Update on the rescued pleco

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courtneem

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 25, 2007
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South Dakota
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Update on my L007 I rescued.

Still have to name him. We have been calling him Suck-A-Lux Jr. since our other plec is Suck-A-Lux heh.

He is still alive so far. His eye is clouding over some what compared to before. I realize the eye may not heal and he may lose an eye. I will have 2 one eyed plecos but that is okay. I still love them.

He is sulking in the same spot in the tank. I have continued to keep the lights off for him and will do so until he gets better.

He won't go get food. I have to feed him (last few days I tried to let him go get it). This morning I took an eyedropper to give him bloodworms again as the other day I gave him only a few.

He almost sucked them right out of the eyedropper. He was hungry. He didnt leave any behind. I gave him a sinking pellet too that he sucked on.

Next is to try an algae waffer just to get him something else. I think soon I will introduce some veggies for him. I know he likes bloodworms so that is what I am using to make sure he eats for now.

He is in his own little world but hanging on. He doesn't seem to mind me at all. I am sure it is because he is sick. The other day though he would follow me from one side of the tank to the other as I walked back and forth. Now he just sits right on the side I am sitting by often at my computer.

He is so cute and glad he has made it this far!
 
courtneem;880992; said:
Update on my L007 I rescued.



Next is to try an algae waffer just to get him something else. I think soon I will introduce some veggies for him.
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L007 is a Leporacanthicus sp.

I have not found any Leporacanthicus to be fond of veggies or algae.
They are basically a carnivore scavenger and like meatier foods like the bloodworms you have been feeding plus sinking carnivore pellets with the occaisionaly Algae wafer.
 
just bulk him up on bloodworms, feed throughout the day, if thats what he likes. Maybe try a small piece of prawn, see if goes for that. Did you bother with any melafix, or did you decide to leave it? Your doing well so far!
 
awesome job your doing!!
 
I did half dose melafix but had stopped that for now and letting really good water help him heal. I will keep him on the meat diet then.

Taksan - planetcatfish in the catelog states

"Feeding Not a true vegetarian so a wide variety of foods, including algae wafers, cucumber or courgette (zucchini), frozen bloodworm, prawns, shrimps and tablet food. Shelled crustaceans or mollusks appear favourite foods but should be fed sparingly or used for conditioning."

Why I figured I can try veggies as a variety not it's main diet. Why I have been focused on the bloodworms and the protein pellets I use to feed my pims.

davo - how much and how often through out the day should I feed him the bloodworms?
 
Leporacanthicus species, such as yours are primarily insectivores, and specialise in such... particularly snails-their specialty! They will prey on small crustaceans, worms, larvae etc. However these carnivores can be more prone to take on bloat, due to them needing fibre, and their gut analysis often includes wood and sponges material. This is why it is important to try and give them some fibre as well as the lean protein. They are grazers, so they eat small amounts often in general, so you could feed a bit every hour if you wanted, it's up to you. To try and get it back to health i'd feed it maybe twice a day and give it as little reason as to be stressed as possible. Just make sure you are offering food it takes and gets a decent amount down him, but at the same time offer a few different foods. If it takes different, then thats great. If it likes things like spirulina tablets, let it have them too. Main thing is he doesn't have an inverted stomach, and instead is a little bump to show he is well fed.
 
davo;881672; said:
Leporacanthicus species, such as yours are primarily insectivores, and specialise in such... particularly snails-their specialty! They will prey on small crustaceans, worms, larvae etc. However these carnivores can be more prone to take on bloat, due to them needing fibre, and their gut analysis often includes wood and sponges material. This is why it is important to try and give them some fibre as well as the lean protein. They are grazers, so they eat small amounts often in general, so you could feed a bit every hour if you wanted, it's up to you. To try and get it back to health i'd feed it maybe twice a day and give it as little reason as to be stressed as possible. Just make sure you are offering food it takes and gets a decent amount down him, but at the same time offer a few different foods. If it takes different, then thats great. If it likes things like spirulina tablets, let it have them too. Main thing is he doesn't have an inverted stomach, and instead is a little bump to show he is well fed.
Click to expand...

I know from my current common pleco how the stomach can sink in, he was like that when I got him. He eats nonstop now and that isnt an issue. My vampire pleco hasnt had one yet. He eats the bloodworms like a kid on candy. LOL he sucks them all up and has no problems with me squirting them right next to his mouth.

I have a piece of drift wood I took out of my 55gl after my tank crash and losing so many fish. I boiled it and still letting it soak to get more color out of it. I could put that in there for him.

Do you think that is safe? since it has been boiled, soaked and left out of the tank for over a week? Actually it has been two weeks.

I will feed him twice a day and keep him fat and happy. I agree the less stress the better. He doesnt need to worry about his next meal.
 
if its been boiled then there won't be any issues. I wouldn't worry about the colour, it'll go eventually with good filtration and water changes. Keeps a stable pH too, that plecos are good at, and some nice soft water, which they'll also appreciate. I quite like the colour too, but thats just me.
 
I dont mind the color leaking either really. I didn't mind the tint it added to my tank. I just figured since I had it to boil it and make sure it was clean again I could get some more color out.

I'll give him the driftwood.

Today he is pretty perky. I never see he swim like he did when I first put him in the tank. He just pushes himself around the bottom in the same small area. His white spots are starting to brighten though and around his eye is healing very nice. His eye is clouded over still slightly but the nasty part was around his eye and that is looking so much better.

The best part? He is putting his fins up and out more which is a good sign they are not clamped as tight to his body anymore.
 
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