Help Needed Please...

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deb53cl

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Not sure if I should have put this in the emergency section or the Pleco one but please can anyone advise.......

In my 4ft tank I have 2 plecos both roughly the same size. Had not seen one of them for a couple of days (lots of caves and plants) so this is not too unusual but after 2 days I got a bit concerned so hunted him out and OMG look at the state of him!!!

What has he caught? I have put in Contraspot but am so worried about him. As you can see he looks awful.

The other pleco is fine.

Please can someone help
Photo-0015.jpg
 
Could be velvet instead of whitespot.
Any golden patches on him. Turn tanks lights out and shine a torch on him to see what you can see on him.
 
You need to get treating fast.
Raised temp to 30 and increase aeration.
Only use half dose of the parasite med as plecs don't tolerate it to well.
is he rubbing himself on things in the tank.
How his breathing.

Whats your location.
 
You need to get treating fast.
Raised temp to 30 and increase aeration.
Only use half dose of the parasite med as plecs don't tolerate it to well.
is he rubbing himself on things in the tank.
How his breathing.

Whats your location.

Thanks for your advice Wilder.

Right... temp has now been raised to 30 it was 25
Aeration increased.
I dosed the tank yesterday with Contraspot which contains foraldehyde, malachite, unfortunatly I did use the recommended dose but doesn't seem to have had a detromental effect on the plecos. I have just looked on bottle and it does say for velvet too.

I've never come accross velvet before so am going to look it up and see if there is any pics there that I can compare.

He's not rubbing himself on anything in fact he is acting as normal, eating etc. Regarding his breathing maybe it is increased just a tad but I think maybe thats might be me maybe looking for it because I dont tink it is particually increased.

O and I am in Kent

Hope that has answered all the questions and please if you have anymore suggestions can you let me know.

The other slightly smaller pleco is still absolutly fine as are all the other fish.

Right I off to look up velvet

Thanks Wilder
 
lol, it looks funny. a little fat belly covered in dots :)

Sorry. Is it an albino bristlenose catfish and how big is the fish?

The spots/ dots look too big for velvet but if the fish is small (say 1-2inches long) then it could be. Normally velvet is tiny spots that are close together. The spots on the fish look pretty evenly spaced.
It's odd, perhaps whitespot (Ich), perhaps velvet if the fish is small. Alternatively it could be something like hives or a rash/ irritation the fish has developed. However, it' more likely to be whitespot or velvet.
Keep the treatment regime going for a bit and see how the fish does. If the fish doesn't have any problems with the full dose of medication then keep using that dose rate. If the fish looks unwell or has tro0uble breathing, then use a lower dose rate.

Do you have carbon in your filter? If so you should remove it before treating.
 
lol, it looks funny. a little fat belly covered in dots :)

Sorry. Is it an albino bristlenose catfish and how big is the fish?

The spots/ dots look too big for velvet but if the fish is small (say 1-2inches long) then it could be. Normally velvet is tiny spots that are close together. The spots on the fish look pretty evenly spaced.
It's odd, perhaps whitespot (Ich), perhaps velvet if the fish is small. Alternatively it could be something like hives or a rash/ irritation the fish has developed. However, it' more likely to be whitespot or velvet.
Keep the treatment regime going for a bit and see how the fish does. If the fish doesn't have any problems with the full dose of medication then keep using that dose rate. If the fish looks unwell or has tro0uble breathing, then use a lower dose rate.

Do you have carbon in your filter? If so you should remove it before treating.

I have just been looking up about velvet and it says a "dusting of gold" as Wilder kindly advised and yes Colin these are definatly much bigger brown spots than are described although I cant find any pics to compare.

He was bought as an albino common pleco and is about 4" long.

This is causing me a real headache!! Yes his top is as bad as his belly it was just easier to get pic with him on glass.

It does mention to black out the tank and that can help...Do you think I should do that once the temp is stable at 30?
 
Have you added any new fish or plants to the tank.

With m green its best to darken the dark as light can infer with the med.

Any other fish showing the same symtoms.
It does look like whitespot or velvet.
Do you have any snails in the tank.
 
just keep the medication going and see how it looks in a few days. WHitespot infections take a week or two to settle down. You should see some results in a few days tho due to the warm water.
 
Will keep tank in darkness for few days...Fingers crossed.

All the other fish Wilder are absolutley fine and no other fish or plants have been added. There was a snail problem in there months ago but was advised to get a Botia and since then absolutly nothing.

Thanks to everyone who has advised me and if there are any other ideas that can help please post them.

Gosh you dont realise how attached you get to fish!!!
 
Good Luck.


Thankyou Wilder,

Think he is going to need it. Still no improvement today. The only thing I can think of is that added a few shrimps
for the angels the other day and that they were carrying something?? Just a thought been racking my little brain to think of how it could have started.

Been looking up about velvet and I know its hard to tell from pics but I think these spots are way too large for velvet and there is definate no velvet look to him when I shine a torch.

MMMMM...... the mind boggles..
 
Sorry I can't add anything, but do you have any good aquatic shops in your area that you could get advise from if your current treatment doesn't help? It may be worth catching your plec and taking him down for a check up. Best of luck anyhow.
 

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