Can plecos get ick?

[Yeaulman]

Hey, I just looked in my tank and noticed my pleco had spots on him. They are not bright white spots like ick, but more like a light grey spot (that looks like a grain of salt)

Is this ick on the pleco or something else?

 

[dsmith]

I know from pervious experance plecos can get ick.

 

[Yeaulman]

So I should probably treat then? Is there any harm in treating a tank if there is no ick?

 

[a1wonder]

There is constantly ick in your tank no matter how clean the water is, it's pretty much in very tank out there. What I would recomind you doing is careful turn up the heat in your aquarium to around 82F and use a product like quick cure. Can I ask what other fish you have in your tank and what the specs are what kind of a fliter you are using?

 

[kent]

i cant think of any reasons why pleco can't get ick.

 

[Yeaulman]

I have 2 black moors and 2 calico fantails. I do not have a tank heater yet, anything else I can do to fix it? I have the quick cure and already added the proper dosage to the water.

 

[a1wonder]

What I would have suggested you do prior to adding quick cure is do a 10% water change (I find that this personally helps my fish recover quicker). How big is the tank? You might want to invest in a heater. What temperature is your tank currently?

 

[Yeaulman]

20 gallon for one more month then up to a 48 gallon. The temperature is at 21 degrees celcius. We have central air so we dont have fluctuations in air temperatures.

Also what is a good heater to buy? I have heard a few stories and some say cheap heaters are good, some say expensive ones are good.

 

[a1wonder]

I've dealth with all cheap heaters in the past and haven't had a problem I have 150wat on my 30gal and it works great. I think the brand name is Penn. You shouldn't pay more than 20bucks for these (canadian). I have central air as well and I do find it gets colder in the evenings (a bit).

 

[smithrc]

the reason your plec has ich is because he is not a cold water fish.

he'll be unhealthy and that is why the ich has taken hold.

most plecs like to be in mid 20's some upto 30-32º

I'd advise you start anoher tank (tropical) or give the plec to a better home.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

I agree, plecs should not be kept in coldwater.

Do the goldies have spots?

 

[Aquascaper]

Again with the plecs not liking coldwater

You could trade him in for a weather loach maybe? They do a similar job in the tank (so i'm told by my girlfriend)

 

[Jae1525]

My sister has weather loaches! they are amizing and you can tame them to pop their head out of the water at feeding time and eat right from your hand!
Such funny characters!!!

Can u keep them tropical? I would love some!!!

 

[Earthgirl]

Hey Yeaulman;
I'm treating my tank for ick....
Really bites the sand!

 

[Yeaulman]

The lps where I bought the pleco from said that the water should be about 24 degrees celcius, which mine is at, and he said to turn it up 2 degrees in the winter.

As for ick, my pleco is not moving as much as it used to last week. This is the cause of ick right? When I stuck my hand in to get a leaf out of the tank or to grab something at the bottom of the tank, he would come up and swim around my hand, now just sitting behind the suction tube of my filter or on a log. I hope this goes away in a few days and hes back to normal. I miss my friendly pleco