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	Common Pleco
jacnyr Hobbyist Posts: 63 Kudos: 67 Votes: 0 Registered: 14-Jan-2004	I have a problem with my Pleco. In the last 2 weeks the fish has changed appearance and demeanor. It started swimming wildly and then I have noticed a change in it's appearance. It's tail seems stiff and it seems that it has no control of it. It does have white spots on it's edges. The fish seems to have lost some of its size as well. There does seem to be enough algae for it to eat and I also feed it sometimes with food for just this kind of fish. Any help on this matter would be helpful. 55 gl. 2 oscars jack dempsey common pleco
Posted 26-Jan-2006 12:06
moondog Moderator The Hobnob-lin Posts: 2676 Kudos: 1038 Votes: 4366 Registered: 30-Sep-2002	your oscars or jd's could be nipping its tail (or worse). i had the same thing happen with a bn that i kept with some convicts. if you can, you should separate them and let the pleco have its own space for a while until it can heal. "That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman
Posted 26-Jan-2006 12:06
Klee Banned Posts: 420 Kudos: 307 Votes: 0 Registered: 25-May-2004	I'm more concerned about the white spots (ich?)... I'm with moondog as far as treatment goes. Keep him isolated for a while. If you haven't been told already, your tank is far too small for the fish you keep.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 12:06
moondog Moderator The Hobnob-lin Posts: 2676 Kudos: 1038 Votes: 4366 Registered: 30-Sep-2002	how big are these spots? are they like salt specks, or like large-ish spots? the part about swimming with a stiff tail is why i thought of my old bn, because the convicts took a bite out of his tail and it made a large-ish white spot where they bit him, and he had problems moving his tail afterwards. "That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman
Posted 26-Jan-2006 12:06
Janna Mega Fish Posts: 1386 Registered: 24-Aug-2003	I'd be concerned with a bacterial infection in a tank that overstocked. You need at least a 75 gallon for two oscars, and I wouldn't put all those fish in less than a 125 gallon. The pleco alone with get to be over a foot long, perhaps 18 inches. They shade the glow of it with their mossy-misty costumes, They wear masks of silk, porcelain, brass, and silver, So as not to mislead with their own, ordinary faces.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 12:06
jacnyr Hobbyist Posts: 63 Kudos: 67 Votes: 0 Registered: 14-Jan-2004	The spots are like "salt specks". The oscars have never bothered it. It seems so weird about it's stiff tail. Yes I guess that I have to many. I thought of removing 1 oscar. This was added by girlfriend. I would just like 1 oscar and add firemouth cichlid. If I don't see any improvement in the near future maybe it's best I remove the pleco. The other fish seem fine at present. Thank you all for your help.
Posted 26-Jan-2006 12:06
poisonwaffle Mega Fish Posts: 1397 Kudos: 591 Registered: 11-Feb-2003	The salt specks are most likely Ich. It's a nasty disease caused by stress. You should eliminate the cause of the stress (overcrowding the tank), and treat the tank with a med such as Aquari-sol or some other Ich med. You could also move the pleco to another tank and treat him separately so the disease won't have as good of a chance to spread, and then treat the 55g also. HTH
Posted 26-Jan-2006 12:06
jacnyr Hobbyist Posts: 63 Kudos: 67 Votes: 0 Registered: 14-Jan-2004	Thank You all!
Posted 26-Jan-2006 12:06


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