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Hmmm, if it had starved, it was likely starving at the store already. One way to avoid this is when purchasing plecs, make sure that the eyes and belly are not sunken in.

I'm not sure if plecs will be able to eat algae; veggies are god since they're solid so they can hang onto them, but if the algae just gets broken apart then they won't be able to eat it. I've never tried feeding scraped algae in this fashion before, though. The only algae I've heard of being fed was when it was grown on a rock (or something) and the entire rock was put in. It could be worth a try, but I wouldn't have much confidence in it being much for food.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

I decided to go with the romaine lettuce, since it's tried and true. Wouldn't you know it the Emperor was trying to eat it. Nothing goes in the tank without him testing it out. I've left the tank light out, but there's still light in the room from the ceiling. I saw the underbelly of another one has blotches and is sunken. I hope it feeds on the lettuce. I can't get the other to turn enough to see it's belly. But I know I saw bite marks on the squash and one was latched on for awhile this morning. I didn't take the squash out until it swam away from it (without being shooed). Hopefully it ate enough and will be willing to try the lettuce. (fingers crossed)

TTFN --->Ta-Ta-For-Now
Kelly ;o}

My BN like pumpkin, so you could also try that.

Sorry about the one that didn't make it.

How is the little tetra - still there?

Cheers
TW

Yea, he's plugging away. The tetra samples everything dropped in the tank. If it's edible, he'll try it out. I found a second of the three dead this morning, with the same blotches and sunken stomach. The last one I hope. The third plec won't let me get a good look at him. He swims the minute I stare at him. I have noticed the lettuce was chewed on... don't know if it was by the plec or the tetra. I've been trying to call the store I got them from, just to be sure of what they were feeding the plecs. Unfortunately, my working hours and my memory have not allowed me to reach/call the store before they close. I'll have to post a huge reminder on my dry erase board tomorrow.

Will the plecs eat live plants? The tank is planted, but I don't see much damage. At this time I wouldn't mind if it has a nibble or a gobble of the plants as long as it helps.

TTFN --->Ta-Ta-For-Now
Kelly ;o}

Well, I found the last plec floating dead in the tank this early evening. The stomach was not sunken, but it did have blotches. It also had what looked like fungus growing on one side. Everyone else in the tank is doing fine. I called the store just before I had found the plec. The response to my question about feedings was, "They should eat flakes, zucchini, or any veggies put in the tank, and algae. You won't see them eat, but they're eating."

My husband says we won't be getting anymore fish that doesn't know what it should eat. Ah well...

TTFN --->Ta-Ta-For-Now
Kelly ;o}

Plecs can demolish live plants making it impossible to keep larger species in planted aquaria.

It is strange that these fish died so soon. I've had wild-caught plecs go for a week or two without food before learning what's good to eat (or alternatively and unfortunately, go for weeks without ever learning to eat). A large common plec can go for 6 months without food. What happened is strange, even if the plecs were very young.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

they could have had an internal parasite

Would that have caused them to not eat? And could it have been transmitted to other fish in the tank? Everyone else is behaving fine.

I had to move the Emperor tetra to the 55gal. He showed little fear of 4 lined pims, and I thought it was tempting fate. The little daredevil would go under the driftwood with them!

TTFN --->Ta-Ta-For-Now
Kelly ;o}

It could make them not eat, and it could but may not necessarily transmit to other fishies

It's true parasites might not necessarily transmit to the other fish, but there's certainly a possibility they might. That's why using a QT tank for all new fish is best practice.

Internal worms are usually transferred by one fish nibbling on another fish's poops lots of fish do this - then it just depends on the individual fishes immune system as to whether this results in health issues. Gill flukes, I think, attach externally to the fish in their free swimming stage.

Cheers
TW

Alrighty! My sister felt bad that the plecs died. It was our second attempt at having them (purchased at the same LFS.) Sooo... a chain store she was visiting had the Sailfin plecs and Albino Chocolates on sale for $1. Need I say more... we now have one of each! She listened to me complain about how I thought the first and second sets starved or had parasites. She said let's just see if it's the store that I got them from. (She didn't realize both of these plecs have a different eating habit from the common plecs.)

It's too late to take them back, 'cause the kids have seen them. And everyone went GAGA, especially for the Sailfin.

Soooo... here we go again!

TTFN --->Ta-Ta-For-Now
Kelly ;o}

Albino chocolates ARE common plecs. Sailfins are a close relative. None are very particular about what they eat. They should eat the same stuff.

The best thing to do to make sure fish eat is to quarantine them without other more boisterous fish to compete with them.

Good luck getting these fish to eat, but honestly it shouldn't be hard.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

The profile says that the Albino chocolate is "Glyptoperichthys scrophus or Liposarcus scrophus, The Rhino Pleco is the most common species bred into an albino form. It is often referred to as the "Chocolate Pleco", because its incomplete albinism causes some dark pigment to remain in the skin, giving it a soft brown color rather than white or pink (as is seen in true albinos)." And that it is a Omni that gets a little over 14 inches. {The little guy I have is a blushing beige color<showing my girly penchant for descriptive colors> so I'm almost sure it's derived from the rhino species}

Now my sister wasn't paying enough attention, so I'll have to go with her to the store to specify if the other is a Sailfin, or Marbled Sailfin. The profile gives a different outlooks on each. "Ancistrus gibbiceps or Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps, a herbi, and gets to almost 20 INCHES!" "Glyptoperichthys joselimaianus is a omni that gets about a foot long." You can understand that I am hoping it's the latter of the two. Although, everyone's going to out grow the tank anyway.

TTFN --->Ta-Ta-For-Now
Kelly ;o}

I'm pretty sure the profile is incorrect and that albino/chocolate plecs are normally pardalis. If you post a pic I can say if it's scrophus or not; I've had one before and they look fairly different from the other Pterygoplichthys.

The profiles are also several years outdated; Glyptoperichthys species are all Pterygoplichthys species now... Also, synonyms are retired names that you may see in old books and literature, but are not currently valid. So you should use the scientific name that is valid. I will submit changes to the profiles to reflect what's currently valid...

They probably don't know if it's gibbiceps or joselimaianus. It's USUALLY gibbiceps, but not always. If you can post a pic I can ID it.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Thanks, I'll try to post something tomorrow. But I can't direct post for some reason. It will be in "flicker".

TTFN --->Ta-Ta-For-Now
Kelly ;o}

Here's the pics. the Sailfin and Albino didn't want to cooperate. It's the best I could get. Tell me what you see.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kellysfishylife/

TTFN --->Ta-Ta-For-Now
Kelly ;o}

Those are pretty blurry, haha, but luckily I've seen these fish enough. You have the normal albino chocolate that is around, which is not scrophus, but pardalis. Scrophus is markedly different from pardalis, for example its a bit stockier; it overall looks much more like a sailfin than a common pleco. Also, I'm fairly certain your sailfin is a gibbiceps; gibbiceps has dark spots on a lighter background while joselimaianus has light spots on a dark background. You can look at the pics in the profiles to compare.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Could this be a problem? I've never seen the Albino lift it's spine fins up. As you can sorta make out, the Sailfin did it within hours of being in the tank and always has it erect now.

TTFN --->Ta-Ta-For-Now
Kelly ;o}

Hmmm, I don't think that's a problem.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Gave both tanks a chunk of zucchini last night. They all went gaga! The Yoyo's in the 55gal won't let anyone near it. In fact my biggest female hoarded it and chased everyone away.

As soon as the lights went out on the 40gal, the Sailfin was all over that chunk. I never saw the Albino on it, but then again, it's VERY shy.

I will try to get my eldest daughters camera today for better pics.

TTFN --->Ta-Ta-For-Now
Kelly ;o}

Got a better camera, but the nutty fish won't cooperate.

Okay, FP doesn't have a profile on the 4 line pims. I've done a little digging with google. On at least 3 sites, I've noticed them as omnivores; and at least one other says straight carnivore. Shinigami, what do you know about their eating habits? I've seen both of the plecs eating zucchini. BUT my hubby thinks the pims are finishing the zucchini when the lights are out and no-ones there to witness. I've never seen the pims eat any veggies I put in the tank, or the any of plants in the tank. I have as I said earlier watched them eat the algae wafers, but those have as much protein as it does vegetable matter. Any one with knowledge, don't be shy. Give me info please!

TTFN --->Ta-Ta-For-Now
Kelly ;o}

Hmmm, it's possible, but the only way to know for sure is see it. Pims probably won't eat live plants, but they might eat zuchinni or anything else that might be less leafy. If I had to guess though, the plecs are probably getting a good chunk of the zuchinni if you've seen them eat and haven't seen the pims eat any.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

My husband was right! I just saw both of the smaller pims tag the zucchini.

TTFN --->Ta-Ta-For-Now
Kelly ;o}