Need help with plecos
- Thread starter Dosume
- Start date
I put in 2 caps of this stuff (30 gal tank) and all the fish went south. The gold fish died. The others got listless....They perked up after the spouse changed the water which he said smelled sour (that was after I changed half the tank and added 2 caps of this stuff).
had to take a look, bold statements on what it will do, I be leave none of them, if you choose to keep these fish. going to be some expense and work involved, every week. folks here will help you, but up to you to actually do the work. if not prepared for that rehome the fish to your local fish store and sell the tank, speaking of tank will need a bigger one to house the pleco,s properly.
give it some thought, and if still want to keep them, folks here to help.
give it some thought, and if still want to keep them, folks here to help.
Several things in no particular order:
0) Congratulations on becoming an unplanned fish mother, fish are very fun and cool to watch. If you want to have fish, don't worry too much about making mistakes. I made many and expect to continue doing so.
1) That does not look like real wood. If you want real wood, (and I expect you do, since plecos like it) you can use outdoor wood I believe, if it is hardwood and well washed. (boiling is good) (others correct me if I am wrong, I have not used outdoor wood just heard of using it) Alternatively, you can buy really nice looking driftwood at some chain pet stores, most lfs (local fosh store), and many online retailers. Beware however, it can get quite pricey at times. You will have to soak or boil it to make it sink rather than float whichever way you choose.
2) What filter are you using? Even if it is rated for the tank you are using, the bioload may still be too much with the fish you have. Exactly what is your stock list?
3) How often/how much are you changing your water? The guy you talked to was partially right; you don't want to change too much water at once, but you should do a change at least every week. As a rule of thumb, and knowing the fish you have are very messy, about 25-30% weekly should be good. Also, don't change the filter pad thingy every week. (I don't know if you are, so I thought I would mention it) Changing it about once a month should be fine, but don't do it at the same time as a water change. Ideally, as far away from water changes as possible. (so about halfway through the week if the water change was on the weekend)
4) Quick summary of the nitrogen cycle in a fish tank:
Fish waste and food will decay over time if not removed from the tank. As they decay, they release ammonia, which is highly toxic to fish. Luckily, over time, 2 types of beneficial bacteria (BB) form in the tank and convert ammonia first into nitrIte (still toxic) and nitrAte. (only toxic in high quantities) Once the BB are established in the tank (they should be in yours) the whole process is very quick. You can remove the nitrAtes by doing water changes every week. The problem is, if you remove too much water at once or change the filter pad or clean the decor too heavily or at the wrong time, you can destroy the BB. That is why you must be careful about these things.
5) Ease up on the food; if they are not eating it it is just making things worse. Also, regarding the nature, I would advise sticking to either some bottom feeder specialized algae type food, or bland vegetables like cucumbers and zucchini and such. If the others are recommending tomato, I suppose that is fine. My thought with the orange is that it might alter the pH of the water, which could be bad. It also might not have the necessary nutrients. I really have never tried feeding fish oranges, so I can only guess.
6) You mentioned adding AmQuel when the pH rose, there is no need for that. The pH shouldn't be fluctuating within a tank, and I don't believe AmQuel even deals with pH. Either way, you don't need to fuss over pH in your setup. The intended use for AmQuel is to make tap water safe for fish.
Sorry for the length,
Good luck,
Brian
0) Congratulations on becoming an unplanned fish mother, fish are very fun and cool to watch. If you want to have fish, don't worry too much about making mistakes. I made many and expect to continue doing so.
1) That does not look like real wood. If you want real wood, (and I expect you do, since plecos like it) you can use outdoor wood I believe, if it is hardwood and well washed. (boiling is good) (others correct me if I am wrong, I have not used outdoor wood just heard of using it) Alternatively, you can buy really nice looking driftwood at some chain pet stores, most lfs (local fosh store), and many online retailers. Beware however, it can get quite pricey at times. You will have to soak or boil it to make it sink rather than float whichever way you choose.
2) What filter are you using? Even if it is rated for the tank you are using, the bioload may still be too much with the fish you have. Exactly what is your stock list?
3) How often/how much are you changing your water? The guy you talked to was partially right; you don't want to change too much water at once, but you should do a change at least every week. As a rule of thumb, and knowing the fish you have are very messy, about 25-30% weekly should be good. Also, don't change the filter pad thingy every week. (I don't know if you are, so I thought I would mention it) Changing it about once a month should be fine, but don't do it at the same time as a water change. Ideally, as far away from water changes as possible. (so about halfway through the week if the water change was on the weekend)
4) Quick summary of the nitrogen cycle in a fish tank:
Fish waste and food will decay over time if not removed from the tank. As they decay, they release ammonia, which is highly toxic to fish. Luckily, over time, 2 types of beneficial bacteria (BB) form in the tank and convert ammonia first into nitrIte (still toxic) and nitrAte. (only toxic in high quantities) Once the BB are established in the tank (they should be in yours) the whole process is very quick. You can remove the nitrAtes by doing water changes every week. The problem is, if you remove too much water at once or change the filter pad or clean the decor too heavily or at the wrong time, you can destroy the BB. That is why you must be careful about these things.
5) Ease up on the food; if they are not eating it it is just making things worse. Also, regarding the nature, I would advise sticking to either some bottom feeder specialized algae type food, or bland vegetables like cucumbers and zucchini and such. If the others are recommending tomato, I suppose that is fine. My thought with the orange is that it might alter the pH of the water, which could be bad. It also might not have the necessary nutrients. I really have never tried feeding fish oranges, so I can only guess.
6) You mentioned adding AmQuel when the pH rose, there is no need for that. The pH shouldn't be fluctuating within a tank, and I don't believe AmQuel even deals with pH. Either way, you don't need to fuss over pH in your setup. The intended use for AmQuel is to make tap water safe for fish.
Sorry for the length,
Good luck,
Brian
I have to go into work, but real quick:
I know I need a bigger tank. The plecos were initially in a tank with convicts. I bought one to seperate them. This before I knew much about plecos.
I will stop by the petsmart to get the name of the filter. Maybe I should have taken a photo.
They did not eat the cucumbers nor brine shrimp...the shrimp is still in a square.
I did not see the waffers. Maybe they disintigrated? As it was 4am, I put in 3 more. When I left, one was cracked in pieces and the other two were untouched.
I saw one pleco swim the tank the go back into the log. Even the lone convict is in the log.
One day, I took out all the logs and left them and the tank. Food particles were everywhere and they ran around like starving kids sucking up everything. I am purplexed. Is the food I give them too big?
Should I buy sinking pellets?
I know I need a bigger tank. The plecos were initially in a tank with convicts. I bought one to seperate them. This before I knew much about plecos.
I will stop by the petsmart to get the name of the filter. Maybe I should have taken a photo.
They did not eat the cucumbers nor brine shrimp...the shrimp is still in a square.
I did not see the waffers. Maybe they disintigrated? As it was 4am, I put in 3 more. When I left, one was cracked in pieces and the other two were untouched.
I saw one pleco swim the tank the go back into the log. Even the lone convict is in the log.
One day, I took out all the logs and left them and the tank. Food particles were everywhere and they ran around like starving kids sucking up everything. I am purplexed. Is the food I give them too big?
Should I buy sinking pellets?
I'm on my phone so I can't see the pics good. I'd say it's some kind of fungus( looks too big to be ick). A Fish Store can help you pick some meds( or someone here). As said, do about 25% water changes weekly.
My 8 yr old called...the one in the photo crossed the rainbow bridge. Poor baby. I feel bad.
I know I need a bigger tank, but I can't do that til next year (2016).
I know I need to do 10-20% water change once a week...and a few days later attend to the filter. When I do the filter, do I take it off the tank and clean the cups (where the water comes in to get filtered)?
I am still concerned about feeding. When I took everything out of the tank a week or more ago, they went nuts eating food particles as if they were starving. I am not sure if they eat the algea flakes or if they disintegrate. They dont eat the blood worms or shrimp. They dont eat veggies. I am at a loss.
I am going to find a piece of real driftwood.
What else should I do?
I know I need a bigger tank, but I can't do that til next year (2016).
I know I need to do 10-20% water change once a week...and a few days later attend to the filter. When I do the filter, do I take it off the tank and clean the cups (where the water comes in to get filtered)?
I am still concerned about feeding. When I took everything out of the tank a week or more ago, they went nuts eating food particles as if they were starving. I am not sure if they eat the algea flakes or if they disintegrate. They dont eat the blood worms or shrimp. They dont eat veggies. I am at a loss.
I am going to find a piece of real driftwood.
What else should I do?
Well, there is no need to keep adding the meaty food if they won't eat it. Like I said, that will not help. If they liked the food particles for whatever reason, you could try instead of feeding them new food to stir up the substrate a bit. This will release a lot of particles, many of which are probably food. I believe plecos are largely nocturnal, so they may be eating the algae stuff. It may be beneficial to add it a little before you turn out the lights, so it won't have dissolved before they are active. Is this a sinking algae pellet? Or like strips of seaweed? If you want to confirm, you might be able to sneak up on the tank a few time at night (if you don't use much/any light) and try to see.
I thought of one other thing you could do with the real wood when you get it: rinse it off well, then put it in the main tank but weigh it down. Whatever you do with the real wood, make sure there is something in there at all times, real or fake, as they like to hide in it and may be stressed out if there is not any.
Regarding tanks, you can probably find a variety of tanks for a good price on Craigslist, assuming price is the main problem. I can't guarantee, since I don't know where you are, but around me there are many.
Something else that occured to me, where did the goldfish come from? Did you add him immediately to the tank with the plecos? Most fish keepers will quarantine new fish in a separate tank for a few weeks to make sure they have no diseases. If the goldfish also came from Walmart or a big box pet store, there is a good chance it had some sort of disease, particularly since it died so quickly. The best place to buy fish is typically an lfs, since they usually obtain better and care better for their stock.
One last thing, do you have a thermometer? What temperature is the tank water? Not likely to cause a big problem, but if the goldfish is no longer there, about 76* F is pretty good for most fish, and the plecos would be more comfortable there.
I found this website on plecos that you might check out: plecostomus.org. I also like this website for general fish information, including plecos: SeriouslyFish.com. Go to the knowledge bae on this one, and then the tab siluriformes, the suckermouth armored catfish. Or, you can search pleco, but either way there are a lot of different types. You might just want to check out a few types to get an idea of some general common characteristics.
Brian
I thought of one other thing you could do with the real wood when you get it: rinse it off well, then put it in the main tank but weigh it down. Whatever you do with the real wood, make sure there is something in there at all times, real or fake, as they like to hide in it and may be stressed out if there is not any.
Regarding tanks, you can probably find a variety of tanks for a good price on Craigslist, assuming price is the main problem. I can't guarantee, since I don't know where you are, but around me there are many.
Something else that occured to me, where did the goldfish come from? Did you add him immediately to the tank with the plecos? Most fish keepers will quarantine new fish in a separate tank for a few weeks to make sure they have no diseases. If the goldfish also came from Walmart or a big box pet store, there is a good chance it had some sort of disease, particularly since it died so quickly. The best place to buy fish is typically an lfs, since they usually obtain better and care better for their stock.
One last thing, do you have a thermometer? What temperature is the tank water? Not likely to cause a big problem, but if the goldfish is no longer there, about 76* F is pretty good for most fish, and the plecos would be more comfortable there.
I found this website on plecos that you might check out: plecostomus.org. I also like this website for general fish information, including plecos: SeriouslyFish.com. Go to the knowledge bae on this one, and then the tab siluriformes, the suckermouth armored catfish. Or, you can search pleco, but either way there are a lot of different types. You might just want to check out a few types to get an idea of some general common characteristics.
Brian
