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I have a common pleco in my 55 gallon, he is only about 8-9 inches now so hes not too big yet, but he has been acting strangly. I was just wondering if anyone else's plecos ever do this: he will sometimes go up the back wall of my tank behind my filter and stick his nose out of the water. Today I also noticed him just going up to the top, sticking his right fin and part of his nose out of the water acting dead. After about 10-15 seconds though, he swims just find right back down to his cave. I dont think it is lack of oxygen, as the other fish are acting normal and there is plenty of surface aeration.

mine do thew same thing but mine is new i needed more algea eater for my 55

Strange...my 4 inch pleco is doing the same thing. Hes sometime flip over on his back and play dead. I think it might be a protection from predator or something?

Clown loaches are among the more common bottom feeders known for playing dead...

It's common to hear stories of plecos coming up to the surface for flakes or other food, but I haven't seen too many play dead. Make sure you have a nice algae crop in there for him, and if you have to, cultivate your own.

I'd check your water parameters just in case (ammonia, pH, nitrIte, nitrAte) and keep us posted. What else is in this tank? How long has is been set up for? How many gallons?
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EDIT: nvm...you said 55 gallons already That isn't his permanent home though, right?

Last edited by FerretFanatic at 26-Dec-2004 17:12

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

Check your DO. That may be the problem---since they can utilize atomspheric O2, if levels are low, they will come to the surface of the water and "gasp" for several econds, then rocket back to the bottom of the tank.

Well he didnt do it anymore when I was feeding him tonight and he doesn't really gasp. I was wondering if he was possibly just trying to get at the flakes and cichlid pellets etc that collect near the back, or possibly some algae above the water line(which drops quite a bit). Anyways the tank is over a year and a half old and has a mixed batch of cichlids-1 severum, 1 firemouth, 1 zebra- not very many fish right now. Ill post ph if I remember to check, but I dont have a test kit for nitrates or ammnia (yes I know I should have one Im going to the pet store tomorrow) Thanks for the help

Ok, I went to the store...

Ammonia- 0 ppm
NitrAte- after 40 ppm the colors are very close together but it looks to be at least 100-150 ppm...Yikes...

What should I do?? I read that this is an indication of overfeeding and too much waste. Well to much waste could be the pleco himself. Anyways I had just fed them, does that make a difference?

Does he routinely come up during every feeding? If so, it's just a normal reaction to being fed too little (not enough algae, etc).

Yes, most of the time he does it when I feed them, but he does it every now and then at other times too. I give him algae pellets every other night, and on the other nights he eats brine shrimp that falls to the bottom, so I dont think he is too hungry.

Edit: I guess I should say that the only time I saw him go up and play dead was when I was feeding them that one day. The rest of the time he just goes up and makes slapping noises with the water while he sticks his nose out of the water.

Last edited by fishiedude at 27-Dec-2004 18:52

i would feed him once a night.

Wow, my three inch zebras get more to eat than that fellar. No wonder he's always begging for food.

Ok I will just start giving him an algae pellet every night, but he does eat quite a bit of shrimp and I'm sure he gets other food that falls to the bottom.