Help! Pleco With Open Wounds!

[tmtpowers]

I just started a 55 gallon tank 5 days ago. Well three days ago I was offered a 10" pleco from a guy that said he wasn't having any luck with fish. When I got the pleco home I tested the water he was in (he was in approx a gallon to a gallon and a half for 30 minutes) and the test results where: Nitrate off the chart (above 200), nitrite 10.0, hardness 25, 0 alkalinity, Ph was too low for my test (below6.2)and ammonia was .50. So we started a water drip for quite a while. We could not get the nitrates down for the test to read it even after adding several gallons of our tank water. After about 45ish minutes we went ahead and moved him to the tank due to him showing signs of stressing. I noticed several spots on him that looked like carpet burn (skin rubbed) and some red sores on some of his fins. So I started to treat it with Melafix. Last nigh he looked as if he was improving. He started to swim about a lot more and looking for food. I tested our water last night and the ammonia was up a bit (again just new tank syndrome) so we did a partial water change (25%) Today the pleco has spent all day on the bottom floor. I noticed several patches of gray on his back (it doesn't look like fungus but I'm not super experienced in fish either). Well tonight he finally moved to the side of the tank and he has two large wounds on his belly side! Please someone tell me what to do! What has happened?!

Tank size: 55gallon
pH: 7.0
ammonia: .25
nitrite: .5
nitrate: .0
kH:40
gH: 75
tank temp: 80F

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior): Open wounds on belly, grey discoloration on back and sides, eyes appear to be pop-eye but not sure (haven't dealt with large pleco before this one)

Volume and Frequency of water changes: At this point one 25% water change

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: Charcoal filter (removed for 2 days during melafix treatment)

Tank inhabitants: 10" pleco, 2 red tail dalmation mollies, one balloon molly, 3 dwarf sunset coral platies

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): Yesterday we added three cabomba plants and one Anacharis plant. All fish beside pleco we have had for 2-3 weeks now (they were in a smaller tank) as well as other plants besides those listed.

Exposure to chemicals: Melafix

Digital photo (include if possible):

wounds:
http/i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/tmtpowers/wound.jpg
http/i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/tmtpowers/wounds.jpg

Gray patches, eyes, and old wound on nose (wound on nose was there when we got him but appears to be healing :
http/i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/tmtp...eyesandbody.jpg
http/i37.photobucket.com/albums/e91/tmtpowers/nose.jpg

 

[Tolak]

The gray patches almost look like normal coloration. Commons will change color somewhat from stress, or lack of it, or being on a different colored background. Mine change depending if they are on the lighter gravel, or on the black background.

Those red marks are probably heater burns. They are on the higher, bonier parts of the underside, and look too perfectly placed to be much of anything else. Some plecs will attach themselves to the heater, or the side of the tank right next to it, and end up getting scorched. Putting some sort of decoration in front of or beside the heater sometimes helps.

It's a little hard to tell from the pic if it's popeye, plecs eyes do protrude a bit naturally. The sores on the fins & the suspected popeye could have been caused by the lack of maintenance in the previous tank weakening the immune system & letting some bacterial disorder begin. Melafix is a good idea, along with frequent water changes. Common plecs are messy fish, and frequent water changes help with any injury.

 

[tmtpowers]

The gray patches almost look like normal coloration. Commons will change color somewhat from stress, or lack of it, or being on a different colored background. Mine change depending if they are on the lighter gravel, or on the black background.

Those red marks are probably heater burns. They are on the higher, bonier parts of the underside, and look too perfectly placed to be much of anything else. Some plecs will attach themselves to the heater, or the side of the tank right next to it, and end up getting scorched. Putting some sort of decoration in front of or beside the heater sometimes helps.

It's a little hard to tell from the pic if it's popeye, plecs eyes do protrude a bit naturally. The sores on the fins & the suspected popeye could have been caused by the lack of maintenance in the previous tank weakening the immune system & letting some bacterial disorder begin. Melafix is a good idea, along with frequent water changes. Common plecs are messy fish, and frequent water changes help with any injury.

Thanks for the tips. I have moved him into our quartine tank which just finished establishing a cycle and added melafix to the tank. The gray patches really concern me as they appear to be opening up (little sores spreading on them). My pleco had a sore on his nose that was healing nicely but now has a hole there! I will check to see if the heater may be the problem with those sores. I hadn't thought of that since he is so large but I'm sure there is a chance that could be the case. There are plants growing in front of the hearter to hide it but of course they are not yet tall enough.

Thanks again for the help!