I Keep Losing Bristlenosed Plecs

[Hopester]

I recently bought a bigger new tank (already cycled)

I put all my existing fish in there and everything was fine for a week or so

After about a week my bristlenosed plec which I've had for about 4/5 months turns up dead at the bottom of the tank.

It was completely white and its belly looked a little bloated.

I put its untimely demise down to the fact that we were using a little strip of lead(?) that was weighing down some plants to hold some chard & parboiled courgette on the bottom of the tank, and I presumed it may have got lead poisoning from that.

That was about 3 weeks ago, so last weekend I purchased two more BNP's from my LFS

Last night another one turns up dead on the bottom of the tank and its mate is nowhere to be seen.

Same symptoms, bloated looking and pure white, no damage to body to indicate attack from other fish.

The only things that have changed between the old tank and the new tank are that the bottom of the new tank is a mix of 1mm green gravel and blue sand, there are a few different plants and I have introduced 1 more Clown Loach, 4 Hatchet fish, 2 tiny loaches (look like pakistan loaches but arent) and 3 bleeding heart tetras.

Water levels are all exactly the same as previous ie Nitrates and Nitrides acceptable and water quality same as always with respect to hardness and Ph levels.

All the other fish are positively thriving in the new environment.

I really love these little plecs, they do a great job of keeping the tank clean but I dont want to keep killing them as I'm now feeling really guilty.

 

[Bloo]

What is your ammonia and Nitrite readings exactly ?
What size is the tank ?
How long has the tank been up and running ?
What is your stock list ?
How many gallons is your tank and what is the size ?

Sorry for all the questions, but need to have some more info to help

 

[ncjharris]

Plus, are you sure the tank was already cycled? If you had to transport it from somewhere, then there is a chance that the bacteria died off in transit.

 

[Hopester]

34 Gallon tank

NO3 = 25mg/l
NO2 = 0-1mg/l
GH > 16od
KH = 6od
PH = 6.8

These are much the same as they were in the last tank and have never went up or down significantly

I do a 30 - 40% water change weekly

2 Golden Gouramis
1 Red Honey
5 Tiger Barbs
4 Scissor Tails
3 Small Clown Loaches (under 2 inches)
4 Small Hatchets
2 Bleeding Heart Tetras
3 Tiny Loaches (similar to Pakistan but calmer)

The last three groups are the only three to have been introduced after the tank change

The tank was a mature tank that had been going for a couple of years, that was transported for an hour, 1/4 full then refilled (canister filter was kept damp for the duration) and original gravel was retained

 

[WILDER]

Your tank is overstocked with the clown loaches, they will eventually need a 90gal tank, you say the plec went white, was it a milky appearance or fluffy, what do you feed the fish, what does it look like when they go to the toilet, is there anus enlarged and red and inflamed, you have a slight nitrite reading so i would preform a water change.

 

[Hopester]

Your tank is overstocked with the clown loaches, they will eventually need a 90gal tank, you say the plec went white, was it a milky appearance or fluffy, what do you feed the fish, what does it look like when they go to the toilet, is there anus enlarged and red and inflamed, you have a slight nitrite reading so i would preform a water change.

The dead fish is a milky white colour, no inflamation or redness.

I have taken out the other one and isolated it in a bag in the tank (its a bit lethargic) There is no major change in colour in that one yet.

I feed with flakes, algae wafers and veg (usually courgette parboiled)

 

[WILDER]

Did he go a milky white before death, not the writer of this information, don't add salt though as plecs can't tolerate it with being scaless fish.
Milky Skin- Milky skin is excess mucus production. If no new fish have been added more than likely the reason is from pH plunges. Symptoms: Fish hanging at the surface, their skin will appear milky, and their eyes may turn whitish. Treatment: If the pH is stable, but you have added new fish, you can consider ammonia burn, or perhaps parasites. In either event, using salt is highly recommended. In some rare cases, a salt resistant Trichodina, Costia, or Fluke infestation may be the culprit. Use of a microscope will be needed to diagnose this. Then you would treat for the parasite you discovered accordingly.


Here some info on costia but not the writher of the information.
Costia



Symptoms:

Infected fish have soft, film-like skin turbidity. A grayish white film of excess mucous covers the entire body of the fish including the eyes. Severe infestations can lead to skin inflammation and deterioration. Reddening of the skin and bleeding, most often occurs on the underside of the mouth and the pectoral area of the body. Sick fish often rub or scratch against objects in the aquarium in an attempt to relieve irritation. Severely infected fish may become reclusive, listless, lie on the bottom of the aquarium and stop feeding.



Cause:

The parasitic flagellates Costia necatrix and Ichthyobodo necatrix. Costia is a small bean-shaped flagellate which attaches tightly to all areas of the skin, destroying the flesh. This parasite can only survive for approximately one hour without a host and does not tolerate temperatures above 86 - 90 F.



Treatment:

Raising the water temperature to 86 - 90 degrees may be helpful if your fish can tolerate the high temperatures. Quick Cure, Formalin, Malachite Green and Copper Sulfate are the drugs of choice for Costia. Costia infestations are highly contagious. All fish, including the aquarium, should be treated.

 

[Hopester]

It's hard to tell to be honest

My tank has lots of little nooks and crannies and I'm renovating the house at present so the tanks in the spare room.

I came thru the other day and he was dead at the bottom.

The other one looks a bit paler than normal and very very lethargic (ie no fight at all when I netted him)

Theres no redness on the underside

They dont look to have eaten much in the past week either as the bog wood in the tank still has all the algae on it.

 

[WILDER]

He's not sounding good either, being pale is a sign of stress, has he been twitching like something is irratating him, has he been laboured breathing.

Also just noticed that you have added new plants and fish they could of fetched something into the tank, check the others fish for signs of flicking and rubbing against objects, increased breathing, or twitching.

 

[sylvia]

Considering your tank is very over-stocked and the large proportion of bottom-dwellers, it comes as no surprise that new bottom-dwelling additions did not make it.

You need to consider finding new homes for several of your fish and don't try to add anything more. In particular, get those loaches re-homed before they are too large to be taken on by someone else. I appreciate that you may have plans for a larger tank in future but upgrades rarely go as planned and, if the clown loaches get to over 5" or so, your LFS probably won't be willing to take them in.

Bottom dwellers also get the worst deal when it comes to water quality and the huge amount fo waste plecs produce and you probably have a plausible reason for its demise. Also, many plecs, including bristlenoses, are territorial and do better if kept alone. If they fought it would be easy for stress to indirectly cause death to one of them.

Also, make sure you find out what kind of loach the unknown species is - some can be quite aggressive, or nippy/bullies, and may have played a role in your plec's death (don't assume you'll have witnessed it as these things take place at night).

BTW, you did not mention your ammonia levels.