baby bristlenose plecos dying

[cluckmonkey]

i'm new here, and i have a reoccuring problem. i have a 20 gallon tank and a five gallon tank (baby fish and a bristlnose.) in my 20 gallon tank i've had 4 baby bristlenose plecos and they keep dying. the last one i noticed that he swelled up and then died. dropsy, right? well i looked online and asked the fish store where i bought it. they both said it was the fish, there is nothing to do to treat teh tank (all other fish are fine) and to go ahead and try another one. well i did. i came home from work today and guess what? that's right, one bloated pleco struggling to breathe. any advice would be greatly appreciated. thanks.

water quality is fine, checked, checked again and triple checked.

 

[Alien Anna]

When you checked water quality, what did you actually check? Ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH? Also check temperature and check your filter is working. It would be a good idea to check your LFS water too as significant differences in parameters can be stressful to fish.

Bristlenoses need some wood to nibble on, to prevent constipation, so make sure you've got some of that. They are very shy fish so you need to provide a place to hide.

Have you used any anti-algae meds in the tank? Obviously, if you've used poisons to kill off the algae (unsuccessfully) and the bristlenose tries eating the algae... Not good

Sorry about your fish - hopefully we can get to the bottom of it.