that........ like when they're sucking on the glass, they kind of glide sideways... with the tail moving upwards, and then eventually end up upside down. I think it's due to the pump/current in the tank. Mine always did that when he was small. Once he got bigger, he had more control.
I have not used any meds yet...thats why im posting since I have not had this happen to plecos before and I dont want to randomly do that. I am pretty sure its not current in the tank...the tank is run with a airpump hooked to a sponge filter and a fluval 104 on a 3' 58gal tank. Its a tank I use to grow my festae fry out in...but for a long time has been just the plecos and one small festae (1"). You can see a big difference from when they look bloated and floaty vs not.
I will try to get a vid of them being floaty....
I will try to get a vid of them being floaty....
my common plec that i netted in the stream near my house is pretty bloated. he seems happy though...also eating algae wafers, doodoo and leftover food from my oscars. i wish he would chow down more on the wood in there though, seems like hes not getting enough roughage or something and that may be causing the bloating?
his poop also floats, along with the oscars he's with. ive switch from cichlid gold to staple, thinking that might help (undigested protein usually makes for gassy stuff, e.g. floating)...is floating waste okay or is this cause for alarm? theyre the only fish that this happens with.
not threadjacking, but it seems like we have similar scenarios
mahalo,
nigel
his poop also floats, along with the oscars he's with. ive switch from cichlid gold to staple, thinking that might help (undigested protein usually makes for gassy stuff, e.g. floating)...is floating waste okay or is this cause for alarm? theyre the only fish that this happens with.
not threadjacking, but it seems like we have similar scenarios
mahalo,
nigel
Sounds like your pleco is nothing more than a pig. When I through in veggies in my tank, my pleco will gourge itself unitl it is nice and round. As it digests its food, its stomach goes back to normal. Your pleco may just have a healthy appetite.