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2 pleco died and got a big tummy?


Fishie123

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I just recently found two of my pleco dead!!! L200 & L177. Both Frozen in time... I dont know what happen. They were fine when i feed them this afternoon... And my L260 has a bloated tummy with red coming out of his bowes.. Please help! I feed them, shrimp, vetable pellets, peas, courgette.

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Hey Fishie123, I have thought of a few reasons as to why you're having the problems that you are.

First of all i'm sorry to hear about your losses, from the pictures you posted they were nice fish. I apologise if this post is a bit longer than the preffered reading length all, I also apologise if I come off blunt or offensive.

1 byran in a tank of that size. 2 would be pushing it; 3+ is a recipe for disaster.

May not be the COD..

As Phoenix mentions, doesn't have as much surface area as a tank with those specimens should. Although it shouldn't be the cause of death, It is something that should be reconsidered in the future maybe. I'm sure you were aware of that though.

I just recently found two of my pleco dead!!! L200 & L177. Both Frozen in time... I dont know what happen. They were fine when i feed them this afternoon... And my L260 has a bloated tummy with red coming out of his bowes.. Please help! I feed them, shrimp, vetable pellets, peas, courgette.

For me, feeding regime looks good. Relatively well balanced, perhaps if you think you are overfeeding them. Try underfeeding them for the next couple of days and see how the L260 goes. I feel it isn't beyond saving yet.

As for water quality, with the filtration you have running I don't think that would be a problem. However, if you're not changing a good amount of the water weekly then problems may start to occur. Perhaps if you're doing 20% per week, try increasing it to two nicely spaced out 20% water changes. I do 20-30% changes every Wendsday and Sunday. This works for me, and have never had any issues with any of my fish.

This may sound silly, but I feel that the temperature of your tank is indeed a factor in these deaths.

One thing that's associated with temperature and water changes, is the amount of dissolved oxygen present in your tank. I feel deficiencies in oxygen can quite easily lead to fish deaths with no visible symptoms. "Water is an oxygen poor environment and contains only five percent of the oxygen that the same volume of air does." Leaving a tank with a decent amount of Plecos, all with relatively high oxygen demands (Well, i'm unsure on that. But some of the species you mentioned hail from waters with high oxygen content). The warmer the water is the less oxygen it can hold and only performing small amounts of water changes might not be enough to keep the oxygen levels healthy. Personally, along with my water change regime , my Temperature is stable at 27c all the time, with an air stone running 24/7 and again, am yet to encounter any problems.

There are a few other things that will lower oxygen levels too. Such as "organic waste, decaying plant matter, and certain chemicals also steal oxygen from our fish. When aquarists think of organic waste, we usually think of the dangers of ammonia and nitrite poisoning. That fact is, that in addition to being potentially toxic, these compounds are also stealing the very oxygen your fishes need to breathe."

I think it's possible that this cause of death has factors that were present with the death of your L270 also. It was being kept with discus, of which require warmer temperatures. If no air stone was present, then it may of been subject to oxygen deficiency aswell.

This post contains extracts from the following Shanes World article : A catfish keepers guide to dissolved oxygen

The article also contains alot more information on the subject then the my post did. So if you feel more elaboration needs to be made regarding the idea, that's where you'll get all the information you'll need.

This is all the information/speculation i can provide without being aware of the exact quality of your water, exact feeding amounts, etc etc. This is just what I deem as a very possible scenario.

Hopefully like I said I didn't come off too blunt, and I hope this information will help ensure future health of your fish.

EDIT : Thought of an idea, and decided to change my original post.

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I realise that was a post filled with assumptions. In short I think death due to lack of oxygen influenced by ammonia levels is a viable assumption. A blow that could of been softened with increased water changes and higher oxygen levels. When running a heavily stocked tank (If you are) water changes are VERY important. As for the L260, it could easily be an infection of some sort. How long had your filters been running for?

Honestly, It may be a number of factors that have there fingers in the pie (Overstocking, etc etc.). I'm only making assumptions according to the outcome, not the water conditions. For far more accurate and informed assumptions to be made, there needs to be a bit more information provided. You described the death of the L177 and L200 in the same way that you described your L270. So i'm not too sure. Either way, there is information missing and untill we figure out what's going wrong I can only speculate. Just to clarify, is the tank at your house, or elsewhere?

Sorry to hear about the deaths again, It's not easy losing fish. :(

Please keep us updated with the L260. Thanks

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i ry not to feed shrimp. i hear bad things abou them

pellets is veges. mostly pellets.

deisgned to be digested easily.

even higher protein pellets are designed to be absorbed and flushed out quickly.

natural meat can be difficult to digest.

I feel only pellets for myplecs.

i had one that had a swollen belly, from indigestion i believe.

also watch the water temp. the water may be too hot?

small tank like that, water quality may e my first pick, or injury from fighting?

hard to say.

but suffice to say, your tank is small.

i would hold off any plecos untill the tank is biger.

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I found the major factor of the death of my pleco. Today I tested my amonia and it is at 0.25. So i am adding some prime into my tank and doing 40% water change everyday and feeding more vegetables and removing some fish to other tanks. I might do another test on maybe Monday or Wednesday. The L260 has died this morning :tears: .

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OK,,,,, The level of aggression will have been minimal in such adolescent fish unless under fed which clearly is not the case. I doubt oxygen depletion unless the outlets to the canisters where quite low or ammonia or nitrite where present, even then this should have been noticed in the plec's if not all of your fish. I feed prawn on a regular basis to my herbivorous plec's never have i a had a problem and never have i heard of such an easily digested protein being an issue. Seems weird even though i do feel this is either water quality or a dietary issue that the l260 being heavily carnivorous is effected l200 omnivorous easily handling this type of protein, and l177 that i personally feed quite alot of protein too in the form of both prawn and sinking carnivore.

Temperature will be fine between 26-32 so i don't understand the accusation of this being high in regard to these plec's. I would like to know the water parameters before passing any judgment. Are there any other fish in the tank?.

Sorry: Missed the update

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+1

I realise that was a post filled with assumptions. In short I think death due to lack of oxygen influenced by ammonia levels is a viable assumption. A blow that could of been softened with increased water changes and higher oxygen levels. When running a heavily stocked tank (If you are) water changes are VERY important. As for the L260, it could easily be an infection of some sort. How long had your filters been running for?

Honestly, It may be a number of factors that have there fingers in the pie (Overstocking, etc etc.). I'm only making assumptions according to the outcome, not the water conditions. For far more accurate and informed assumptions to be made, there needs to be a bit more information provided. You described the death of the L177 and L200 in the same way that you described your L270. So i'm not too sure. Either way, there is information missing and untill we figure out what's going wrong I can only speculate. Just to clarify, is the tank at your house, or elsewhere?

Sorry to hear about the deaths again, It's not easy losing fish. :(

Please keep us updated with the L260. Thanks

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OK,,,,, The level of aggression will have been minimal in such adolescent fish unless under fed which clearly is not the case. I doubt oxygen depletion unless the outlets to the canisters where quite low or ammonia or nitrite where present, even then this should have been noticed in the plec's if not all of your fish. I feed prawn on a regular basis to my herbivorous plec's never have i a had a problem and never have i heard of such an easily digested protein being an issue. Seems weird even though i do feel this is either water quality or a dietary issue that the l260 being heavily carnivorous is effected l200 omnivorous easily handling this type of protein, and l177 that i personally feed quite alot of protein too in the form of both prawn and sinking carnivore.

Temperature will be fine between 26-32 so i don't understand the accusation of this being high in regard to these plec's. I would like to know the water parameters before passing any judgment. Are there any other fish in the tank?.

Sorry: Missed the update

:facepalm:

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Sorry to hear of your losses.

It is a bitter lesson to lose such beautiful fish.

For mine- I once loss a high proportion of a breeding colony of hypans due to my eagerness to feed and grow up the juvies. Simply it was a combo of too much food, too small a tank( not for fish numbers but for the stress I was putting it under with the bio mass of food), and a water regime that couldn't handle it.

I had an ammonia spike and lost almost all the fish in almost exactly the fashion you described.

For what it is worth I do try to keep my plecs of similar dietary needs together and not mix them.

ie- I wouldn't have L260 in with L200

I think all plecs have the ability to be omnivorous to a degree but that still needs to be regimented.

And i firmly believe that 'power feeding' plecs will not induce faster growth rates.

Again- sorry to hear.

Mr Pleco- right with you with the face palm

OK,,,,,
- you clearing your throat before the lesson mate :facepalm:
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- you clearing your throat before the lesson mate :facepalm:

It was a direct to fishie123 as what has been done is not what was directed.

And ill think you'll find Simon to have been directing to the fact that i said the same thing as Ethan. Feel free to come over if you would like Firenzenz, if you would like to talk more, just make sure to ask before you take beer from my fridge :wink:

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