is it normal for pleco change colors

[Angel Lady]

I changed out my tank and noticed a big change of color in my pleco he is the most common one it looks like he could have white slime on him I have been treating my tank with maracyn 1 i just started it back today should i continue with the medicine

 

[CFC]

Fish changing colour is often a sign of poor water quality or the onset of a disease,have you tested your water quality for ammonia & nitrite?

 

[Angel Lady]

Fish changing colour is often a sign of poor water quality or the onset of a disease,have you tested your water quality for ammonia & nitrite?

yes i have but it is ok could he be sick or something i have had him for about six months or so and i have took real good care of him he is about 6 inches long and he was a baby when I got him. could I be doing something I feed him shrimp pellets I have had a few problems with my water but i think i have it under control now aI guess i will have to wait and see.

 

[sgtbirch]

is his color fading ? If it is this is a bad sign. not trying to scare you but you should be concerned. Is his belly sunken in. When was the last gravel vac you did?

 

[Angel Lady]

is his color fading ? If it is this is a bad sign. not trying to scare you but you should be concerned. Is his belly sunken in. When was the last gravel vac you did?

no his belly isnt sunk in but his color looked like it faded this evening What is the matter with him can I save him or not I just love him to death what could be the matter with him? I just cone a gravel vac not been three days ago when I saw tht white like hairs growing around something I got scared and done a complete water change.

 

[LesGerber]

I have noticed that with my pleco he changes color daily. In the morning when the lights come on he is dark brown and after an hour or so he starts to lighten up and the next morning he is back to the chocolate brown.......odd huh???


Les

 

[angelphish]

Pleco's need vegetation. Try feeding him blanched zuchini or leaf lettuce. They can't live on shrimp pellets alone.

 

[Gibbo]

no his belly isnt sunk in but his color looked like it faded this evening What is the matter with him can I save him or not I just love him to death what could be the matter with him? I just cone a gravel vac not been three days ago when I saw tht white like hairs growing around something I got scared and done a complete water change.

The white hairs you mention are fungus/bacteria. I take it this was on a clump of uneaten food? They are only doing as nature intended, breaking it down and feeding off of it. You are obviously overfeeding so cut down, this is most likely a reason for your plecs Ill health. Feed only a few pellets and try a small amount of fresh greenfood as suggested. A complete water change would have only made things worse than they already were. You should've done a partial one, maybe 50% tops....!

 

[Angel Lady]

no his belly isnt sunk in but his color looked like it faded this evening What is the matter with him can I save him or not I just love him to death what could be the matter with him? I just cone a gravel vac not been three days ago when I saw tht white like hairs growing around something I got scared and done a complete water change.

The white hairs you mention are fungus/bacteria. I take it this was on a clump of uneaten food? They are only doing as nature intended, breaking it down and feeding off of it. You are obviously overfeeding so cut down, this is most likely a reason for your plecs Ill health. Feed only a few pellets and try a small amount of fresh greenfood as suggested. A complete water change would have only made things worse than they already were. You should've done a partial one, maybe 50% tops....!

I keep on messing up the cycle on these poor fish i will get there one of these days I am going to do a 10 percent water change everyday until I get the cycle finished so my fish wont die I know it will take longer but i cant risk the health of my fish.If you have any suggestions please let me know.

 

[sgtbirch]

FISH keeper you have a biowheel?

 

[Angel Lady]

FISH keeper you have a biowheel?

no I dont have one. I have a millennium 2000 plus a undergravel filter on my tank. Why do you ask?Do I need one if I do I will buy one.Tell me what I need to because I will do what ever it takes to keep him alive I bought another baby one I have had him for a couple of months and I got him in another tank he dont look like he has growed any at all. Both tanks has the under gravel filter and the millennium filters on them.

 

[sgtbirch]

I am a fan of the biowheel it really helps stabalize the cycle. the bacteria grow there and it oxygenates the water also. There is a good article under the hardware forum its at the very top. You can decide for yourself. I am alsso not a fan of the UGF and I know I am not alone on that. I feel you have definately started another mini cycle as you probably wiped out your bacteria colony. You'll need to keep a close eye on the nitrites and especially ammonia ( expect a spike) hopefully it wont be too bad if your bacteria can recover. I also have a soft spot for plecos but once sick they are sometimes hard to bring back. what symptoms does he have and is he hangin out in different area that where he does normally. is he eating. I say if he eats he'll be fine. They do change color sometimes but not really drastically unless they are stressed also what is your ph.

 

[Angel Lady]

I am a fan of the biowheel it really helps stabalize the cycle. the bacteria grow there and it oxygenates the water also. There is a good article under the hardware forum its at the very top. You can decide for yourself. I am alsso not a fan of the UGF and I know I am not alone on that. I feel you have definately started another mini cycle as you probably wiped out your bacteria colony. You'll need to keep a close eye on the nitrites and especially ammonia ( expect a spike) hopefully it wont be too bad if your bacteria can recover. I also have a soft spot for plecos but once sick they are sometimes hard to bring back. what symptoms does he have and is he hangin out in different area that where he does normally. is he eating. I say if he eats he'll be fine. They do change color sometimes but not really drastically unless they are stressed also what is your ph.

I keep my ph at 7.0 the ammonia went up so I done a 10 percent water change and got it back down. I nearly killed off all of my fish I done one of the dumbest things anyone could do.I had a cycled tank and I decided I wanted a bigger tank so I moved all of my fish in my new tank and washed my old tank that I had them in before gravels and all cleaned the filter and everything so I destroyed my cycled tank and I had 2 uncycled tanks and all kinds of fish I am just now getting one of them right I changed the water everyday 10 percent in the tank I had all of my fish in and I put ammo.lock in it I managed not to kill none of my fish out of all that mess. But it cost me a lot of work I have only been in the fish keeping for 5 months now. I didnt have any ideal about keeping fish if I had of I wouldnt have done something so stupid.My friend gave me my first tank and I guess it was cycled because I didnt have any trouble until I changed tanks.The pleco is fine now he was a little rugged for a while but he came out of it thank god I didnt kill him off from being stupid.I have done enough reading now just about it to be a expert .I have spent a small fortune buying test kits and medicine and stuff like that.Thge fish is the cheapest thing I have now.