UGRENT!!!! L-014 sunshine pleco in danger!!!! (BABY)

[zerojquan85]

So i got a L-014 pleco.. and if u all dont know already.. ITS REALLYYYYYY RARE!!!

Its about 2" but i was able to find one..

He was fine overnight but i could tell he was ontop of the water... but he was fine.. about an hour ago.. i did a water change.. just so that the water stays clean.. i did a temperature of about 86 degrees.. but it think its too much for the pleco..

so now he's breathing very heavily.. and i'm afraid he might be struggling...

I already have him in another tank of mine 2.5 gallon with airstone right by him.... (i think the water change must have had not enough oxygen in water)

I also put salt inside... any more suggestion on how to save plecos???

He looks healthy.. aside from maybe when i got him he didnt eat much...

I dunno.. i hope he pulls through.. cuz This thing is too rare to just have it and die... any bigger ones i can get and its goona be extremely too expensive to handle..

plz help!!!!

 

[zerojquan85]

come to us i got one at 12" for sale $150

thats not helpful... not one bit.... and i already have a friend who has one at the same price...

 

[wingate2581]

Was it a sudden temp change? You had it for a day and already saw it eat before you did the water change?

 

[sostoudt]

if nothing is wrong with the water just leave him alone, and turn the lights off
if theres something wrong with the water then fix it and then dont do anything else

that pleco gets a foot long it wont live in a 2.5 gallon tank for long. i would keep your water at 80 degrees which is midrange for that fish.


personally i think you made a bad decision switching tanks i would have just added a airstone to the first tank.


its like a scrap thats trying to heal, if you keep picking at it, it may get worse and get a infection. turning a small problem in to a bigger one.

 

[zerojquan85]

Was it a sudden temp change? You had it for a day and already saw it eat before you did the water change?

maybe.. it wasn't a big difference... ahhhhh i think i F* up... I knew it is extremely sensitive......

He's breathing.. extremely fast.. like he needs air badly.. the original tank he was in was a 10 gallon.. there was no aggression in there..

I hope he'll stablelize later on...

Ya.. he was eating.. i saw a long string of poop this morning.. so i know he was eating.. (algae walfers)

Problem is.. i notice he was acting like he needed air.. i had a sponge filter in the 10 gallon..

He was fine.. until around later this evening i decided to put in some new water.. and then.. when i came back from dinner.. i saw him struggling for air...

He's still breathing fast.. i think over night i will know if he pulls through or not.... exotic plecos is too darn risky.. but i do like these guys..

 

[BPags52]

Well....I've noticed my L-14 kind of breathes fast, but my tank has plenty of airation so I haven't been concerned about it (otherwise I would have been, try not to overworry), plus its active and eats....I wouldn't worry unless it started acting strangely. What do you mean by "i could tell he was ontop of the water"? Did you observe it hovering at the top of the tank? If so, thats probably not normal behavior...

If you're seeing poo, that has to be a good sign. Mine was pooing like crazy the first several days I had it, now I dont see it pooing (its starting to hide more when its not eating...though its still less shy than my other plecos). Plus I don't stalk it as actively as the first week

I already replied to your PM (before reading this), hope either is helpful...

What tank was he in before you put him in the 2.5g? Test the waters in both tanks (ammonia/nitrite/nitrate).

How long has the 2.5g been set up? if its an uncycled tank you probably did more harm than good. I'm not sure what to suggest really, its already been moved to a different tank once today...might not be a good idea to move it back right away, but it being in a 2.5g has to be stressful by itself. Give it as much cover/hiding places as you can.

You say it struggles for air...what exactly makes you say that? Is it just breathing heavy? As I mentioned before, mine seemed to breath hard the first week or two when I observed it real close (and probably still does, I just don't look for it anymore since it seems to be a non-issue). Its possible its just acclimating to the new water conditions, try not to overreact...sometimes that can be the worst thing to do

 

[zerojquan85]

Well.. he's breathing slower now.. not as fast as before.. but he's still very close to the top of the water... he was floating before..

The 2.5 gallon was a well cycled tank what has been about a week old an extremely clear... .. i had my EBJD in there before.. so the water parameter is very safe..

My only concern is that he's very close to the top of the water.. i added some pictures... His bloating isn't as big anymore.. but i dunno if its a huge amount of food that he ate or its air in his system....

I posted pictures of him... the one picture with my finger is more like me trying to get a better shot.. i'm sure he's stressed.. but i hope he pulls through.. I got it from a guy who just got the fish in within a few weeks..... and i knew these things are risky.... kinda wish they were bigger.. cuz at this size.. they are not really suppose to be for sale...

but then i've had an albino chocolate pleco that was much smaller than this guy....

 

[BPags52]

Give it something to hide in/under Its probably just stressed from acclimating to new water conditions. From the looks of the pics its a bare bottom tank with no decor?

edit: Thats just my thoughts anyway, I don't have any experience with plecos hanging out in the top of the water column, so I'm not too sure whats causing it...it might just need a place to hide.../shrug. Goodluck.

 

[wingate2581]

I agree with sostoudt and BPags. Give it some good cover, shut the lights off, and hope for the best. As soon as it looks like it's turning around I would try to get it into a bigger tank like BPags said. Try not to overfeed in that small tank and keep water temps stable. Good luck man.

 

[zerojquan85]

Give it something to hide in/under Its probably just stressed from acclimating to new water conditions. From the looks of the pics its a bare bottom tank with no decor?

oh no.. its got gravel... Baby blue and Black.. the tank is design for just 1 fish... my EBJD.. but this Goldie needs it more than my EBJD.. and he was in a 60 gallon before.. no problem.. i just wanted to make sure he was safe.. (Goldie)


This fish took me FOREVER to find.. and i mean FREAKING LONG TIME... almost everyone is sold out of this.. and they are banned from Brazil... most store sell the bigger ones at $150 a pop...

Even the guy who sold me his lost two due to an accident... i was hoping to get more than just 1...

I hope he'll pull through..... he was eating and i can still see some poop on him...

Just sucks that i didnt figured to put him inside this tank first... probably should have done it before..


Thanks guys.. I'll see what happens tomorrow.. he's seems okie.. on damaged to him or anything... just he likes to stay on top a lot.... i have no idea why..