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My large common pleco (5+years) has recently started showing signs of starvation. He is the only algae eater in my 55 gallon and has kept it pretty much algae free since he has been in there (a little over a year). I try to feed him a varied diet and there is alot of driftwood and plants in the tank too. I feed flake food, bottom feeder granules, algae wafers/tablets, spirulina pellet/flakes, dried tubifex worms, shrimp pellets, frozen bloodworms, frozen daphnia, frozen mysis shrimp. I have read about and tried to feed them peas, spinach, lettuce, broccoli, and zuccini before but none my fish seemed very interested in it.

The plecos belly started to look less plump maybe a month ago. I started feeding a bit more, but it has not helped. Now his belly is concave, his eyes are becoming sunken, and he is acting lethargic. He doesn't seem interested in food anymore and isn't pooping much.

I don't know if I wasn't feeding him enough as he got bigger, if the algae suddenly stopped growing and I just assumed he was still eating it all, or if my yoyo loaches are possibly stealing all the food. Or could it be some residual effect from the ich outbreak I had in that tank 4 or 5 months ago?

Right now I am over feeding the tank to try to get him to eat. Is there anything else I can do? Any highly nutritious foods that he won't be able to resist. I added some veggies today and am going shopping tomorrow to try to find something else to try.

When was the last time you wormed him?

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Take out an ornament and put it in some warm treated water. The place it in front of a window and wait for the algae to grow. This should give him plenty to eat.

I have never specifically used de-wormer for any of the fish. About 6 months ago I did use some of the Jungle Labs anti-parasite food in that tank because I had a lemon tetra with a very large belly. I never knew if it was really worms or if it was just full of eggs though. I doubt the pleco ate any of that medicated food though, because I think the other fish ate it too quickly.

Last night I added a piece of driftwood that has some nice green algae on it from another tank. He has not touched it yet. If I can't get him to eat soon, I don't think he is going to make it.

I feel your problem is not the algae. Your pleco is reaching an age and size where they stop eating algae and eat more of the solid foods. Like many of the plecos, when they start getting older and larger, they don't eat as much algae, but more of the other foods. Try feeding some of the foods you feed your other fish, after the lights are out. Something that will sink. Only a handful of the plecos actually eat algae their entire lives. The thing is, with most of the larger sized ones, is they cannot get enough food from the algae. So they start not eating it as much, an start eating the other foods available.

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There is always a bigger fish...

How big is he?

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

He is about 8.5 inches now at his longest point.

I always feed some food at night and some during the day. He is not very nocturnal or shy though and used to eat at all times of the day. I've seen him eat bloodworms, shrimp pellets, and algae wafers in addition to algae. If he wanted something the yoyo loaches were eating he would just "sit" on them and they got out of his way Now he just seems to have no desire to eat.

I got some of the liquid gel wormer today that supposedly has the fish pheromones in it to make it more tempting. I also got some zucchini and "Emerald Cuisine".

I feel terrible about this. He is actually my mom's fish. My brother got it for her as a gift for her 20g before any of us knew how big common plecos get (we actually trusted the advice of a fish store employee!). Then the pleco started to get big and she didn't want to give him up. She even named him Eugene. We thought returning him to the store would be a death sentence. I got the 55 gallon for the sole purpose of giving him a better home for awhile longer. He seemed much happier in there up until now. I really hope I can get him back to health.

Wow, sounds like hes stunted bad.

Hi MO...

I would agree with Acid on this. I have a large Common Pleco in one of my tanks that I have to hand feed. He has become so finicky and also the tank has several Clown Loaches in it and they attempt to devour everything before he gets a chance to eat it.

Have you checked all the water parameters to make sure everything is alright from that angle? Any discoloration on his belly area or at the base of his pectoral fins?

Is the tank properly aerated?

-you know they like cucmber, zuchini and peas and a few other vegetables, that you can rubber band with a rock, they'll suck on those till they're gone. I think spinach and lettuce work too. Could he be ill or could it be other conditions? Maybe he needs another pleco to keep him company.

I had worried about him being stunted before and posted about it here over a year ago, right before I moved him to the 55g I think. I had posted pictures and he was identified as a "pterygoplichthys paradalis" which as I undertand it only gets to a max of 10". So I was told he probably wasn't stunted at the time and should be fine. I still have the pictures online.

http://home.comcast.net/~molanic/images/pleco.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~molanic/images/IMG_0143.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~molanic/images/c_pleco.jpg


I can't really see any other obvious signs of illness, but he is definately very ill now. I put some food right in front of him and he doesn't even taste it. He also let me touch him and pet his head, which is not normal for him. His belly is a little lighter in color than normal and his gills look lighter too, but I don't see any spots or red streaking or anything.

I have a 10g hospital/quarantine tank that I could use to medicate him if needed. I know it is too small, but it should be okay for a short period of time, especially if he is not eating or moving much. I have several different kinds of meds on hand, but I wouldn't even know where to start. What could I try as a last ditch effort to save him? He is looking really bad. I will try to get some updated pictures of his gills, belly, etc. if I can.

Edit: Oh, and I tested for Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH,temp,and hardness. Everything was perfect. I have a HOB filter and a powerhead for aeration.

Sorry if my post is too verbose. I tend to do that.

Last edited by mo at 11-Oct-2005 18:20

Id suspect flaggelate protozoa, they are often the cause of animals failing with no real visible symptoms.

I definitely wouldnt risk another plec as it might start territorial fighting that he will be likely to die from in his present condition.It could also be that his condition is highly contagious, at least amongst his own species, and you might just be making another plec terminally ill.

Disease. parasitism or stress are the likely cause of his non- feeding , rather than food recognition.

Id start getting serious on the meds, and go for a dewormer, and maybe some metronidazole before he gets too weak to survive the effects of the medication.

On the subject of "perfect" water quality- could we have the actual readings, we might be able to suggest specific keeping perameters for the exact species of fish.All plecs are not the same.


As for disease recognition in a plecostomus - it can be difficult, their subcutaneous armour will mean that a lot of the blood vessels and soft tissue that would show up as red or enflamed in most fish will remain hidden from your view, and even gill flukes that tend to cause radical inflammation can be difficult to spot. Id tend to treat him with meds pre-emptively to be sure. If you can afford a vet, go see him for advice, and if not, get some treatment going with broad spectrum antiparasite formulas, and antibacterial and antifungal meds. Remember that not all meds can be used at the same time, so completely treating a spectrum of ailments at home can be a lengthy business, and more time than your plec has left to live if the cause is not found quickly, so perhaps a bit of vetinary assistance might be better in this case. It might even work out cheaper.




Last edited by longhairedgit at 12-Oct-2005 07:48

Well, he didn't make it. I woke up this morning and he was gone. Last night he was very weak and let me pick him up to get a better look at him. I still didn't see anything "wrong" with him, besides the obvious weight loss. The area under his anus at the base of his tail seemed a little hard, but I think it was just his tail muscle.

I planned to move him to the hospital tank for more intensive treatment if he made it through the night. I had been using the gel-tek medicine for internal parasites for the last couple of days, but since it has to be eaten it was kind of fruitless. I plan to continue to use it for awhile to treat the other fish in the tanks though to be safe. I have one yoyo loach that hasn't been growing as fast as the others.

Sorry the water information was not very informative, I was in a hurry. It was 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 5-7 nitrate, 7.3pH,5 carbonate hardness,78F temp.

Since you have a community id send him off to pathology if you can afford it, it might save your other fish.

sorry for your loss


Last edited by longhairedgit at 14-Oct-2005 00:35