Operation Pleco Rescue

[Cat Fish Mama]

Hello all,
I purchased a queen arabesque pleco 2 weeks ago. I placed her in my 28 gallon planted tank, which houses 10 male guppies and some cherry shrimp. There was a female bushynose pleco in there already. The catfish expert at my LFS said they would most likely be fine together. Well, I saw the BN pleco pushing the new one around. After a few days, the new pleco's fins were looking a bit frayed. When she went up on the side of the tank, I could see that her stomach was caved in. I immediately moved the bully BN to another tank (where she is doing quite well), leaving the new pleco there to avoid causing her further stress. I then treated the tank with Prazi Pro, fed Bug Bites and frozen (thawed) bloodworms, and left the light off for a couple of days. I observed the new pleco eating, and her belly showed improvement. I put the lights back on the timer and did a water change. I thought the pleco looked better, but when the light comes on, she still seems alarmingly skinny. The edges of one fin look white and swollen, possibly infected. What else can I do to help give this pleco the best chance of survival? Should I use Melafix at the same time? I hesitate to move her to the quarantine tank, because I fear the stress would do her in. I could use a more intense parasite treatment, but I am concerned for the shrimp, as invertebrates are quite sensitive to meds. What do you pleco experts recommend? Please don't say it's hopeless. I know I saw her eating at one point, and that's a good sign. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Jonnyakawombell]

Hello all,
I purchased a queen arabesque pleco 2 weeks ago. I placed her in my 28 gallon planted tank, which houses 10 male guppies and some cherry shrimp. There was a female bushynose pleco in there already. The catfish expert at my LFS said they would most likely be fine together. Well, I saw the BN pleco pushing the new one around. After a few days, the new pleco's fins were looking a bit frayed. When she went up on the side of the tank, I could see that her stomach was caved in. I immediately moved the bully BN to another tank (where she is doing quite well), leaving the new pleco there to avoid causing her further stress. I then treated the tank with Prazi Pro, fed Bug Bites and frozen (thawed) bloodworms, and left the light off for a couple of days. I observed the new pleco eating, and her belly showed improvement. I put the lights back on the timer and did a water change. I thought the pleco looked better, but when the light comes on, she still seems alarmingly skinny. The edges of one fin look white and swollen, possibly infected. What else can I do to help give this pleco the best chance of survival? Should I use Melafix at the same time? I hesitate to move her to the quarantine tank, because I fear the stress would do her in. I could use a more intense parasite treatment, but I am concerned for the shrimp, as invertebrates are quite sensitive to meds. What do you pleco experts recommend? Please don't say it's hopeless. I know I saw her eating at one point, and that's a good sign. Thanks for the advice!

If you think the Pleco has an infection, personally I'd isolate the fish in quarantine and treat it with melafix, as if it's a infection it may spread to other fish, I'd also recommend large regular water changes to keep water quality tip top, if you have seen the Plec eating that's a good sign, I always find it's when they don't eat it's game over but if it's eating it should have a good chance with treatment, have you noticed any difference in her eyes? Have they sunken at all or do they look normal?

 

[Warborg]

Yes, move the pleco. To avoid as much stress as possible. Transfer water to a new tank then move the pleco. After the pleco settles then do a water change along with meds. Do fed and watch closely on food waste.

 

[Deadliestviper7]

Feed a bit more meaty foods for a while, when a pleco looks skinny it's actually very skinny because of the armor plates

 

[Joshomaru]

How big is the bn and how big is the queenie?

 

[Cat Fish Mama]

I wanted to tell everyone that this story had a happy ending! I moved Gertie the pushy BN pleco to another tank and offered an array of food to Dali the queen arabesque. It turned out to be too much food so the water quality declined and Dali's fungal infection got worse.
I tried PraziPro, thinking she had parasites and that's why she wasn't eating. Then, I learned that none of the other plecos in the tank she came from were having problems, so I could probably rule out parasites.
I did a water change and treated with Pimafix, taking care to feed sparingly to keep the water clean. She recovered and now eats like a champ, and is active whenever I put food in the tank.
Too many of these stories end sadly or no one comes back to say how it ended. For Dali, it was a happy ending and for me a lesson learned: Don't overfeed under any circumstances, even if your fish are starving. If there is a secondary infection caused by stress, remove the stress, treat the infection, and then the fish will eat again. I'm glad I didn't put Dali in the quarantine tank because I think the stress would have made her condition worse.
She will now live happily ever after in a 28 gallon tank with some Gertrude's blue-eyes and red cherry shrimp.

 

[Deadliestviper7]

I like a happy ending! Thank you for the updates!